British princess

The use of title of Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is entirely at the will of the Sovereign. Individuals holding the title of princess are styled Her Royal Highness. Since King George V's Letters Patent of 30 November 1917, the title Princess and the use of the style Royal Highness has generally been restricted to the following persons:

• The daughters of a British Sovereign;
• The granddaughters of a British Sovereign in the male-line;
• The wife of a British prince

Princesses of the blood royal and princesses by marriage

Under the current practice, princesses of the blood royal are the legitimate daughters and the male-line granddaughters of a British Sovereign. They are dynasts, that is potential successors to the throne. For these individuals, the title "Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" and the style "Her Royal Highness" is an entitlement for life. The title Princess and the style Royal Highness is prefixed to the Christian name, before another title of honor. From 1714 until 1917, the male-line great granddaughters of the Sovereign were titled "Princess of Great Britain and Ireland" with the style "Highness." Since 1917, the male-line great granddaughters of the Sovereign, have held "the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes." For example, the daughters of the current Duke of Gloucester, a male line grandson of George V, are styled The Lady Davina Windsor and The Lady Rose Windsor.

Princesses by marriage are the recognized wives of the Sovereign's sons and male line grandsons. Generally, these women are entitled to the style Royal Highness by virtue of marriage. They retain the style during their widowhood. However, Queen Elizabeth II issued Letters Patent dated 21 August 1996 that stated that any woman divorced from a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with the style "Royal Highness" would no longer be entitled to the style "Royal Highness."

Since the passage of the 1772 Royal Marriages Act, there have been several instances in which princes of the blood contracted marriages in contravention of that act and several instances in which the Sovereign withheld the style "Her Royal Highness" from a prince's wife deemed to be unsuitable. For example, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, a male-line grandson of King George III, married Sarah Louisa Fairbrother, in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act. Although morganatic marriage did not exist in British law, the duke's wife was never titled the Duchess of Cambridge or accorded the style "Her Royal Highness." Instead, she known as "Mrs. FitzGeorge." Most famously, King George VI issued Letters Patent dated 27 May 1937 that entitled the Duke of Windsor "to hold and enjoy for himself only the title style or attribute of Royal Highness so however that his wife and descendants if any shall not hold the said title style or attribute."

The wife of a prince of the blood takes her husband's Christian name in her title as do all married royal women. For example, upon her marriage to Prince Michael of Kent in 1978, Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz assumed the title and style of "Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent." Similarly, upon her marriage to then Prince Richard of Gloucester, the former Birgitte van Deurs assumed the title and style of "Her Royal Highness Princess Richard of Gloucester."

The situation is slightly different when a woman is married to a prince who happens to be a peer or the Prince of Wales. Upon marriage, the wife the Prince of Wales becomes "Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales." Upon marriage, the wife of a royal duke (or earl) becomes "Her Royal Highness The Duchess (or Countess) of X." When Prince Richard of Gloucester succeeded to his father's dukedom in 1974, his wife become "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester."

It is technically incorrect to refer to the wife of a royal peer only as "Princess Husbandsfirstname" alone. However, you can refer to her as "Princess Husbandsfirstname, Peerage Title." So, if a woman marries HRH The Duke of Cambridge, she may not be referred to as "HRH The Princess George," but she may be called "HRH The Princess George, Duchess of Cambridge."

History

The title Princess Royal came into being in 1642 when Queen Henrietta Maria, French-born the wife of King Charles I) wished to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the French King was styled (Madame Royale). However, there was no settled practice on the use of the title princess for the Sovereign's younger daughters or male-line granddaughters. For example, as late as the time of King Charles II, the daughters of his brother James, Duke of York, both of whom became queens regent, were called simply "The Lady Mary" and "The Lady Anne." The future Queen Anne was styled princess in her marriage treaty to Prince George of Denmark and then styled "Princess Anne of Denmark" once married.

After the accession of George I, the children, male line grandchildren, and male line great grandchildren of the British Sovereign were automatically titled "Prince or Princess of Great Britain and Ireland" and styled "Royal Highness" (in the case of children and male line grandchildren) or "Highness" (in the case of male line great grandchilren). Queen Victoria confirmed this practice in Letters Patent dated 30 January 1864 (the first Act of the Prerogative dealing with the princely title in general terms).

Letters Patent, Royal Warrants, and Implied Grants

Since 1864, there are have been several Acts of Prerogative specifically dealing with the titles of princess of the blood royal and princesses by marriage.

On 5 November 1905, Edward VII ordered Garter King of Arms to gazzette his female-line granddaughters, Lady Alexandra Duff and Lady Maud Duff, as Princesses of Great Britain and Ireland with the style Highness and precedence immediately after all members of the British Royal Family styled Royal Highness. On the same day, the King declared their mother, Princess Louise the Princess Royal.

Princess Patricia of Connaught, a male line granddaughter of Queen Victoria, was allowed by King George V's Royal Warrants of 25 February 1919 to "relinquish the style of Royal Highness and the title of Princess of Great Britain and Ireland" and to assume the style of "Lady Patricia Ramsay" (precedence immediately before Marchionesses of England) upon the solemnization of her marriage to Commander the Honourable Alexander Ramsay, R.N. This change in style and title did not affect Lady Patricia Ramsay's membership in the Royal Family or her place in the line of succession.

On 9 November 1948, George VI issued Letters Patent granting the title of Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom, with the style Royal Highness, to the children of The Duke of Edinburgh and The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh. Thus, the current Princess Royal was styled "Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Edinburgh" from birth. Previous to this letters patent, she would have been styled "The Lady Anne Mountbatten" as a child of a duke, although she would have been elevated on the accession of her mother to the throne as a child of the sovereign.

In 1974, The Dowager Duchess of Gloucester, widow of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, was granted a request by Elizabeth II to assume the style Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. Although not specifically created a Princess by letters patent, the Princess was entitled to style herself as a British princess. The main reason for the change was to distinguish herself from her daughter in law, HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, wife of HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

In 2003, TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex decided to style their daughter, Lady Louise Windsor in place of HRH Princess Louise of Wessex. This was a personal decision that was taken before the Earl and Countess married, and with the permission of the Queen.

In 2005, when Camilla Parker Bowles married HRH The Prince of Wales, she used the style Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall rather than Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, mainly due to the fact that the latter style was associated with Diana, Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales's first wife.

Styling of princesses

• Daughters of sovereigns- HRH The Princess "X"
• Male-line granddaughters of sovereigns- HRH Princess "X" of "Y", where "Y" is the territorial designation of their father’s peerages, eg HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent.
• Wife of a son of the Sovereign or male line grandson of the Sovereign- "HRH Princess Husband's Christian Name" (if her husband is not a peer of the realm) or "HRH The Duchess/Countess of X." (otherwise)
• A Princess Royal is normally styled HRH The Princess Royal.

List of princesses of the blood since 1714

See also

• List of British princes
• List of British Monarchs
• British Royal Family

  External links

• Titular Dignity of Prince in the British Royal Family Since 1714