The British Queen The British Queen Queen since 6 February 1952 HM Queen's Diamond Jubilee 2012 Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) was born on 21 April, 1926 at 17 Bruton Street, London. Her birthday is officially celebrated in Britain on the second Saturday of June each year. The day is referred to as “ the Trooping of the Colour ”, the official name is “the Queen’s Birthday Parade”. Queen Elizabeth II is a 'constitutional monarch'*. This means that although she is officially the head of the state, the country is actually run by the government, led by the Prime Minister. *The English Bill of Rights Act of 1689 curtailed the power of the sovereign and confirmed Parliaments place at the heart of the English constitution. From this date English Monarchs (now British Monarchs) would rule in partnership with Parliament. Where does the Queen live? The Queen lives at Buckingham Palace in London. Interesting Fact: There has not been a Queen of England since 1707. Queen Ann was the last ever King or Queen of England.

From 1707, the monarch, although living in England, has been known as either the Monarch of the Kingdom of Great Britain (as Queen Anne was) or of the United Kingdom (as Queen Victoria was). The Official Title of the Queen Her Majesty The Queen's title in the United Kingdom is: 'Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. When did Queen Elizabeth come to the throne? Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne on February 6, 1952 upon the death of her father, King George VI . Her Coronation, at Westminster Abbey, followed on June 2, 1953. (A new king or Queen begins to rule as soon as their succession to the throne has been announced. But the coronation - when the crown is placed on the monarch's head - may not happen until months later.) The queen celebrated her Golden jubilee (50 years since her accession) in 2002. Head of State Queen Elizabeth II is the United Kingdom's Head of State.

She is queen of 16 former British colonies, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand; and head of the Commonwealth, a multinational body created after the dissolution of the British empire. Follow this link to find out what jobs the Queen does Who is the Queen married to? The Queen as married to the HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the son of Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark. They married on 20 November 1947. The Duke is Queen Elizabeth's third cousin; they share Queen Victoria as a great-great-grandmother. Why is Queen Elizabeth II's husband a prince rather than a king? In the British monarchy, the husband of a female monarch does not have any recognized special status, rank, or privileges. Prince Philip was a prince from birth. He is the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and was born Prince of Greece and Denmark. Upon his marriage to then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947, Philip was given the title "Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merion, and Baron Greenwich," and was made a Knight of the Garter. (He became a British citizen around this time and renounced his Greek and Danish titles).

Elizabeth II was coronated in 1953, and in 1957, she granted Philip the title "Prince of the United Kingdom." Interesting Fact: The wife of a male monarch (e.g. the Queen Mother was the wife of King George VI) takes on her husband's rank and style upon marrying, becoming Queen. She is known as the Queen consort ( wife and consort of a reigning king) ( A consort is a spouse , usually of royalty.) What is Queen Elizabeth's surname? The Queen does not normally use a surname (she doesn't need a passport or a driving licence for example), but on the few occasions where it has been necessary, i.e. when serving with the ATS during World War II, she has used the surname 'Windsor'. (source: The British royal family changed their last name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917. Why? World War One broke out in 1914 and anti-German sentiment was its height in 1917. In protest, King George V renounced all the German titles belonging to him and his family and adopted the name of his castle, Windsor.

From 8 February 1960, all The Queen's descendants who do not bear the "style, title or attribute of HRH, and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess" have the name of Mountbatten-Windsor. (Mountbatten as Prince Philip's surname). Royal Homes Among the official royal residences are Buckingham Palace , Windsor Castle , St. James Palace , Balmoral Castle , Frogmore House, The Palace of Holyroodhouse , Sandringham House and Kensington Palace. Interesting Fact: The only time when there was no King or Queen in England was when the country was a republic between 1649 and 1660. ( In 1649 King Charles I was executed and England became a Republic for eleven years. The monarchy was restored in 1660.) A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal and Imperial Titles 1. Introduction. 1.1. Description. This is a web version of a FAQ originally developed for <alt.talk.royalty>. 1.2. Scope.

This document limits itself to collecting, organizing and defining the various imperial, royal, princely, and noble titles encountered in Europe and may be considered a work of lexicography. A good dictionary knows when to provide additional information, especially when the cultural or historical background of the terms discussed are part of something the expected readership cannot be presumed to know as a matter of general knowledge. On the other hand, it should be noted that this is not a formal work; rather it is an ongoing thing developed for my own education and entertainment as much as for that of anyone else who may read it. 1.3. Limitations. As stated, this attempts to limit itself to titles, and these titles are exclusively European; in the future, I would like see sections on non-European titles, i.e., Islamic and Asian, but this falls outside my present competence. Other questions, such as specific national usages are not as yet addressed in adequate detail. The question of styles, i.e., the way a sovereign or noble is addressed ("Her Royal Highness", "Your Grace"), is mentioned only in passing.

There are times, however, when the distinction between "style" and "title" is unclear, and I make no claim to consistency or precision when calling something a title. François Velde has the most serene highness of a site that discusses styles: 1.4. Organization. I have used the British system as the departure point for my discussions, as this is the one most familiar to the expected readership. However, a major caution is necessary: the British system is narrower, somewhat more exclusive and altogether, much tidier than those found on the continent, where one encounters a larger number of titles and what seems to be finer gradations between them. For example, "prince" is often a grade above the merely noble but is not quite royal, while the distinctions between the different species of "Graf" in the German system makes a full correlation with the British system impossible. 1.5 Version History. Preliminary versions of this were posted on <alt.talk.royalty> as well as circulated privately. A version has been posted to news.answers and alt.answers. This web version is a revision of that and by the next official posting of the ascii-version of the FAQ, the two will hopefully be in complete accord.

1.6. Invitation. As always, comments, corrections and kvetches are welcomed. You may respond on the newsgroup alt.talk.royalty and/or to me via e-mail. I do not claim to be infallible -- nor even completely accurate, though I make every effort to be so. Much of this work represents the contributions culled from others more knowledgeable than I, and if this is to develop further, additional such contributions are actively solicited. In particular, I would like fuller information on the actual words used in the various European languages for titles such as "count", "duke", etc, as well as information on the patterns of noble titles found in each European nation-state. 1.7. Credits. First, I need to thank the regular posters on a.t.r., but especially, Louis Epstein, Shinjinee Sen, Jacqueline Ximenes, D.A. Willis, Patrick O'Shea, Guy Stair Sainty, Stan Brown, Deven Mercer, Jeff Leader, William Addams Reitweisner, Mark Anthony Rodriguez and Marlene Eilers Koenig.

A very special thanks needs to be given to François Velde, both for his contributions as well as his hosting of this web page at his site. 1.8. Future Growth. There is much that could and should be added, just in terms of titles, especially German ones. I would like to see individual sections dedicated to individual national usages. François Velde's web site has good material on the French practices; nothing comparable, however, exists for Iberian or Italian usages (the latter of which is quite complex), and I really only touch the surface when it comes to the multilayered and at times seemingly paradoxical system found in German lands. 1.9. Copyright Notice. For non-commercial purposes only, this FAQ may be freely copied, distributed or quoted in any medium with the understanding that full credit shall be given. All other rights are reserved by myself. 2. Sovereigns and Sovereignty. "Sovereign" (in the European sense) is a technical term, both noun and adjective. In times past, a sovereign was sovereign, i.e., answerable only to God for his actions.

Only the Pope is sovereign in this sense today (as head of the Vatican City State), with Princes Rainier of Monaco and Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein coming a relatively close second. More generally, a sovereign is any hereditary head-of-state, whatever the title, and whatever constitutional powers the sovereign may have. For the purposes of this document, "sovereign" refers to a ruling head of state and need not be royal or imperial. Luxembourg is headed by a grand duke; Liechtenstein and Monaco are headed by princes. Liechtenstein and Luxembourg are both sovereign states and their heads of state are sovereigns. While Prince Rainier of Monaco is a sovereign, in strict terms Monaco is not a sovereign state, its semi-dependent relationship to France governed by treaty. Andorra is similarly not strictly a sovereign state. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not part of the United Kingdom but feudal dependencies of the British Crown and also lack sovereignty, as do Britain's various colonial leftovers. Before the unifications of Germany and Italy, there were a welter of sovereign or essentially sovereign states ruled by variously-titled sovereigns -- electors (in German, "Kurfürst"), margraves, etc.

The families ruling these formerly independent states are for the most part still dynastically significant today. 3. Nobles and Nobility. Romans recognized three orders: patricians, equestrians and plebeians, and earlier, before the foundation of the republic, a fourth: royalty. Added to this, there was the concept of nobilis; to be noble meant you were descended from someone who had been Consul; being a patrician was necessary to become Consul (though you could buy your way in), but to be noble was ineffably grander, at least to the Roman way of thinking. This has been turned around a bit in Italy; in Italian cities today, a "patriciate" exists which is considered to be above "mere" nobility. These notions of the Romans apply to present-day parlance. In the British system, one can discriminate between royalty, nobility, knights, gentry and commons: five grades.

The Germans tend to regard certain of what the British regard as gentry as noble, and at the highest levels, what the British define as noble resembles what the Germans regard as "princely" and in general, continental systems as a whole tend to have a broader definition of "noble". In essence, the nobility were the landowners. To be a landowner you had to be prepared to defend your right to own that land, and with the progressive disorders that lead to the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the development of the feudal system in Europe, nobility became synonymous with the military caste -- an essentially self-appointed caste. In the West, it is nearly impossible to trace any noble lineage back much before AD 800 (though the old Gaelic nobility of Ireland has a special claim to antiquity here); anything before 1100 is remarkable. The organized system of titles we have today is a rather late development, but "count", and "prince" go back to the Roman Empire. Only when it was recognized that one might have "betters" (i.e., with the organization of nation-states) did the nobles start paying attention to titles, styles, and pedigrees.

A distinction needs to be made between "nobility" and "peerage". In the British system, a peer is the holder of the title, while a noble is a member of a family headed by a peer. In the UK, such family members, while "noble", are still technically common, which is not necessarily the case elsewhere. More narrowly, a peer also sits in parliament, as with the British House of Lords or the former French House of Peers. There are some titles in the United Kingdom (e.g., the Irish peerage, when the peer lacks another English, Scots or UK title) which do not permit one to sit in the House of Lords; thus, in Scotland, the distinction of a "Lord of Parliament". See: #T4 (follow link to "Scottish Feudal Baronies") Something also needs to be said about "title inflation". While the British system is tidily exclusive, this is not the case in other systems. As explained below, some systems (as with France) have long tolerated "courtesy titles", a putative title of nobility that has no basis in fact.

In other cases, all the descendants of a noble have a title, the title holder, as in Italy, being styled "Duke of Suchandsuch", with everyone else being titled "Firstname of the Dukes (or Marquesses, etc) of Suchandsuch". François Velde writes about the French situation: Nowadays, anyone descended from a count uses the style of count (although "le comte Pierre de X" is distinguished from "Pierre, comte de X" who is the real title-holder). That makes it seem like many counts. Since there are only about 1000 authentic titles, the share of titles/peerages to population is similar to England. In Germany, since the Weimar Republic, all titles are considered part of one's last name. Thus, a real title holder can "adopt" an adult, and the otherwise unrelated person then can become "Joe Schmuck Duke of Saxony" (this is the case of ZsaZsa's hubby); the practice is alluded to in Billy Wilder's film, One Two Three (Cagney's last film before Ragtime).

Then there is the matter of how the nobility of a previous state was incorporated into that of a successor state or regime. This particularly applies to Germany as well as Italy, but also applies to the case of the United Kingdom (with the Scots and Irish peerages) and in France, how titles granted after the ancien regime are handled. The term "mediatization" is often applied here. On occasion, all of this becomes very involved, a topic hotly (and voluminously) debated. Outside the British system, the reader is cautioned about taking any title at immediate face value, as a thousand years of history, succeeding states, differing usages, vast quantities of personal vanity, as well as not a little fraud may be involved; it is not without good reason that Dumas, Trollope, et al. had fun casting faux Italian nobles as charming (or not-so-charming) villains. Even in Britain, the recent practice of peddling lordships of the manor (feudal leftovers so devoid of meaning that Parliament has never seen fit to abolish them) testifies to the problems; see for a discussion of "English Lordships of the Manor" (follow link); especially see "Caveat Emptor".

