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The first President of the Club was William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire whose Eastbourne home was Compton Place. He was a major influence in the early development of Eastbourne. Nearly 80 years old when approached on the provision of golf facilities in the town, he showed great interest in the scheme and leant his support. He died in 1891.
Spencer Compton Cavendish became the 8th Duke of Devonshire, at the age of 58 and The Royal's 2nd President, but as the Marquis of Hartington became a great Liberal politician and in the Gladstone ministry held cabinet offices of Chief Secretary for Ireland and Secretary of State for India. On three occasions declined Queen Victoria's request for him to be Prime Minister. After joing the House of Lords he held the high office of Lord President of the Council in Balfour's ministry of 1902-05. Not known as a good golfer he nevertheless became The Royal's first Captain and during his presidency saw the erection of the current clubhouse and expansion of the course.
On the death of the childless 8th Duke, in 1908, he was succeeded by his nephew Victor Christian William Cavendish who had been a member of The Royal since 1890, serving as Captain in 1895. He was an M.P. between 1891 and 1908 and became Financial Secretary to the Treasury in Balfour's government. As the 9th Duke he regularly visited Compton Place, and over the years entertained King Edward VII, King George V and the Duke of York and his family. His most distinguished public office was as Governor-General of Canada from 1916 to 1921. It was whilst attending the 25th anniversary celebrations that the generous terms of the 1914 lease were offered.
Edward William Spencer Cavendish, son of the 9th Duke and as Marquis of Hartington was made a Vice-President in 1923 at the age of 23. As the 4th President, the 10th Duke rendered the Club great service in enabling it to overcome the financial difficulties of the 2nd World War. As a keen gardener he was often seen chopping in the copse at the corner of the 16th hole, resplendent in red ducal braces and attended by his butler with a wheel-barrow. It was this love of gardening that led to his premature death in 1950, when at the age of 55, he overstrained his heart in removing a smallish oak tree from behind the house and died almost immediately. His untimely death frustrated plans, which months later would have saved his Estate savage death duties, which took nearly 20 years to settle. Compton Place contributed to necessary retrenchment, was leased to an educational organisation and has never again been occupied by the family.
The 11th Duke, Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish was only 30 years old when he inherited the title and unlike his immediate predecessors was never a member of the House of Commons, although he did serve as Minister of State, Commonwealth Relations Office between 1962 & 1964 in MacMillan's government. He has been a frequent visitor to the town and during his term as President took a personal interest in the affairs of the Club. Before his death in May 2004, his last visit to the Club was on 30 September 1999 to officially open the Millennium Lounge.
Peregrine Andrew Mornay Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire (born 27th April 1944), is the elder and only surviving son of the 11th Duke and his wife, the former Deborah Mitford . He succeeded to the Dukedom following the death of his father on 3 May 2004. He held the courtesy title Marquess of Hartington from 1950, when his grandfather the 9th Duke died suddenly of coronary thrombosis, until his succession in 2004.He is well known in the world of horse racing and serves as Her Majesty's Representative and chairman of Ascot Racecourse Ltd. In 1980 he was elected to the Jockey Club and in 1989 he was appointed its Senior Steward (ie Chairman). During his five-year term of office, he oversaw a number of changes within the racing industry, in particular the creation of the British Horseracing Board which is now the governing authority for British racing. He was appointed first Chairman of the Board in June 1993 and retired at the end of his term in 1996. He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for "services to racing" in 1997. The 12th Duke, as Lord Hartington, married Amanda Carmen Heywood-Lonsdale (also born 1944), a descendant of the Earls of Leven and Melville, on 28 June 1967, and has three children by her:
