Editing Duke of Manchester (section)

== History ==
Their ancestor was [[Richard Ladde]], grandfather of the [[Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales|Lord Chief Justice]] [[Edward Montagu (judge)|Sir Edward]], who changed his name to [[Montagu (surname)|Montagu]] around 1447. His descendants claimed a connection with the older house of Montagu or Montacute, [[Baron Montagu|Barons Montagu or Montacute]] and [[Earl of Salisbury|Earls of Salisbury]], but there is no sound evidence that the two families were related. A case has been made out for the possibility that the Ladde alias came from a division among coheirs about 1420 of the remaining small inheritance of a line of Montagus at Spratton and Little Creton, also in Northamptonshire.<ref>{{Cite book|title = English Genealogy|last = Wagner|first = Anthony|publisher = Oxford University Press|year = 1960|isbn = 9780712667241|location = Oxford|quote = "The explanation of a fifteenth century yeoman's Norman name might sometimes be female descent from a knightly house through a coheir. The Montagus of Boughton, Northhamptonshire, who acquired a barony in 1621, an earldom in 1689, the dukedom of Montagu in 1705, and in their younger branches the earldom of Manchester in 1626, the dukedom of Manchester in 1719, and the earldom of Sandwich in 1660, descended from Richard Montagu alias Ladde, a yeoman or husbandman, living in 1471 at Hanging Houghton, Northamptonshire, where the Laddes had been tenants since the fourteenth century. Alias names, in some respect the forerunners of modern compound (or double-barreled) name, were common in the Middle Ages. In the earliest times, when surnames were new, an alias may just mean indecision between equally attractive alternatives. Later they sometimes indicate bastardy (one name perhaps being the father's and one the mother's), but in most cases probably mark inheritance through an heiress whose name was thus perpetuated. A good case has been made out for the possibility that the Ladde alias came from a division among coheirs about 1420 of the remaining small inheritance of a line of Montagus at Spratton and Little Creton, also in Northamptonshire. This line was of knightly origin and probably a branch of the baronial Montagus (Earls of Salisbury from 1337), whose almost certain ancestor Dru de Montagud was a tenant-in-chief in 1086. Other yeoman Montagus are found in Buckinghamshire from 1354 when Roger Montagu appears as a witness to a quitclaim of land in Great Kimble, notably in Halton where a family of Montagu alias Elot held land from about 1440 to 1610. A line of Montagus found in Waddesdon from about 1540 may have branched from these. These in the eighteenth century were shepherds and drovers and one set up in Aylesbury as a wheelwright and another as a tailor. Another line, also possibly branched from Halton, is found at Boveney and Dorney in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This produced Richard Montagu, Bishop of Chichester (1628–38) and Norwich (1638–41), and Peter Montagu, who settled in Virginia."}}</ref>

The judge Sir Edward Montagu's grandson, [[Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton|Edward Montagu]], was raised to the peerage as 1st [[Baron Montagu of Boughton]]. He is the ancestor of the [[Duke of Montagu|Dukes of Montagu]].  His brother, [[Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester|Sir Henry Montagu]] (c. 1563–1642), who served as [[Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench|Lord Chief Justice]] as well as [[Lord High Treasurer of England|Lord High Treasurer]] and [[Lord Privy Seal]], was in 1620 raised to the [[Peerage of England]] as ''Viscount Mandeville'', with the additional title ''Baron Montagu of Kimbolton'', of [[Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire|Kimbolton]] in the [[Huntingdonshire|County of Huntingdon]]. In 1626, he was made ''Earl of Manchester'', of Manchester in the [[County of Lancaster]].<ref name="Masters">{{Cite book|title = The Dukes: The Origins, Ennoblement and History of Twenty-Six Families|last = Masters|first = Brian|publisher = Random House|year = 2001|isbn = 9780712667241|location = London|pages = 336}}</ref> It is sometimes said, erroneously, that the title refers to [[Godmanchester]] in Huntingdonshire, and that the word "God" was deliberately excluded from the title on the basis that the grantee thought it would be blasphemous for him to be known as "Lord Godmanchester".<ref>{{cite book|last=Brooke|first=Christopher|title=A History of Gonville and Caius College|year=1985|publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd|isbn=9780851154237|page=127|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mr2KIZdS0YQC&pg=PA127}}</ref> However, the form of the creation makes it clear that the title refers to what is now the city of Manchester (at the time a town in Lancashire, formally known as the County of Lancaster).