4. Imperial Titles. Russian Tsar, Tsarina "Emperor" comes from the Latin imperator, roughly "commander", a title which ancient Roman armies "spontaneously" hailed a victorious general by; this entitled the general to a triumph (a sort of ancient Tournament of Roses Parade and Bowl Game). It was one of the titles of the Roman Emperor. Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into East and West, with two emperors, each emperor being "Imperator" and "Augustus". Each co-emperor had associates, termed "caesars". This system proved unworkable, but the division of the Empire was permanent by about AD 395. The fall of the Western Empire is traditionally dated to August 23, 476 when Odoacer was crowned King of Italy. Romulus II, or alternately, Julius II Nepos, is considered the last Western Emperor. "Caesar", as a title of the Roman Emperor, or an associate of an emperor, entered both German and Russian as the word for "emperor" (respectively, "kaiser" and "tsar"); the Bulgarian word "tsar" is usually translated to "king".

In English and the western Romance languages, "imperator" was the word that won out. The Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire continued up to 1453, when Constantinople fell to the forces of the Ottoman Turks under Mehmet II. The last Byzantine Emperor was Constantine XI. It has been said that as Rome began and ended with a Romulus, so Constantinople began and ended with a Constantine. A list of Eastern and Western Roman Emperors is available at Imperium Romanorum: On Christmas Day, AD 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Roman Emperor, i.e., Western Emperor. The Eastern Emperor (by now, the Byzantine Emperor) acceded to this. This is the start of the Holy Roman Empire, which would continue for a thousand years, until 1806. This was the first "thousand-year reich". "Charlemagne" is Old French for "Charles-le-magne" or "Charles the Great". In German, he referred to as "Karl der Große". In Latin, this is Carolus Magnus. He is counted as King Charles I of France and as Holy Roman Emperor Charles (or Karl) I.

Napoleon I was vested with "the imperial dignity" by a law of the French Senate in May 1804. A referendum approved the hereditary character of that dignity in his family. He abdicated in April 1814, returned for a brief interlude (the 100 Days) in March-June 1815 and abdicated again. (--François Velde) The son of Napoleon I by Marie-Louise of Austria is counted as Napoleon II. He is usually treated in historic and encyclopedic works under his Austrian title, Duke of Reichstadt. Emperor Napoleon III was the first Napoleon's nephew. Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, president of the French Republic, instigated a coup on Dec. 2, 1851 and had himself proclaimed Emperor in 1852; he abdicated in 1870 consequent to France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. The 1852-70 period is called the Second Empire. (--(mostly) François Velde) In 1804, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II assumed the title of Austrian Emperor as Francis I (in German, Franz).

On August 6, 1806, he disclaimed the title of Holy Roman Emperor, which is as good a date as any to mark the decease of Holy Roman Empire. The use of the numeral was a decision on the part of Franz himself. Emperors of Austria Karl (Charles) 1916-1918 Dr. Otto von Habsburg is the present head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine; he is the son of Emperor Karl and Empress-Consort Zita. The headship of Habsburg-Lorraine may pass to the Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, the husband of Princess Astrid of Belgium (who is anticipated to eventually become queen-regnant, as her brother, Crown Prince Phillippe, seems disinclined to marry); if this happens, the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine may again wear a crown, in the person of (the probable) future King Amedeo of Belgium. In 1871, at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the King of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor (Deutscher Kaiser) at Versailles.

Considering the number of ruling or reigning kings, grand dukes, margraves, etc, to be found in the now-unified Germany, the assumption of the imperial title was not unreasonable. It also symbolized the emergence of Germany as a world power. This was "the second reich". German Emperors Wilhelm II 1888-1918 Kaiser Friedrich was also King Friedrich III of Prussia; Prussia is wholly defunct as a state since the Potsdam Conference following World War II. The present head of the (imperial) House of Hohenzollern is Prince Georg Friedrich (born 1976); he is the great-great-grandson of Wilhelm II through his father and grandfather, both of whom were named Louis Ferdinand, and his great-grandfather, Crown Prince Wilhelm. There are Hohenzollerns in the legitimate male line senior in descent to Georg Friedrich, but they have been denied succession rights due to unequal marriages. This German-language web site contains a very complete list of the margraves, electors and kings of Brandenburg-Prussia: The Russian monarchy was different from those in the West.

The Russians considered themselves a kind of "New Rome" after the fall of Byzantium to the Turks. Until the reforms of Tsar Peter I ("the Great"), the word "tsar" was used exclusively; thereafter, he decreed "emperor" was to be the term used when translating "tsar" into other European languages. For the francophile, often francophone Russian aristocracy, the equivalence of "tsar" and "emperor" became complete. Notwithstanding this, the Russian monarchy, the Russian Church and much of Russian society was originally based on the Byzantine model, something evident even today. Note that the Russian tsars called themselves "autocrats", after the Byzantine term for emperor, "autokrator". There is some controversy about who represents the authentic Romanov heir, but Maria Vladimirovna, the daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Kyrillovich (first cousin of Tsar Nicholas II), and her son, George Romanov, seem to have the strongest claim. A tsarist restoration in Russia seems unlikely, but some sort of "official" status may develop, analogous to the status held in France by the Count of Paris as the most broadly recognized claimant to the French throne.

A list of all the Romanov tsars may be found here: The Brazilian emperors were offshoots of the Portuguese royal family. Emperor Pedro I is also counted as King Pedro IV of Portugal. Brazil became independent in 1822 with Pedro as Emperor. He abdicated in 1831. Pedro II was deposed in 1889 by a military coup. There are two pretenders to this throne, descended from Princess-Imperial Isabel, heiress of Dom Pedro II . Relatively recently, the Brazilian people were asked if they wanted a restoration as a "crowned presidency". This may yet happen; in Brazil, anything is possible. Mexico has had two emperors. The first was Augustin Iturbide; he crowned himself a la Napoleon in 1822, abdicated in 1823, and was executed in 1824. Mexico's more famous emperor was the ill-fated Maximilian, younger brother of Franz Josef of Austria. He and his consort, Carlota (the daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium and a first cousin of Queen Victoria), were crowned in 1864.

In 1867, Maximilian's position became untenable when French troops provided by Napoleon III were withdrawn. Instead of fleeing, he held out to the last and was captured by the forces of Benito Juarez. Despite international pleas, Juarez had him executed by firing squad June, 9, 1867 (Maximilian is the one wearing a sombrero in Manet's famous painting of this event). In the United Kingdom, the Assumption of Titles Act (1877) granted to Queen Victoria the title Empress of India. This was mostly a reaction to the "inflation" of imperial titles (Germany, Brazil, Austria, Russia), but was also a recognition that the British Raj had supplanted the old Mogul dynasty. King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (mother of the present British sovereign) were the last Emperor and Empress-Consort of India. It is said that Mussolini proclaimed King Victor Emmanuel of Italy "Emperor of Ethiopia". 5. Ruling Titles.

