Prince Richard, Duke of Cleveland

Prince Richard
Duke of Cleveland
Born	Richard William Charles Alexander Hanover 5 August 1998 (age 26) Buckingham Palace, London
Partner	Megan Williams (2019 – present)
Full name Richard William Charles Alexander Hanover
House	Hanover
Father	William VI
Mother	Christy Turlington
Religion	Protestant

Prince Richard, Duke of Cleveland (Richard William Charles Alexander Hanover; born 5 August 1998) is a British actor, activist, and a member of the British royal family. He is the second eldest child of King William VI and American supermodel, Christy Turlington, and is also currently the first in the line of succession to the British throne as the heir presumptive to his sister, Queen Alexandra.

While known for his debut role in the Netflix period drama, Bridgerton as Benedict Bridgerton, Richard, whom as an activist himself is also closely associated with his mother, Queen Christy, with whom he has since been actively involved on a number of causes, including humanitarianism and physical health, while also being actively involved aswell in a number of other causes he has since personally championed, which includes climate change, drug abuse, and perhaps most notably enough, anti-corruption, which has particularly garnered him both praise and criticism from the public.

As the heir presumptive to his sister, Queen Alexandra, Richard is expected to succeed the former to the throne in the case of the Queen's abdication or death in the absence of a natural heir to the throne. In recent years, with the possibility of his sister marrying the Dutch fashion model, Rianne Van Rompaey being ever more likely, he is thus expected to succeed his sister to the British throne himself, thereby possibly becoming the next future British monarch to do so after King William IV, whom succeeded his own older brother, King George IV.

Early Life

Richard was born on August 5th 1998 as the second eldest child of William, Prince of Wales and German supermodel, Christy Turlington. Named Richard William Charles Alexander Hanover, he was originally third in line to the throne at the time of his birth, while his younger twin brother, Nicholas, whom is originally fourth in line to the throne himself was born just a few minutes afterwards. Having supposedly been named Richard after the legendary English king, Richard I (better known as Richard the Lionheart), he was then, in the following order named after his own father, the Prince of Wales, followed by his grandfather, King Charles III and lastly, his great-grandfather, King Edward VII.

Initially, following the birth of his older sister, Alexandra just a couple of years prior, the former's position as the immediate heir to their father proved rather fragile at the time as a result of Britain having traditionally used a male-preference primogeniture, which meant that the princess would have been immediately replaced as heir apparent should she be followed by a male sibling afterwards. Thus, as a preventive measure, just a year before Richard would later be born himself, the Succession to the Crown Act 1997 was passed by a large majority in Parliament, which consequently ensured that following the birth of both Richard and Nicholas the following year, both brothers were accordingly placed behind their older sister as per the order of birth, with Richard himself originally being third in line to the throne at the time of his birth, before subsequently progressing to second in line to the throne with his father's ascension to the throne, and lastly, to the current position of first in line to the throne behind the reigning Queen Alexandra, to whom he is the Queen's heir presumptive.

Described mainly by his older sister as a "rather troublesome, but overwhelmingly enjoyable younger brother", both Richard and all his other siblings, with the subsequent inclusion of their half-sister, Victoria were all partly brought up by an appointed governess by the name of Rose Watts, whom was appointed to the position in order to make up for the rather advanced age of the elderly Queen Lauren. Interestingly enough, despite not being biologically related in any way to Watts himself, Richard was almost and mostly said to have enjoyed a comparably far more stronger relationship with the former than he does with his own grandmother, whom despite being the "co-caretaker" of the four alongside Watts herself, was otherwise said to have generally preferred Richard's sisters instead as her supposed "favourites", namely both Alexandra and Mary themselves. Nevertheless, despite these supposed preferences, the prince himself later spoke positively of the late Queen Lauren following the latter's death on August 2014, having referred to the latter as an "astonishingly remarkable and proud woman, mother, and grandmother".

At the age of seven, in a decision to ensure that both brother and sister would be able to remain close outside of their family home aswell, Richard himself was then intentionally enroled at the Primrose Hill Primary School in London. Afterwards, in once more following his older sister's steps, Richard was then enroled next at the Regent High School.

Titles & Honours

• 5 August 1998 - 22 January 2020 His Royal Highness The Prince Richard
• 22 January 2020 - Present His Royal Highness The Duke of Cleveland

Honours

National & Commonwealth

• United Kingdom - Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
• United Kingdom - Member of the Royal Family Order of King William V
• United Kingdom - Recipient of the Medal of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of King Charles III
• United Kingdom - Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle
• United Kingdom - Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order
• United Kingdom - Member of the Order of St. George

Ancestry

Ancestors of Prince Richard, Duke of Cleveland
8. Edward VII of the United Kingdom 4. Charles III of the United Kingdom 9. Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia 2. William VI of the United Kingdom 10. William Perske 5. Lauren Bacall 11. Natalie Bacall 1. Prince Richard, Duke of Cleveland 6. Dwain Turlington 3. Christy Turlington 7. Elizabeth Turlington