Is The Gilded Age's Duke of Buckingham based on a real person? Details explored in depth

HBO's popular historical drama The Gilded Age, created and written by Julian Fellowes, debuted in January 2022. Even though it is a historical fiction set in the late 19th century, the showrunner has incorporated several eminent figures from the past for historical accuracy, apart from the grand sets, fashion, and lifestyle.

Some of the iconic figures that the show mentions include Mrs. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor and Mamie Fish, top socialites of the Gilded Age; J.P. Morgan, the popular American financier; and Russell Sage, the railroad magnate; as well as T. Thomas Fortune, a prominent Black journalist and editor of the New York Age, among others.

Several viewers were left confused when Hector, the Duke of Buckingham, was introduced in Season 2, Episode 4, titled His Grace the Duke. The viewers were left with one question: Is the Duke of Buckingham in The Gilded Age based on a historical character?

Hector, the Duke of Buckingham, played by Ben Lamb, is not based on a historical figure. Here's what we know about it.

Is the Duke of Buckingham from The Gilded Age based on a real person?

Hector, the Duke of Buckingham, as shown in HBO's The Gilded Age, was not a part of the British monarchy and hence is not based on a real person. Thus, the character of the Duke of Buckingham, played by Ben Lamb, is a fictional one.

Historically speaking, around that time, Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville was the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. He inherited the title from his father, who died in 1861.

Also called the "Safe Duke," he was known for restoring his family's fortune after years of financial difficulties. Interestingly, he was married to Alice Graham-Montgomery, daughter of Sir Graham Graham-Montgomery.

Even though several English noblemen did marry women from notable and wealthy American families in the late 19th century, the Duke of Buckingham wasn't one of them. Since the noblemen were starting to struggle financially due to the Industrial Revolution, they looked to America to find their match among the well-off families.

Several American women were fascinated with the fancy titles of the nobles and agreed to marry them, and were called the "buccaneers."

Bertha wants Gladys to marry Hector, the Duke of Buckingham

Bertha Russell's determination to marry her daughter, Gladys, into a well-off family to climb the social strata and secure a comfortable life for her has been one of the main plotlines of the series. Previously, in Season 2, we saw how Bertha, to fulfill her motives of reaching the zenith of the social ladder, convinced the Duke of Buckingham to attend the opening of the Metropolitan Opera House.

In Season 3, when Gladys elopes to the Carltons' house, Bertha becomes furious. Soon, Bertha threatens Billy and warns him that she will destroy his career if he doesn't stop seeing Gladys. At the end of the episode, Billy finally breaks up with Gladys.

It seems like Bertha's plan to get her daughter Gladys to marry the Duke is finally back on track. The Duke's arrival and his brief conversation with Bertha left George and their daughter Gladys completely baffled—proof that Bertha had been secretly laying the groundwork to marry her to the Duke.

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Also read: The Gilded Age Season 3 Episode 2 recap: Gladys gets heartbroken, the Duke of Buckingham arrives and Ada takes charge

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