Romania Yugoslavia There are other kingdoms which became defunct early in the 20th century or in previous centuries, the dynasties of which are still regarded as significant, firstly France, but particularly in Germany (e.g, Bavaria, Württemberg). The former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is also significant in this regard. Of these former monarchies, at present only Romania seems to have a reasonable chance at seeing a restoration, though Greece and Bulgaria are other possibilities. The former kings of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania (respectively, Simeon , Constantine II and Michael) are all still alive and are still very much interested in their homelands and the dynastic prospects of their families. More distantly in time, there were other kingdoms and dynasties. Bohemia was once a kingdom. There was an elective monarchy in Poland, but this became extinct when Poland was partitioned between Prussia, Russia and Austria. Burgundy was absorbed into France, but had an illustrious history. In Spain, Navarre and Castille were just two of the kingdoms that united to form the state we know today.

The "kingdoms" of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are two formerly separate kingdoms, England (joined with the Principality of Wales) and Scotland , plus a rump of a third former kingdom, Ireland. What is now Italy has a very jumbled history, but there were kingdoms to be found there too, among them, the old Norman Kingdom of Sicily, the Kingdom of Sardinia (which lead to the modern Italian state), and the curiously-named Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . We might also mention the old Crusader-founded Kingdom of Jerusalem. 5.2. Other Ruling Monarchies. Three current European monarchies are headed by persons lacking the title of "king" or "queen". These are: Nation Grand Duke Jean , Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte; Hereditary Grand Duke Henri Monaco (principality) Prince Rainier III, [none]; Hereditary Prince Albert The use of "Hereditary Prince" or "Hereditary Grand Duke" is discussed under under "Imperial, Royal, and Noble Offspring". In earlier times, there were many more monarchies of this kind, variously titled as grand duchies, duchies, principalities, etc.

Most of these occurred within the bounds of the former Holy Roman Empire, or in regions adjacent to it, though in Italy, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Florence) of the Medicis (and later, as a branch of the Habsburgs) needs mentioning. Finland was a grand duchy held by the Romanovs. The brief-lived Grand Duchy of Warsaw was created by Napoleon I. Some discussion of the history of the Holy Roman Empire is necessary before many of these titles originating from it can be adequately understood. We might mention here that Luxembourg was created as a grand duchy for the House of Orange-Nassau within the German Confederation (successor of the Holy Roman Empire), while the Netherlands (including present Belgium) remained outside of the Confederation (and previously, the Empire). 5.3. The Pope. Since the signing of the Lateran treaty, the Pope has been Sovereign of the Vatican City State. Before the States of the Church were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy, the Pope was similarly a territorial sovereign (this was the central part of Italy from Rome north).

Almost all nations of the world recognize the Vatican as a sovereign nation-state, albeit a peculiar one, and maintain diplomatic relations with it -- including the United States. A complete listing and brief biographies of all the popes may be found here: 6. The Holy Roman Empire and the German System. Holy Roman Emperor was an elective office. However, dynastic politics made it effectively hereditary, first with the Hohenstaufen, then, except for a brief period, the Habsburgs. For the Habsburgs, an imperial election was still necessary for an emperor to enter into his reign, and this was done by the Electors (in German, Kurfürst, Kurfürstin). The number of electors grew over time; at the dissolution of the empire these were: Temporal Palatinate Saxony The power of the Holy Roman Emperor was limited and the nobles who putatively owed him allegiance were oftentimes sovereign in all but name, particularly in the latter stages of the Empire.

Some of these magnates held lands outside the Empire as kings; the Elector of Brandenburg (as King in Prussia, then with Frederick the Great and his successors as King of Prussia) and the Elector of Hanover (Kings George I through George III of the United Kingdom) are two such cases. Within the Empire, these powerful families ruled as electors, grand dukes, dukes, margraves, landgraves, and princes. With the extinction of the Holy Roman Empire, kingdoms emerged out of the former Imperial domains, each headed by its own royal house: Bavaria Prussia (additional lands within the old Empire) Württemberg The Austrian Habsburgs, accustomed to being imperial, assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in 1804. Later, the "dual-monarchy" was established, with the Habsburgs as Emperors of Austria and Kings of Hungary, the combined realm being known as "Austria-Hungary". The other magnates often became entirely independent grand dukes, etc., usually retaining their old titles, but sometimes assuming (on occasion, unilaterally) a grander one.

Some of these titles and styles are only approximately equivalent to those encountered in European nations outside the borders of the former Empire. All of this was settled at the Congress of Vienna, and the British equivalencies are determined by starting (but not ending) with the protocols hammered out there; part of this was a process referred to as "mediatizing". Mediatization is very important in the German system. It refers to formerly ruling houses who maintained their dynastic rights even when they lost sovereignty over territory. It meant that even if they no longer ruled, they were still "equal" in dynastic dignity to the luckier families that did retain sovereignty over lands and would remain equal provided their members married equally. The word "ebenbürtigkeit", "equal-birth-ness" is often found in this context, and seems to be naturalizing itself into English with the sense of "equal marriage", as an antonym for "morganatic" (unequal marriage). An unequal, or morganatic marriage meant (and still often does mean) that any child of such a marriage will be denied succession rights and will have a lesser status than that of an ebenbürtigkeit cousin.

The word "mediatize" refers to the "immediate" person the magnate owed allegiance to; originally this was the Emperor, but after 1815, many of the smaller magnates were placed under the authority of one of the new entirely sovereign states in what is now Germany. Incorrectly or not, this term, (mediatization) has also been applied to other no-longer reigning or ruling houses which were never part of the Holy Roman Empire, e.g., the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies which was consolidated with the Kingdom of Italy or to the ancient royal and noble houses of Armenia and Georgia in their relationship to the Russian throne. What should be kept in mind here is that formerly ruling or reigning houses (royal or not) are carefully distinguished from (formerly) non-ruling or non-reigning houses in the German system, with the former taking precedence before the latter -- whatever the actual title may be. Of similar but lesser importance is the distinction between "old" and "new" (post-1800 creation) nobility. If all of this makes the Germans seem insufferable snobs, you're not far off track.

Outside of the Empire, each nation-state evolved its own system and nomenclature. For the most part, the different systems are parallel, but there are important distinctions and exceptions that one should be aware of, particularly when distinguishing non-royal but otherwise formerly sovereign houses from those which are merely noble. 7. Imperial, Royal, and Noble Offspring. Some titles were reserved exclusively for an imperial or royal child. Othertimes, the child was given an otherwise noble title. The heir of a noble often bears a distinctive style as well. In English, a prince is the child (and in the male line, a grandchild) of the king or queen-regnant (and in the direct line of succession, the great-grandchildren of the sovereign), and are styled a "royal highness". This nomenclature applies to the children of continental kings and queens-regnant, at least when speaking English. What distinguishes a style from a title here is unclear. "Dauphin" for the French heir or "Prince of Wales" for the British, while a title, is really more of a style.

The same can be said for "Prince [or Princess] of Asturias" for the Spanish heir, but "infante" for a Spanish prince of the blood seems closer to a title as we have been using the term; one may say the same thing about the Habsburg use of "Erzherzog". Title and style for imperial and royal offspring varies from dynasty-to-dynasty. What might be thought of in English as being a non-royal title may in fact be a very royal title in another place. Most people are aware of the distinction between a royal prince, as with the United Kingdom, and a ruling prince, as with Monaco or Liechtenstein, but are probably confused about who takes precedence over who (a ruling prince usually takes precedence; this is all governed by international protocol). The potential for confusion is also present with grand dukes, as a ruling grand duke would normally outrank the child of a Russian tsar. The child of a Habsburg emperor was referred to as an archduke or archduchess (Erzherzog or Erzherzogin), a style used by the Habsburgs as far back as the 14th century.

It extended to his grandchildren in the direct line of succession. Absent another specific term, the English term for the heir-apparent to an imperial throne was "Prince [or Princess] Imperial", as with Napoleon III's son, Prince-Imperial Eugene, or the heiress of Dom Pedro II of Brazil, Princess-Imperial Isabel, which in fact was also the form in French and Portuguese. The German system often makes use of the prefix "Erb" for the heir to a title as with "Erbgraf" whereas the British system prefers using a lesser "courtesy title". William Addams Reitwiesner writes: "Erb" in German (in this sense) means "hereditary"[. . . .] The oldest son and heir of a Mediatized Count would be an "Erbgraf". The oldest son and heir of a Grand Duke would be an "Erbgroßherzog". And so on. Another way of spelling the title would be "Erb-Prinz" or "Erb-Graf", etc. The wives of these men have equivalent feminine titles, such as"Erbprinzessin", "Erbgräfin", "Erbgroßherzogin", etc.

The French form is "prince heredetaire", "comte heredetaire" "grand-duc heredetaire", etc. (toss in accents as appropriate). In French usage, Prince Albert of Monaco, as heir to Prince Rainier, is a "prince-heredetaire", and Prince Alois, the heir of Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein is, in German usage, an "Erbprinz". "Hereditary Prince" and "Hereditary Grand Duke" sound alien in English, but this is how they must be translated. This German usage, however, does not extend to royalty; for the Germans, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is a "Kronprinzessin" and Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is a "Kronprinz". The heir to a French ducal title is sometimes styled "Prince of Suchandsuch", but this is more a "courtesy title" (see François Velde's comments under "Prince"), and roughly corresponds to the British practice of the heir to a peerage using a lesser title held by the actual peer, as with the marquessate of Blandford for the Dukes of Marlborough .

In the Russian system, "grand duke" is the English term for the son of a tsar, a translation for "velikiy knyaz" (which might be better translated as "great [or grand] prince"). For a grand duchess, the Russian term is "velikiy knyazhna" if unmarried, "velikiy knyagina" if married. This is a title that was used by the Grand Dukes of Muscovy. In German, this is termed Großfürst or Großfürstin (vs. "Großherzog" = Grand Duke). This is considered equivalent to archduke or archduchess, but needs to be distinguished from sovereign grand dukes (as with Luxembourg). Generically, the son of a Russian tsar was termed a "tsarevich", a daughter "tsarovna". "Tsesarevich" or "cesarevich" has been stated to be a title reserved for the eldest son of the tsar. The son of a Spanish king or queen-regnant is termed an infante, a daughter an infanta, in distinction to "principe" or "princesa".

The king or queen-regnant's heir, however, is always styled Prince or Princess of Asturias (Principe de Asturias). A Princess of Asturias can be "demoted" to mere infanta by the advent of a baby brother; the wife of the Prince of Asturias, however, is styled the Princess of Asturias. 8. Prince and Fürst, Grand Duke, Margrave, Count-Palatine, and Landgrave. 8.1. Prince and Fürst. Russian Knyaz, Knyazhna "Prince" has a long history. When the Emperor Augustus accepted the title from the Roman Senate, it meant "first among equals", as in "primus inter pares". It remained one of the titles of the Roman Emperor. The English word "principal" retains some of this meaning. In German, the idea has been translated into the title "Fürst". In the most general terms, when not referring to the children of a king, "prince" refers to a sovereign or semi-sovereign individual who has direct personal rule over a relatively small territory, as with Monaco and Liechtenstein today.

Because the Germans were much more used to minor princes than were other European states outside the Empire, and because German has the additional title of "Fürst", "Prinz" in German does not have the very royal cachet it does in English, and sometimes may be classed as a lesser title than "Herzog", or "Großherzog" depending on a particular title's history. "Fürst" is a uniquely German title that is best translated to "prince" and should be regarded as superior to "prince". It designates the head (the "first") of a princely house, or the head of a branch (or "cadet") of such a house. For example, the German form of Prince Rainier's title is "Fürst von Monaco" (Princess Grace was "Fürstin"). Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were termed "Kurfürst, Kurfürstin". "Großfürst" is the word used in German for a Russian grand duke (son of a tsar).

From these examples, we can see that in the German system (and elsewhere in continental systems), a prince is sometimes something more than a mere noble, but not necessarily royal and it is this distinction that makes comparing it with the British system difficult. In the Russian system, "knyaz" (translated as "prince", e.g., Prince Potemkin) is the highest degree of nobility, and sometimes, represents a mediatization of an older native dynasty (e.g., the Bagratians) which became subject to the Russian imperial dynasty; it was "also used by Rurikid branches, and before the Romanovs they WERE the Russian imperial dynasty." (--Louis Epstein) "Prince" is also the term used to translate the highest level of the old Gaelic nobility (see under "count"). Napoleon created princes during the First Empire, and I am told, at least one survives to the present day. François Velde comments on the usage of "prince" during the ancien regime: France, in theory, had no sovereign princes within its boundaries like Germany had, so the rank of prince was reserved for the royal family (as in England) and there was no title of prince.

However, when one looks at 10th or 11th c. charters, one sees the word princeps used synonymously with baronis, optimus, etc to designate nobles and lords. The usage disappeared in most places, with a few exceptions, where the lord of some little village was, by custom, called "prince of". In the 16th c. and 17th c. some of these lordships passed into ducal families, who then took the habit of bestowing that "princely" title on the eldest son of the current duke. 8.2. Grand Duke. Italian Gran-duca, Gran-duchesa As has been explained in earlier sections, this is a ruling (or formerly ruling) title unless it refers to the children of a Russian tsar. A sovereign grand duke or grand duchess was often a royal highness (as with Luxembourg). In German usage, you will also encounter the style of "Grand-Ducal Highness". It is difficult to decide if a Grand Duke outranks a Prince or Fürst. One has to know the history of the title.

For a discussion of the distinction between a dukedom and a duchy, see under "duke" below. 8.3. Margrave. "Margrave" and "margravine" are the English words for "Markgraf" and "Markgräfin". As a title, it is etymologically equivalent to a Marquess (see below), but as there were ruling margraves in what is now Germany, such a Markgraf was superior. 8.4. Count-Palatine. "Palatine" refers to extraordinary powers granted to a noble. The English word "palatine" means a region under the authority of a noble where the king's writ was suspended. While the noble owed allegience to the king (or Holy Roman Emperor), the holder of a palatine had absolute authority, including the right to grant titles of nobility, create knights, raise armies, coin money -- i.e., powers normally reserved to a sovereign. There were palatinates in British history, in both England and in Ireland, and could be given to either lords temporal or spiritual.

There was a case of a "bishop-palatine"; Louis Epstein reports "the English Lords Bishop of Durham used to rule a 'county palatine'". "The Palatinate", however, refers to the Rhineland Palatinate in Germany, or in German, "Rheinland-Pfalz" (as with the state in the modern Federal Republic of Germany). There was also the "Upper Palatinate", or "Oberpfalz". The Counts-Palatine of the Rhineland Palatinate (in German, "Pfalzgraf, Pfalzgräfin"), were one of the premier noble houses of the Holy Roman Empire, and were electors, i.e., the Elector-Palatine. 8.5. Landgrave. As with "margravine", "landgrave" and "landgravine" are another pair of German titles that have achieved their own regular word in English. It corresponds roughly to a count or earl, but in the case of Hesse-Homburg, it was a ruling title. The German words are Landgraf and Landgräfin. See "Earl, Count, and Graf", below. 9. Nobility.

Duque, Duqueza Related Terms: duchy, dukedom, ducal. The Latin dux was a military title that might roughly translate to "field marshal". The historical kernel of in the stories of King Arthur probably refers to a dux bellorum in charge of the forces holding off the barbarian onslaught in early post-Roman Britain. The English kings introduced the French ducal structure into the British system, and it was initially a mostly royal title (as all new creations during this century have been). In France especially after 1600, however, as well as in Britain, it has evolved into a mostly non-royal title. The idea that a duke is a royal title, however, is strong in Germany, perhaps stronger than it ever was in Britain, where all the children of the head of some ruling houses are automatically a Herzog or Herzogin, much as imperial offspring were archdukes or archduchesses. A duchy (or grand duchy) is the territory ruled by a duke (or grand duke) or the lands (and/or incomes) specifically attached to the ducal title. A dukedom is the title itself.

In the UK, there are properly only two duchies, those of Lancaster and Cornwall; these are essentially corporations holding properties that provide income for the Queen (who is "Duke" of Lancaster), and the Prince of Wales (who is also the Duke of Cornwall); as only these two dukedoms carry such special "attachments" with the title, duchies are thus a royal preserve. "Duke" is normally a very exalted title; however, when equating the dignity of some dukes, some insight is needed. For example, Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies created dukes in Naples almost by the gross, and these titles cannot be considered equal to dukes in the British or other continental systems. 9.2. Marquess. Marquez, Marqueza Related Terms: marquessate, margravate. This title glosses to "march lord", i.e. a noble in charge of the marches (the border regions) of a realm in distinction to other lords in more-settled lands. These were essentially warlords with broad powers and in this context, may be thought of as a "palatine" title.

In earlier times, it was a rare title; it was later revived as a grade between count and duke. Jeff Leader writes that "How the King Became His Majesty, by L.G. Pine, [...] says margrave (Latin: marchio or margravius, Dutch: marckgrave) occurs first in the dispositions of Charlemagne." As a senior title (about two-thirds of British dukes are also marquesses), it is not that common the United Kingdom, at least when compared to other countries (especially France where "petit marquis" was a term of derision). In Germany, margraves were ruling, heading there own little states and today are still accounted as formerly ruling houses (see the separate heading). 9.3. Earl, Count, and Graf. Latin Groef, Groefin Related Terms: earldom, comital, countly. "Earl" is related to Old Norse "jarl", and is equivalent to "count", which itself comes from the Latin comes. This in turn is related to the English word "county", which pretty much explains what a count was: the principal figure of the county.

In Roman times, the comes was a courtier, an Imperial official, and actually outranked a dux (duke). William I of England regarded the Anglo-Saxon "earl" as a synonym for "count", and while this was not correct, it was a practical equivalency. Old English lacked a feminine and thus the French term was adopted for an earl's wife as well as for women who hold earldoms in their own right. The German word "graf" seems etymologically related to the English "reeve", which comes from the Old English "gerefe". A reeve is an important appointed official, as with the "shire reeve", i.e., the "sheriff". What English divides among several words, German uses a single word with prefixes, and generally it has a broader meaning than English "earl" or "count". "Graf", then, should not be understood as being perfectly equal to "earl" or "count", but as also containing the idea of "reeve", or "important official". In German lands, offices normally thought of as being appointive and held by commoners in Great Britain could be hereditary and noble.

