---
title: "Duke"
description: "A governor promoted by the king to help lead the kingdom"
url: https://support.kingdoms.com/en/articles/32-duke
collection: "Kingdoms and secret societies"
updated: 2026-11-10
language: en
alternates: [tr, de, fr, ru]
---

# Duke

A governor promoted by the king to help lead the kingdom

### The role of the Duke

A duke is a governor promoted by a king or Vice King and granted special privileges.

They help the king develop and protect the kingdom.

Two dukes can be appointed in a standard kingdom (or four following a kingdom union).

### How to become a duke

<table data-id="2238d1c3-783c-4997-b71b-46d0f87109f8" style="min-width: 50px;"><colgroup><col style="min-width: 25px;"><col style="min-width: 25px;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="width: 20.0557%;"><p data-id="02ec22ee-37f8-4d0d-bcd0-ca59d57b319d"></p><img src="https://staticfiles.gleap.io/helpcenter/68308cfeb9e87dee6f158b79/20260212085117_5368.png" alt="Item Selection" width="auto" height="auto" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%; cursor: pointer;"></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="width: 79.9443%;"><p data-id="f093343c-b108-46ad-bde1-2859d4c9fc9b">You can only become a duke through promotion by a king or Vice King.</p><ul><li><p data-id="2fd20b45-54c1-49eb-b5fc-e8d386aa0b89">Standard kingdoms: up to two dukes can be appointed.</p></li><li><p data-id="7f480cb8-07e3-4d36-8857-6faf310877c3">Kingdom unions: up to four dukes can be appointed.</p></li></ul><p data-id="fed94580-7b77-4c15-89fc-14c09134b221">Promotion is reversible. A duke can be demoted back to governor at any time by the king or Vice King.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

### Duties and powers of a duke

Dukes are leaders in their own right and have unique mechanics that set them apart from governors.

✅ Can do:

-   Activate treasuries to collect tributes and generate influence
    
-   Collect treasures from raids, robber hideouts, and stolen goods
    
-   View troop numbers, crop production, and battle reports from the king and other dukes in the kingdom
    

❌ Can't do:

-   Invite and remove governors
    
-   Manage diplomacy
    
-   Use menhir relocation
    
-   Enable vacation mode  
    Treasures and tributes
    

As a duke, you can convert one of your hidden treasuries into an active state.

By doing so, the village will generate influence just like a king’s treasury village.

The king and their dukes share information about troops in villages, battle reports, and crop production.

-   A duke does not generate tributes for the king in villages with an active treasury. Instead, they collect tributes and treasures themselves to expand the kingdom.
    
-   Duke villages without an active treasury generate tributes just like governor villages, which can be collected by the king or Vice King.
    
-   Stolen goods sold by the duke are added directly to the duke’s own treasury.
    
-   All treasures from a duke count toward the kingdom’s total treasures and victory points.
    

For dukes, robber hideouts spawn at only 50 % of the normal speed. This is offset by their ability to collect tribute funds.

### Dismissing a duke

-   Dismissing a duke automatically deactivates any of their treasuries and transfers their treasures to their tribute fund.
    
-   The kingdom loses 10 victory points for each active treasure of the dismissed duke.
    
-   No victory points are lost if the treasures are inactive.
    

When a duke abdicates, their duke slot becomes free. Dukes are not automatically replaced. The king must manually promote a new duke if the slot is empty.

### Additional duke features

-   A duke attacked by their king will not be removed from the kingdom (unlike other foreign governors).
    
-   If a king abdicates, they are automatically replaced by the duke with the highest population in the kingdom.
    
-   In a kingdom union: A duke can only be promoted to Vice King by the king.
    
    If neither a king nor a Vice King remains — for example, after an abdication — the union is automatically disbanded.
    
-   A duke cannot enable vacation mode, as it is an active leadership role.
    

### Summary

Dukes play a pivotal role in kingdom strategy, acting as regional leaders with their own treasuries and tribute networks. They combine the influence of a leader with the activity of a governor, making them essential for territorial control and treasure collection.