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	Märtha Louise of Norway
Religion	Protestant

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

Early Life

Richard was born on August 5th 1998 as the second eldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway. 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, Alistair, 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 Alistair 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.

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

Foreign

• Norway - Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of St Olav
• Norway - ​Recipient of the Medal of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of King Olav V
• Norway - Recipient of the Royal House Centenary Medal
• Norway - ​Recipient of the King Harald V Silver Jubilee Medal

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 12. Olav V of Norway 6. Harald V of Norway 13. Princess Märtha of Sweden 3. Princess ​Märtha Louise of Norway 14. Karl August Haraldsen 7. Sonja Haraldsen 15. Dagny Ulrichsen