His son, the [[Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester|2nd Earl]], was a prominent Parliamentary General during the [[English Civil War|Civil War]], but later supported the restoration of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]. His son, the [[Robert Montagu, 3rd Earl of Manchester|3rd Earl]], represented [[Huntingdonshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Huntingdonshire]] in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]. His son was the 4th Earl, who in 1719 was created ''Duke of Manchester''.

[[Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester|Charles, 1st Duke of Manchester]], was succeeded by his eldest son. The 2nd Duke notably served as [[Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard]] in the administration of [[Sir Robert Walpole]]. He was childless, and on his death, the titles passed to his younger brother, the 3rd Duke. He had earlier represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, the 4th Duke. He was [[British Ambassador to France|Ambassador to France]] and served as [[Lord Chamberlain of the Household]]. His son, the 5th Duke, was [[Governor of Jamaica]] between 1827 and 1830 also held office as [[United Kingdom Postmaster General|Postmaster General]]. He was succeeded by his son, the 6th Duke. He represented [[Huntingdon (UK Parliament constituency)|Huntingdon]] in the House of Commons as a [[Tory]].

His eldest son, the 7th Duke, was [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Member of Parliament for [[Bewdley (UK Parliament constituency)|Bewdley]] and Huntingdonshire. His son, the 8th Duke, briefly represented Huntingdonshire in Parliament. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the 9th Duke. He sat on the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] benches in the [[House of Lords]] and served as [[Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard]] in the [[Liberal Government 1905-1915|Liberal administration]] of [[Henry Campbell-Bannerman|Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman]]. In the twentieth century, mismanagement and profligacy resulted in the wholesale depletion of the Dukedom's estates. Generational instability caused further damage to the family's honour: the 9th, 12th and 13th Dukes all had a criminal record.<ref name="Scriven">{{Cite book|title = Splendor and Squalor: The Disgrace And Disintegration of Three Aristocratic Dynasties|last = Scriven|first = Marcus|publisher = Atlantic Books|year = 2009|isbn = 9781843541240|location = London|pages = [https://archive.org/details/splendoursqualor00scri/page/137 143, 211-214]|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/splendoursqualor00scri/page/137}}</ref><ref name="sunherald">{{cite news|last1=Barlass|first1=Tim|title=Dastardly duke strikes again|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/dastardly-duke-strikes-again-20130126-2ddj7.html|accessdate=16 September 2024|work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222141046/https://www.smh.com.au/world/dastardly-duke-strikes-again-20130126-2ddj7.html|url-status=live|archive-date=22 December 2022|date=27 January 2013}}</ref>

[[Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester]] was the last of the dukes to serve in the [[House of Lords]], until the adoption of the [[House of Lords Act 1999]].
 
[[Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke of Manchester|Alexander Montagu]], the oldest son of the 12th Duke, succeeded his father as the 13th Duke in July 2002; a British and Australian citizen who lives in the United States, he had been known by the courtesy title of the heir apparent, Viscount Mandeville, since his father's succession to the peerage in 1985.<ref name="theguardian">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/31/duke-of-manchester-alexander-montagu-manchester-remain-las-vegas-jail-burglary-charge |title=Duke of Manchester to remain in Las Vegas jail |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=The Guardian |date=31 August 2016 |access-date=29 September 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/7cc5943735794763904b7e3505ec23f9 |title=Australian man with British title to stay jailed in Vegas |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Associated Press |date=31 August 2016 |access-date=29 September 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/8657033/The-bigamist-Duke-and-his-three-wives.html |title=The bigamist Duke and his three wives |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=The Telegraph |date=24 July 2011 |access-date=29 September 2020 }}</ref> He has not taken the required action to be included on the [[Roll of the Peerage]], which was created two years after his succession in 2004; while this doesn't change his status as a duke itself, which is legally established by the [[letters patent]], inclusion in the roll is since 2004 a requirement to have his title included in his passport. Under the provisions of the 2004 royal warrant he may register with the roll at any time.<ref name="roll" />