You season four has arrived on Netflix, and is already set to be one of their most popular series' on the platform in 2023.
The fourth series follows Joe over to London after the events of series three, now masquerading as Jonathan Moore, university professor in London. In the show, Joe comes across the character of Rhys Montrose, who is revealed to be the illegitimate son of the Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull.
In the show, Rhys is played by Ed Speleers, and is seen posing with his father the Duke in an online article that Joe finds. But has there ever been a real Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull?
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Who is the real Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull?
There was a real Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, HullLive reports. His name was Evelyn Pierrepont and he was a prominent figure in high society. He also played a leading role in the famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) Act of Union that created the United Kingdom by uniting England and Scotland.
That all took place back in 1707. The Duke was succeeded by his grandson, also called Evelyn, but he died without children and the dukedom died with him in 1773.
The King's right-hand man
Another famous Hull duke was William de la Pole, who was one of the most powerful men in England during the 15th century. A member of Hull's De la Pole family, he became the 1st Duke of Suffolk, but later fell out of favour and was beheaded by an angry mob. His home was Suffolk Palace, on the site of what is now the Three John Scotts pub in the Old Town.
He was buried at what is now the Charterhouse, off Wincolmlee. His son and grandson inherited the dukedom, but ended up on the wrong side in the Wars of the Roses. The third duke was beheaded for treason, while his brother, Richard de la Pole, tried and failed to seize the crown.
Does Hull have a duke today?
Hull no longer has a duke, but it does have a baron – a much lower title on the rungs of the aristocracy. Baron Nunburnholme of Kingston-upon-Hull is a title created in 1906 for the legendary Hull shipowner Charles Wilson, who helped establish one of the world's largest commercial fleets.
Wilson, a long-standing Hull MP, died in 1907, but the title has been passed down through his descendants. The sixth and current Baron is Stephen Charles Yanath Wilson, who inherited the title in 2014.
Of course, the fact that there is no duke today makes it easier for the writers of 'You' to create a fictional character, without confusing viewers. Nevertheless, it is interesting to hear the title mentioned again hundreds of years after the last duke passed away.
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