Duke of Teck was a dukedom in the Kingdom of Württemberg. It was created in 1871 for His Serene Highness Prince Francis of Teck, the son of Duke Alexander of Württemberg who later married into the British Royal Family. The title existed until 1917, when the British monarch, King George V relinquished all Germanic titles on behalf of himself and those members of the British Royal Family who were British citizens. When the Kingdom of Württemberg collapsed in 1918, the title became extinct.

Creation

The Duke Alexander of Württemberg married the Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde in a morganatic marriage. Thus their eldest son, Francis had no title or succession rights in the Kingdom of Württemberg. Although King William I of Württemberg created Francis, Prince of Teck in 1863, it was difficult for Francis to find a suitable wife given his low royal rank. In 1871, King Charles I of Württemberg created the new title of Duke of Teck to give Francis more status.

Prince Francis, 1st Duke of Teck

Prince Francis, 1st Duke of Teck married her Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a granddaughter of King George III in 1866. As the couple had to live off Mary Adelaide's Parliamentary Annuity, as the Duke of Teck had no income, the Duke and Duchess of Teck lived in London. In 1887, Queen Victoria, the Duchess of Teck's cousin granted the Duke of Teck the style His Highness.

In 1892, the Duke of Teck's daughter, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck married HRH Prince George, Duke of York who later reigned as King George V. The Tecks were now considered full members of the British Royal Family.

Prince Adolphus, 2nd Duke of Teck

When the 1st Duke of Teck died in 1900, the dukedom passed to his eldest son, His Serene Highness Prince Adolphus of Teck. King George V later granted the 2nd Duke of Teck the style His Highness in 1911.

Extinction of title

During World War I, anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom led the Duke of Teck's brother in law, King George V, to change the name of the royal house from the Germanic House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the more English sounding, House of Windsor. The King also renounced all his Germanic titles for himself and all members of the British Royal Family who were British citizens.

In response to this, the Duke of Teck renounced his title of a Prince of Teck and Duke of Teck in the Kingdom of Württemberg and the style His Highness. Adolphus, along with his other Teck relation, Prince Alexander of Teck, adopted the name Cambridge, after their grandfather, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge.

Adolphus was subsequently created Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Eltham, and Viscount Northallerton in the peerage of the United Kingdom. His elder son took the title Earl of Eltham as a courtesy title. His younger children became Lord/Lady (Christian Name) Cambridge. Alexander was created Earl of Athlone. His children also became Lord/Lady (Christian Name) Cambridge.

After the end of World War I, the Kingdom of Württemberg collapsed and was merged with the other small Germanic kingdoms and duchies to form the Weimar Republic. Subsequently no further creations of the Duke of Teck occurred. The last male line descendant of Prince Francis, Duke of Teck was George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge, the son of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Teck who died in 1981, and no legal claim to the title exists now.