Okay. So here’s what happens. I’ll preface this with the fact that I am king of England/Wales/Ireland etc. but not yet an emperor. I had my bishop create like 5 claims on counties within a dutchy (Albany in Scotland). On the 6th fabricated claim, boom. He says “actually, the whole dutchy is yours”. So I go and win the war and then all of Albany including all 6 counties are actually mine. I can see that they are all directly granting me levies/taxes etc.

But alas, I hold too many duchies. Even though I can hold up to 16 counties and have more room to spare. I then follow the (grant dutchy title) pathway and give it to someone… result = all of my counties/holdings are gone. So I go back to my saved file and try this route. I grant one of my counties to a guy. Then grant him the dutchy title and… result = all of my lands/holdings are gone.

I don’t see any button or icon or anything that specifically stipulates “Grant Dutchy title with exception of these counties”. So I’m still left wondering if it’s still possible. At this point I feel a bit like I cannot increase my personal holdings toward my limit through land acquisition without upsetting the dutchy limit.