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Message: <blockquote data-quote="trancejeremy" data-source="post: 6069159" data-attributes="member: 924">From what I've read of history, there doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rule. Usually this is the sort of thing that would cause wars - rival sides trying to claim a title.In the end, might makes right. William the Conqueror, for instance, was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Normandy. He eventually got that Dukedom, and supposedly inherited the Kingship of England because that king was childless and he was like a 2nd cousin one removed (the King's grandfather was brother to William's great grandfather). But he had to invade England to actually get the throne. (And bear in mind, the Normans weren't even native to France really, they were "Norsemen" or "Northmen", aka Vikings that had invaded France and settled there.Also, a lot depends on who the duchy "belongs" to. Some are essentially their own smaller kingdoms (like the above example). But in later times, when everything was more or less settled, presumably the king's call.</blockquote>