Duke of Devonshire set to give up titleif Brown acts against hereditary peers

THE Duke of Devonshire has vowed to give up the title held by 11 generations of his family if Labour removes all hereditary peers from the House of Lords before the General Election.

Describing the aristocracy as “dead” with the “coffin nailed down” the Duke said it was confusing to keep titles which are passed from father to son in the modern world.

Labour leaders have made a manifesto pledge to finish the process started by former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1999, when the Lords underwent a radical programme of reform.

As part of those reforms, the current Duke of Devonshire’s father, the 11th Duke, was removed from the Lords and only 90 hereditary peers now remain in the Upper House. Gordon Brown is expected to attempt to push through legislation before the election to ensure that those peers are not replaced when they die, despite opposition from the Tories.

But the 12th Duke, who owns Chatsworth House near Sheffield, said he would be happy to be known as plain Peregrine Cavendish if hereditary peers were abolished altogether and admitted that he had not earned his title, saying he only had it “by chance”.

He said the bizarre nature of the system was illustrated by the position of his son, who has the hereditary title Lord Burlington, but is not entitled to a seat in the House of Lords, and added : “The aristocracy is not dying. It’s dead. Coffin’s nailed down, it’s in the ground. It doesn’t exist, except that people have titles.” The Duke said if hereditary peerages were abolished completely he would be happy to drop the Duke of Devonshire title and said: “Because then it would be clear cut what the people wanted and it would be confusing to maintain hereditary titles. So, finish that, go back to being called Cavendish.”

Chatsworth, where the Duke lives with his wife, is undergoing a massive refurbishment, which is being overseen by the couple, and staff are also preparing for the 90th birthday celebrations of his mother, Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire.

The Duke said he was totally committed to the estate, which attracts thousands of visitors every summer. The Dukedom of Devonshire was created in 1694.

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