Duke of St. Albans (1684), Earl of Burford (1676), Baron Heddington (1676), Baron Vere of Hanworth (1750), and Hereditary Grand Falconer of England (1685).

Arms: Quarterly: 1st and 4th, quarterly, France and England, quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland; over all a baton sinister Gules, charged with three roses Argent, barbed seeded proper (Charles II). 2nd and 3rd, quarterly, Gules and Or, in the first quarter a mullet Argent (deVere).

Crest: On a chapeau Gules, turned up Ermine, a lion statant guardant Or, crowned with a ducal coronet, per pale Argent and Gules, gorged with a collar of the last, thereon three roses Argent, barbed and seeded proper.

Supporters: Dexter, an antelope Argent, armed and unguled Or; Sinister, a greyhound Argent, each gorged with a collar as in the crest.

One might notice that the Arms of the Duke of St. Albans contain the Royal Arms of England. More exactly, they are the Arms of Dominion from the reign of King Charles II over which has been placed a baton sinister. Sir Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St. Albans, was the natural (but illegitimate) son of Charles II by Eleanor (Nell) Gwynn, a famous actress of her time.  

King Charles accepted his paternity of the young Charles Beauclerk and in January 1684 created him Duke of St. Albans (at the ripe old age of 14).  The Arms of the Duke show his father's Arms with the baton sinister indicating his relationship to the King but showing that he was not a legitimate heir to the throne. Quartered with the Royal Arms are those of the family deVere.  The 1st Duke of St. Albans married Lady Diana de Vere who was the sole heiress of the 20th and last Earl of Oxford.

Contrary to what might be thought, this "Baton Sinister" is not thought of as disgraceful. To the contrary, it is borne as a sign of dignified lineage that just happened to fall on the wrong side of the bedsheets.

During Charles II's exile under the Cromwell Protectorate, Charles lived in France and fathered several illegitimate children. Many of them were raised to the Peerage as Dukes, of which four remain today (Buccleuch, Richmond, Grafton, and St. Albans), and all of whom use the Baton Sinster or Bordure Compony to signify their relation to Charles II.

In addition to the St. Albans title, His Grace also holds the titles Earl of Burford (1676), Baron Heddington (1676), Baron Vere of Hanworth (1750), and is the Hereditary Grand Falconer of England (1685).

You can use your browser's back button or click here to return to the Home Page.