Its current holder, since its creation on 29 April 2011, is William, Prince of Wales, who was granted the title as a personal gift by Elizabeth II, on the day of his marriage to Catherine Middleton.

[2][3][4][5] Traditionally, when male members of the British royal family marry, they are granted at least one peerage.

In 1841, George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall, was created by Queen Victoria as Baron Ennishowen and Carrickfergus, of Ennishowen, in the County of Donegal, and Carrickfergus, in the County of Antrim, in the peerage of the United Kingdom.

[7] When he died in 1883, the Barony of Ennishowen and Carrickfergus became extinct; the Marquessate of Donegall was inherited by his brother, Lord Edward Chichester.

[8] Carrickfergus is the oldest town in County Antrim and is an older settlement than the capital city of Northern Ireland, Belfast.