The House of Thurn and Taxis, for example, started out life as the Imperial postmasters, a job one would not think of in Britain as ennobling. Some will maintain that a British earl outranks any continental count. Compared to some other systems, especially those that incorporated the results of the often slapdash practices of older systems (e.g., Italy), there are proportionally fewer British earls than counts. In France and Italy, the title holder is "Firstname, the Count of /title/", while his family members are, roughly, "Firstname, of the Count of /title/". This makes countly (and other titles) seem far more common than in the UK. With "count", "title inflation" is particularly notable. François Velde, speaking of title inflation, says: Since the late 18th century (even before the Revolution) petty nobles started using titles which were never theirs. No one bothered to rebuke them publicly, and these became known as "titres de courtoisie". These totally invented titles multiplied in the 19th c.

Landgraf/landgrave (along with Pfalzgraf/Count-Palatine) is inserted here with un-prefixed graf mostly because the distinction is difficult to make outside of German. The title is equivalent neither to marquess nor viscount. A Landgraf was lower than Herzog or Markgraf, but definitely above a Graf in the pecking order. When a sovereign title, (as it was in one instance), it would outrank even a (non-ruling) duke or prince. Regarding the status of the Irish titles provided here (and under "Baron"), Patrick O'Shea writes: "Ard Tiarna" ("High Lord") and "Tiarna" ("Lord"), respectively in literal translation; the titles properly belonged only to the male holders, and the female titles were courtesy titles only ("Bantiarna" literally means "wife of a Lord"). Women could not, and still cannot, hold Gaelic feudal titles in their own right. There are no equivalent titles for other grades of nobility, as the Gaelic feudal system had fewer levels of heirarchy than the continental or Anglo-Norman systems.

In fact, many Irish Lords of great rank, which could appropriately be styled "Ard Tiarna," prefer the simpler style of "Tiarna." These titles are distinct from those created by the English Crown in Ireland (though some have the same geographical names), which naturally follow the English system. The Kingdom of Desmond lost its independence in 1596, but the titles have been retained as 'incorporeal property' as is the case with the many recognized titles granted by other non-regnant Royal Houses. For further discussions of Irish nobility and kingship, see: Tiarna, Bantiarna Related Terms: barony, baronial, baronage. Barons were originally (in Britain) those who held their lands directly from the king. Not all British nobles have baronies and many viscounts, for example, do not. (--Louis Epstein) The majority of the nobility in Britain are just plain barons. In the UK, life peers are always barons or baronesses (as with Baroness Thatcher). Once, a baron was an important noble, especially before the Renaissance.

It was the barons who brought King John to heel at Runnymede, and "robber-baron" has entered English as the term for one of the lords who collected "tolls" from Rhine river-traffic. In olden times, when there was little differentiation in degree or rank between neighboring nobles, "baron" could signify any noble, large or small, a meaning with some currency today on the continent, roughly equivalent in meaning to "peer" or "lord" in the UK. The terms "Baron, Baronin", can be found in use in German lands, but apparently not that commonly. Freiherr and Freifrau are preferred, and there seems to be a perception that "Baron" is bit under a "Freiherr". "Freiherrin" seems to be an obsolete form for a baron's wife. D.A. Willis comments: Freifrau is a wife of Freiherr, Freiin is his daughter. I used to think that Freiin was an abbreviation of Freiherrin, but I was quickly corrected by several Freiherren and Freiinen (plural of Freiin).

This is the only case in German that I am aware of where the wife and daughter have different words for their titles. The status of barons varies. It can be a very high title or something of little consequence. It is definitely a noble title, however, and needs to be clearly distinguished from "baronet". 9.6. Baronet. Related Terms: baronetcy, baronetage. This may be thought of as a hereditary knighthood. For convenience, it may also be thought of as a noble title, though there are those who would disagree, at least as used in the British system. A baronet is certainly not a peer; in the United Kingdom, baronets are not entitled to a seat in the House of Lords (unless, of course, they additionally hold a peerage). Guy Stair Sainty writes: "In Germany the rank of knight was hereditary, but it was always viewed differently from knighthood earned." The German "Ritter", when part of a last name, indicates the German equivalent of a baronetcy. A woman holding a baronetcy in her own right is termed a baronetess.

When one picks through lesser German titles, such things as "Waldgraf", Rheingraf", "Burggraf" and the such pop up. On the whole, these seem obsolete, yet, there are a few families who cling to them; they are also encountered on title-lists of otherwise far more exalted personages. The German system was more flexible when it came to titles; as has been demonstrated, it was also broader in its definition of nobility. Since we have been using the British system to classify titles, these are placed here at the end, somewhere between-and-after the British sense of Baronet-as-a-knight and Baronet-as-petty-noble. Who are the Duke of York, Duke of Kent, etc., and how did they get their titles? | HowStuffWorks Who are the Duke of York, Duke of Kent, etc., and how did they get their titles? NEXT PAGENEXT Britain's royalty and nobility fascinate the rest of the world, especially Americans. We wonder what all those titles mean and who all those people we've seen at royal weddings and funerals are.

And today (August 4, 2000) is a good day to talk about the royal family because it is the birthday of the Queen Mother, who is 100 years old. The British royal family is like other families, made up of spouses, children, grandchildren, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The head of the British royal family is Queen Elizabeth II, and she is the one who decides who are bona fide members of the family and what titles they will carry. Up Next Charles I of England Quiz To answer your question -- a duke is the highest rank you can achieve without being a king or a prince. Historically a duke is a high-ranking nobleman, land-owner or a prince, and in feudal times was the lord over part of the country. Today the titles are largely symbolic and there are 28 dukedoms. Some people (like Prince Charles) have several dukedoms and some dukedoms are unassigned. When a duke who does not have an heir dies, the title returns to the royal family to be given out to someone new. Not everyone who carries the title duke or earl is a member of today's royal family.

Britain has a system of peerage, which ranks members of the nobility and aristocracy. Many titles of nobility were won many years ago through great wealth, favors to the king or good deeds and are passed on from one generation to the next. This is known as the inherited peerage. For example, Earl Spencer, the brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is the ninth man in his family to carry that title. Before he became Earl Spencer (note that the practice is to drop the "of") upon the death of his father, he was known as Charles Spencer or as Viscount Althorp, a title that his son, Louis, now carries. Other noble titles are given on merit or on special occasions. The life peerage are titles that the monarch confers on exceptional people during their lifetimes, and those titles do not pass to children or descendents. Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister of Britain, is now Baroness Thatcher. The British prime minister consults with the queen about who is deserving of a life peerage, and several people are elevated to the peerage every year.

