Grand Duke

Grand Duke (or Grand Duchess) is a relatively modern title given to the rulers of a Grand Duchy, a title which in of itself is relatively modern. The term "grand duke" is used across the Wyneil Empireand arose because the title of Duke lost much of its status during the reign of Sovereign Orson III Hargreave. The formation of Grand Duchies. and the granting of the title Grand Duke to rulers of these territories, was a formal act of Orson IV, King of Wyneil, Duke of Dunover and Sovereign in an attempt to rebuild on the power in the royal line stripped by his predecessor. 
In centuries past, the titles of Prince and Duke  were essentially interchangeable, representing the line of secondigeniture, but as the Wyneil Empire grew in scope and scale they required updating. Grand Duke came into existence as a way of collecting disparate fiefdoms under the bloodline of the current Sovereign under a Grand Duchy, essentially elevating lesser nobility to a position equivalent to a Prince (in all but name and prestige) without the possibility of inheriting the title of Sovereign.

Type

Nobility, Hereditary