Life peers get a seat in the House of Lords, but a law passed in 1999 limits the right of hereditary peers to have a seat. The order of the titles in British Isles nobility from highest to lowest are: Duke (and duchess): The name is derived from the Latin dux, which means leader. Most dukedoms carry a place name, although that means little to the modern titles because the holders are not the sovereigns of a land area. Marquess or marquis (and marchioness): This title appeared in England with the Norman conquest and was given to nobles who were in charge of border areas. The name is related to older words for a frontier. Earl (and countess): The name comes from a Norse word, jarl, which meant leader. It is equivalent to a count in European nobility. Viscount (and viscountess): Pronounced VI-count, this title derives from the Latin comes for a companion and was sort of an assistant nobleman in the old days. Baron (and baroness): The lowest rank of nobility came to England with the Normans, also, and the word is derived from the Norman word for a freeman.

If you have a life peerage this is the highest title you can carry. Below these are the lower nobility, who carry the titles: Baronet: This title is granted to members of the upper classes, referred to as the gentry. The story is that King James I created the title to raise money. Knight: In medieval times, knights were the soldiers of the king or of princes. Now, the queen grants knighthood to her subjects who have achieved great success in their professions. Paul McCartney, the former Beatle, has been knighted. The female equivalent is dame. Esquire: In medieval times, an esquire was a candidate for knighthood. Nowadays, it is applied to members of the gentry just below knights. The queen bestowed titles on her sons at their marriages and gave her daughter a special title. She has several titles that are hers to do with as she wishes. If an inherited peer dies without an heir, the title becomes the crown's property. Some titles that the queen's sons hold are part of the Scottish or Irish peerage. The princes' titles can be inherited by their sons. According to the royal family's official Web site, here are the members of the family today: Queen Elizabeth II.

When Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in 1926, no one expected her to become the queen. Her father, the Duke of York, was Prince Albert, the second oldest son of King George V, and his older brother, Prince Edward, was the heir apparent to the throne. Prince Edward did become King Edward VIII when George V died in early 1936. But in one of the most famous scandals of the 20th century, Edward abdicated the throne because he wanted to marry a twice-divorced American woman named Wallis Simpson. So, in late 1936, Prince Albert became King George VI, and his older daughter became the heir presumptive, meaning that unless her parents had a son, she would succeed to the throne. Elizabeth became queen at her father's death in 1952. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The queen's husband, like the queen, is a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, and he was a member of both the Greek and Danish royal families. He spent a great deal of his childhood in England and served in the Royal Navy. He gave up his royal title and became a British citizen as a young adult.

He received his noble title just before he and then Princess Elizabeth wed in 1947. He can't be king because that would actually give him a rank higher than his wife's. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Born Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, the widow of King George VI celebrates her 100th birthday Aug. 4, 2000. She is beloved in Britain, not just because of her royal standing, her aristocratic birth and her grandmotherly demeanor, but because she stayed in London during the horrible bombing in World War II when she could have taken her children to a safer place in the countryside. She and her daughter are the only two members of the royal family who are referred to as "Her Majesty," an address that is reserved for kings and queens. Everyone else in good standing is "His Royal Highness" or "Her Royal Highness." The Prince of Wales. The queen has given her oldest son, Prince Charles, several titles, chief among them prince of Wales. That is the traditional title carried by the heir to the British throne.

He is also Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick and Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. His sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, are second and third in the line of succession after Charles. Their mother, of course, was Diana, whose death in 1997 caused an outpouring of grief across Britain and around the world. The Duke of York. The queen's second son, Andrew, is also Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, titles his mother gave him when he married. His wife, Sarah Ferguson, became the Duchess of York, and even though the couple divorced in 1996, she is known as Sarah, Duchess of York. She lost the right to be addressed as "Her Royal Highness" though. Their daughters are Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Because Prince Andrew has no sons, his title will not be passed on to an heir. It is the crown's property, in a sense, and upon the current Duke of York's death, a king or queen in the future could give the title to another man. The Earl of Wessex.

The youngest son of the queen prefers to be called Edward Windsor when he is working as a television producer, but he is listed as the Earl of Wessex in the royal family. He became a earl at his marriage in 1999 to Sophie Rhys-Jones, who is now the Countess of Wessex. It is unusual for the son of a sovereign to have a title no higher than earl. The Princess Royal. The queen gave her only daughter, Princess Anne, this special title in 1987. It is a title that traditionally can only be given to the monarch's oldest daughter, but not all oldest daughters get the title. The Princess Royal, married for the second time and the mother of two, is considered the hardest working member of the royal family. She sponsors many charitable causes. The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. The queen's younger sister and only sibling became Countess of Snowdon when her then-husband was named Earl of Snowdon at their marriage in 1960. They have been divorced since 1978. Their two children are Lord Linley and Lady Sarah. Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.

Princess Alice is the widow of the Duke of Gloucester. Her husband, Prince Henry, was the third son of King George V, the queen's grandfather. Her son is now the Duke of Gloucester. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Prince Richard is Princess Alice's son and the queen's cousin, and the duchess is his wife, the former Birgitte van Deurs. He inherited his father's title, even though he was a second born son because his older brother died in an accident some years before his father died. The Duke and Duchess of Kent. The duke is the queen's cousin, Prince Edward. His father was the fourth son of King George V. The Duke of Kent inherited his title from his father, who died in an accident in 1942. The Duchess of Kent is the former Katharine Worsley. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Prince Michael is the younger brother of the Duke of Kent. The prince's wife is known as Princess Michael of Kent, even though her given name is Marie-Christine. That is the nobility's way of indicating that she is a princess by marriage, not by birth. Prince Michael is no longer in the line of succession for the throne.

He gave up his spot when he married Princess Michael, a Roman Catholic divorcee, but the two still perform royal duties and represent the queen at weddings and funerals. Princess Alexandra. She is the sister of the Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent. Her husband is Sir Angus Ogilvy, and they have two children. Here are some interesting links.

Question: Who was the last person to hold the title ‘Queen of Ireland’?
Answer: Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother