FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR ALT.TALK.ROYALTY
-- BRITISH ROYAL & NOBLE FAMILIES --
SUMMARY:

This regular posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and their answers and other useful information about the British Royal Family and British nobility. (The Royal & Noble Families of the World FAQ can be found at http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/atrfaq.htm).  It should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the alt.talk.royalty newsgroup.

A separate posting lists only the changes made during the last month to this document: http://tinyurl.com/ydbtke.

Note:  the FAQ contains European characters (accented letters) which may not show on your browser/newsreader or may show garbled characters. All characters used here arepart of the ISO Latin-1 set and are displayable by normal browsers. Ask your Internet Service Provider for an "8-bit clean feed" if you have this problem.

Last updated on:

For comments, additions, suggestions, please contact the maintainer, François Velde (http://www.heraldica.org/contact.html).

Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction
  1. What is alt.talk.royalty?
  2. How do I access alt.talk.royalty?
  3. Welcome to alt.talk.royalty!
  4. History of the alt.talk.royalty FAQ
  5. Basic newsgroup "netiquette".
  6. What kind of postings are appropriate in alt.talk.royalty?
  7. Examples of "good" and "bad" posts.
  8. Are there archives where I can find older posts on a subject?
  9. What other newsgroups and chat groups are there?
  10. Can I sell or advertise in this newsgroup?
  11. Where can I get the latest version of the FAQ?
Part II: British Royal Family
  1. What is the surname of the royal family?
  2. Who are the members of the royal family?
  3. Who is next in line when a king or queen regnant dies?
  4. What is the order of succession to the Throne?
  5. Where can I find the complete list of all those in line to the British Throne?
  6. Who is the last person in the line of succession the British throne?
  7. What happens if no one is left in the line of succession the British throne?
  8. If King James II hadn't been overthrown in 1688/1689, who would be the sovereign today?
  9. If Salic Law had applied in Great Britain and Victoria had not succeeded King William IV as Queen in 1837, who would be the sovereign today?
  10. Who were the monarchs of England?
  11. Can the sovereign abdicate?
  12. Have there ever been monarchs who abdicated?
  13. Can a member of the royal family do as he or she pleases?
  14. When a man marries a princess or a queen, does he take his wife's rank?
  15. When a woman marries a prince, why does she use her husband's Christian name in her title instead of her own name?
  16. What are the different types of queen?
  17. What type of sovereign is HM The Queen?
  18. When did HM The Queen succeed?
  19. What type of work does HM The Queen do as sovereign?
  20. What are HM The Queen's titles?
  21. Why does the queen have so many different titles?
  22. Is the queen also separately queen of any territories which are not independent countries?
  23. What are all the countries which have been Commonwealth monarchies, and when?
  24. Why does The Queen celebrate her birthday twice a year?
  25. Why is Queen Elizabeth II "HM" and not "HRH"?
  26. Why are the children of HM The Queen "HRH" while the children of HRH Princess Margaret are not?
  27. Which members of the royal family are entitled to "HRH"?
  28. Who are the relatives of HM The Queen?
  29. Was Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark a British subject before he became naturalized in 1947?
  30. Did Prince Philip renounce his Greek titles and his succession rights to the Greek throne before his marriage to HRH Princess Elizabeth?
  31. Which members of the royal family have a ducal title and who inherits their titles at their deaths?
    * Peculiarities of the dukedom of Edinburgh
    * Will Edward inherit the dukedom of Edinburgh?
  32. What is the difference between an heir apparent and an heir presumptive?
  33. How many Princes of Wales have there been and who were they?
  34. Who were the princesses who bore the style "Princess Royal"?
  35. Where can I find the Acts, Proclamations and Instruments concerning the royal succession?
    * Succession to the Crown Act 2013
  36. What is the Farran exemption?
  37. What is the address of HM The Queen?
  38. Does Prince William of Wales have an e-mail address?
  39. What are some of the royal palaces and places of burial?
  40. Mini-biography of Diana, Princess of Wales
  41. Is a new king free to choose a new name, or does Charles have to reign as "Charles III"?
  42. What is the title of a Queen's husband?
  43. How are sovereigns numbered?
  44. What happens when a king dies and his widow is pregnant?
Part III: British Noble Families
  1. What is the peerage?
  2. What ranks are there in the peerage?
  3. Is everyone in a peer's family noble?
  4. Who is a commoner in Britain?
  5. Can a peer renounce his peerage titles?
  6. Can a woman inherit a peerage?
  7. Can a person buy a title and become a noble?
  8. If I buy a coat-of-arms, am I noble?
Part IV: Resources
  1. On-line Sources of Information
  2. Useful Addresses
  3. Magazines and Videos
  4. Bibliography
Credits, Copyright, Disclaimer

Part I: Introduction

1. What is alt.talk.royalty?

alt.talk.royalty is an unmoderated newsgroup created for the purpose of discussion of all aspects of royalty and nobility of any time period anywhere in the world. There is no mailing list gated to this group. Please remember that one cannot subscribe to or unsubscribe from alt.talk.royalty via a mailing list, as is the case, e.g., for soc.genealogy.medieval.

alt.talk.royalty was first proposed in December 1994 and was created in February 1995 (according to: ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/control/alt/alt.talk.royalty)

Despite the FAQ compiler's efforts, it has not been determined who began alt.talk.royalty nor who is responsible for composing its charter.

The charter states: "The group is oriented to discussion of royalty and nobility of all nationalities, both present day and historical. Discussions of the British royal family, the possibility of a restored Russian monarchy, Henry VIII's foibles, and the forms of address used in the Spanish court would all be appropriate. Advertising and commercialism are not welcome, especially since everyone knows that involvement in retail commerce results in attainder!"

All those who have access to alt.talk.royalty and are interested in royalty and nobility are encouraged to participate. (Before interested individuals "discovered" alt.talk.royalty and began posting to it regularly, they posted their questions in rec.heraldry.)  The scope of the group encompasses topics such as the sovereigns or rulers of nations, royal and noble genealogies, vital statistics (births, marriages, deaths), lines of succession, royal residences, biographies, current events, pretenders or claimants to thrones, mistresses and illegitimate children, so on and so forth.

alt.talk.royalty is not here for the glorification of royalty.  All views, positive, negative and in-between, are permitted.  We are here to talk about royalty and nobility. You will find, however, most people who post to alt.talk.royalty talk in favor of royalty and that they are not anti-royalist. You can express anti-royalist sentiments, but it is a fair assumption that you will get a heated and vociferous response. Royalty discussions can bring out the best and the worst in people; they engender strong emotions and opinions.

alt.talk.royalty has in its midst authors, genealogists, historians, journalists and other such posters (and lurkers). Some of our members post to the group while others prefer to lurk. Our members are international: as of this edition of the FAQ, the majority are from the United States, while the rest are from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

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2. How do I access alt.talk.royalty?

alt.talk.royalty is an Internet (or Usenet) newsgroup. To access it, you need a "client" (software application) on your computer and access to a "news (or Usenet) server". The client will connect to the server, retrieve the posts, and send your own replies. The server will then disseminate your posts to the rest of the world.

If you have access to the Web, your web browser can serve as client, and you can access a server over the Web. See Yahoo directory for "Usenet servers" for a list. Google Groups (http://groups.google.com) also offers access.

Alternatively, contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and ask them if they have a news server and what software they provide to connect to it. Again, your web browser can serve as a news client to connect to the news server.

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3. Welcome to alt.talk.royalty!

This purpose of this chapter is to provide useful information for new members of alt.talk.royalty.  First-time users, or even those who've been here a few times, have found the newsgroup's atmosphere intimidating. When posting for the first time, some people find themselves the object of criticism or downright abuse. The new-to-the-group poster might not understand that that kind of behavior happens with regularity in newsgroups. And so, at the suggestion of some alt.talk.royalty regulars, the FAQ compiler and maintainer has developed this section which will hopefully explain the personalities of the regular members as well as provide tips on how to "survive" in alt.talk.royalty.

One of the first things that is noticeable about alt.talk.royalty is that it has a dual personality. Some days, it has a pleasant, quiet, stress-free atmosphere, while on other days it can be testy, noisy and combative. Some days, it can be academic and instructive in tone, yet gossipy and disruptive on other days. It has been suggested that, generally speaking, the male members of alt.talk.royalty are competitive (with some positively thriving on this), while the female members seem cooperative. For the most part, alt.talk.royalty's members are pro-royalty/monarchy.  What sets us apart are our personal perspectives and biases.

alt.talk.royalty has quite an interesting mix of people. While we can't tell you about the lurkers (they obviously prefer to remain anonymous), we can tell you about those who post with some regularity. There are authors (Greg King, author of The Last Empress; Marlene Koenig, author under the name of Marlene A. Eilers, of Queen Victoria's Descendants; Peter Kurth, author of Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson; Ted Rosvall, author of Bernadotte-Attlingar; William Addams Reitwiesner, author of The American Ancestors and Relatives of Lady Diana Frances Spencer, Guy Stair Sainty, author of The Orders of Chivalry and Merit of the Bourbon Two Sicilies Dynasty, Daniel Willis, author under the name of Daniel Brewer-Ward of The House of Habsburg: a genealogy of the descendants of Empress Maria Theresia), art dealer (Guy Stair Sainty), author (Grant Hayter-Menzies), lawyer (Patrick Cracroft- Brennan), librarian (Noel McFerran), medical doctor (Sam Dotson), university professors (Stephen Stillwell, Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard, and Jeffrey Taliaferro, the last two political scientists), some who share ancestors with royalty or are descendants of royalty (Frank Johansen and Grant Menzies), and even an aristocrat or two (Gilbert von Studnitz and Eric von Ehrenberg). Of course, there are also the average, everyday type of person who posts to alt.talk.royalty.

If one observes alt.talk.royalty for some time, individual types become obvious and one finds that they usually view and respond about royalty/monarchy in a predictable way. For example, there are the absolute monarchists (Louis Epstein, Noel McFerran), the genealogists (Sam Dotson, Marlene Koenig, Steven Lavallee, William Addams Reitwiesner, Darren Shelton, Paul Theroff, Daniel Willis), the historians (François Velde), the legalists (Paul Johnson, Guy Stair Sainty), the legitimists (Dimitry Macedonsky), so on and so on. One can continue to categorize alt.talk.royalty's members into those types who enjoy the gossip/daily lives aspect of royalty, those whose only interest is the British royal family enthusiasts (with a subset focussed on Diana, Princess of Wales), those who view royalty from a religious aspect, from a political aspect, so on and so forth.

Some of alt.talk.royalty's members use an alias, but most post under their real names. Some posters have obvious favorite areas and share willingly their knowledge. Other posters are more generalists, but share their knowledge with the same generosity. Some posters will only post or reply when their favorite topic comes up for discussion. Other posters will reply to just about everything and anything. Some of the regulars always provide references for their replies which can annoy some people, while others feel it useful and informative. Other posters never cite their sources. Some posters reply to questions succinctly while others provide mini-essays. Some posters will point out spelling and grammar errors while others never do so.  Some posters reply to others in a light- hearted way while others are business-like.  Some posters will criticize another member's question for whatever reason, while other posters will reply kindly and helpfully. Some posters have strong beliefs and won't budge an inch when discussing a particular topic, while others seem flexible and willing to see other points of view. Lastly, some of the nastier posters (and they are only a handful, thankfully) almost always use foul language, are rude and hurtful and seem to be in alt.talk.royalty only to disrupt the group.

New members and not-so-new ones will probably realize at this point that given these types of personalities, it would not be easy to post with confidence in alt.talk.royalty. The FAQ compiler and maintainer has received emails from people who feel they've been poorly treated by the regulars. Because of this, they chose to lurk instead of posting in the group or vow never to return to alt.talk.royalty. Some posters almost always behave in a certain way and their criticisms shouldn't be taken personally because that is how they behave to just about everyone. It is almost guaranteed that when a person posts to a newsgroup he or she will eventually be criticized or abused. Please don't be intimidated by the bad manners of some and leave alt.talk.royalty too soon. There are lots of us who welcome newcomers and we appreciate your ideas and input!

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4. History of the alt.talk.royalty FAQ

There was talk in early 1996 of creating a FAQ for alt.talk.royalty and some work for one had been started by members of the group.  It did not materialize into a finished product, however. A few months later, in August 1996, another member of the group (Mark Odegard) posted a titles FAQ to the group.  It was called "A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal, and Imperial Titles".  (It can now be found on the WWW at:
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/odegard/titlefaq.htm.)

Nonetheless, alt.talk.royalty remained without a general, all-purpose FAQ until May 1997. At that time, a rough draft version of a FAQ was posted to the group; it had been created by Yvonne Demoskoff with the help of several members. A number of additions, corrections and suggestions were made over the next few months and by November 1997 the rough draft was replaced with an official first version.

In June 1998, the FAQ was posted once again to the newsgroup but this time it was in two distinct parts:  one was called the Brit-FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions for alt.talk.royalty - British Royal & Noble Families) and the other was called the non-Brit-FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions for alt.talk.royalty - Non-British Royal & Noble Families).

In August 1998, François Velde took over the maintenance of the various alt.talk.royalty FAQs.

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5. Basic newsgroup "netiquette".

Before posting to any Usenet group, please read the introductory articles in the newsgroup news.announce.newusers. There, Emily Postnews will help you through some netiquette you need to know before posting.

We highly recommend "lurking", that is, reading messages without posting anything for a few weeks so that you get an idea of how people typically phrase their postings. This will also give you an idea of the flow of the newsgroup, the personalities of the regulars, and the like. The easiest way to learn how to post in a.t.r. is to watch how others do it. Start by reading the posts and try to figure out what people are doing and why. After a few weeks, you will start to understand why certain things are done and what things shouldn't be done.

Occasionally, you will see trolls (strong worded postings intended only to provoke a lot of replies), flames and off-topic posts.  The best way to deal with these kinds of postings is to ignore them. If your newsreader program allows the use of a kill-file make use of it to filter out undesirable postings. Alternatively, if you see a blatantly offensive message, do not respond with another post. Instead, send a strong complaint to <postmaster@posters.site> and <abuse@posters.site>.

One last point to remember concerning inappropriate behavior:  our newsgroup, in common with other newsgroups, has its share of people who seek to disrupt the group collectively and/or its posters individually. alt.talk.royalty and its FAQ might not have an official policy as to how one should deal with such disruptive behavior, but it can suggest the following: DNFTEC. This stands for "Do Not Feed The Energy Creature".  An energy creature's favorite feeding tactic is to try to hurt people's feelings or get them angry. The Energy Creature can then feed off the pain and anger it has generated. Its second favorite tactic is to hurt one person or the group's feelings while gathering the sympathy of others. That way, when the injured party lashes back, others will jump to the Energy Creature's defense. The Energy Creature feeds off the attention and the negative energy generated by the people fighting. Newsgroups will never be completely rid of such obnoxious, offensive and ill-mannered beings, but much can be done to keep the situation under control by remembering this simple formula: DNFTEC. If the Energy Creature gets a response, it gets stronger. If it is ignored, it will eventually weaken, wither and go away. Remember:  do not to feed the energy creatures.

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6. What kind of postings are appropriate in alt.talk.royalty?

We are an unmoderated newsgroup. The only things not allowed here are things prohibited by Usenet protocol, such as spams (the posting of off-topic material to many Usenet groups) and illegal postings (e.g. chain letters, sending non-exportable things, threatening to kill people). However, inappropriate topics or posts are those which are completely unrelated to royalty and nobility.

Attachments, whether they are text (batch files, system files) or binaries (audio, video, pictures such as .JPGs, .GIFs, .TIFs and the like, programs, and "web" files such as HTML, HTM, SHTML) are also inappropriate. Binaries must be kept in groups with binaries in the name; they cannot appear in alt.talk.royalty.  If news administrators find binaries in a.t.r., they could kill the group and move it to the alt.binaries section. A better way of dealing with binaries is to post the binary in a binaries group and to write a note in a.t.r. telling the group where the particular binary can be found. In other words, do not post anything other than plain text in our non-binary newsgroup.

Posts which refer to royalty and nobility in a negative way (such as suggesting that one monarchy in particular, or all monarchies in general should be overthrown), while not off-topic, will usually get no response. Most of the posters in alt.talk.royalty are fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of hereditary systems, and are participating in this newsgroup to explore the intricacies of these systems, rather than to engage in flamewars with persons who are opposed to the idea of these systems.

Patently offensive remarks are inappropriate.

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7. Examples of "good" and "bad" posts.

Let's begin with "bad" posts:

"Please tell me EVERYTHING about Princess Diana."
"I need to know ALL the people in line to the British throne; my homework is due tomorrow!"
"I'm looking for information about the kings of England."
-- these types of posts are usually met with well deserved sarcasm or risk being completely ignored
"So-and-so is an idiot and should be shot!"
-- personal comments or attacks on a.t.r. members have no place in a royalty newsgroup; take it to private e-mail, if you must
"This is a test."
-- there isn't any reason to test alt.talk.royalty, the system works fine. If you have to test something, do it in a group with 'test' in it such as alt.test or misc.test.
And now "good" posts:
"Who succeeded King George II?"
"Why does Queen Elizabeth II celebrate her birthday in April and in June?"
"Where is King Henry VIII buried?"
"Can someone tell me how King George V and Tsar Nicholas II are related?"

(these "bad" and "good" posts are examples only and will not be necessarily found in the FAQ)

Points to Remember:
  • when the topic in a post has changed, please reflect that in the subject heading by indicating the new subject and including a reference to the old subject heading
  • we suggest reading all the existing responses to a query before posting one's own response; maybe the question has already been answered, and the name of the game is not to show off how much one knows
  • people don't like to read things again and again; therefore, try to avoid large quotes; quote only what you respond to
  • please keep the lines of your messages to under 70 characters; long lines will overflow when quoted by others and become very difficult to read
  • remember, it is generally considered rude to post private e-mail correspondence without the permission of the author of that mail
  • be careful about infringing upon copyrights and licenses; when quoting, do not use more of the work than is necessary to make your commentary; for more information on copyright, read "Copyright Myths FAQ: 10 big myths about copyright explained" found at the following URL:  http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html
  • posts may be in any language, but will probably be understood by the largest audience if in English

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8. Are there archives where I can find older posts on a subject?

Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do not keep posts for more than one or two weeks. Therefore, to find older posts, head over to the WWW and check out "Google Groups" (formerly known as Deja News) at: http://groups.google.com/groups?as_ugroup=alt.talk.royalty

Once there, you will be able to search old posts back to April 1995.

This is also a good starting point to see what questions have already been asked in our newsgroup. It's possible that your particular question has already been asked.

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9. What other newsgroups and chat groups are there?

Some newsgroups that deal with royalty and/or related subjects are:
  • alt.gossip.royalty
  • rec.heraldry (discussions of coats of arms and of the honors they can depict)
  • soc.genealogy.medieval (discussions of genealogy, royal or otherwise, mainly of the Middle Ages)
  • soc.history
  • soc.history.ancient
  • soc.history.medieval

N.B.: not all ISPs carry "alt." and "clari." newsgroups; however, they can be accessed by visiting the Google Groups web site at:
http://groups.google.com

We suggest that you find out more about these newsgroups by reading their FAQs, if available, or by lurking, so that you post your queries in the appropriate group and not haphazardly cross-post to all of them.

America Online (AOL) features chat groups about royalty for its members. The royalty chats meet almost daily and the topics range from discussions about the late Diana, Princess of Wales to the Romanovs to the Tudors.

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10. Can I sell or advertise in this newsgroup?

Usenet procedures heavily discourage advertising in newsgroups not specifically designed for commerce. Having said that, one-time offers to sell or buy books, and such, about British royalty and nobility, will be tolerated. Those who wish to regularly advertise should post their messages in the appropriate newsgroups (for example, alt.genealogy.marketplace).

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11. Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?

You can obtain the latest version of the FAQ by visiting its web site at:
http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/britfaq.html

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Part II: British Royal Family

1. What is the surname of the royal family?

On 17 July 1917, King George V issued a Proclamation which stated that the male line descendants of the royal family would bear the surname Windsor:

from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor

A few months later, King George V issued Letters Patent on 30 October 1917 which limited the title 'Prince' and the style 'Royal Highness' to the children of a sovereign, the children of sons of a sovereign and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. HH Prince Alastair of Connaught (1914-1943), grandson of HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (Queen Victoria's fourth son), became the first member of the royal family to use the surname Windsor in lieu of his princely title. It has been suggested that it was a misinterpretation of these latest Letters Patent which led to HH Prince Alastair (for such he was based on practise going back to the time of King George I's accession in 1714 and which practise was confirmed in Queen Victoria's Letters Patent of 30 January 1864; source:  "The Princes of Great Britain" article in Burke's Peerage 1963 edition, pp xxvii-xxxii) being denied his princely title. However, as he was the son and heir of a peeress (Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife), he was allowed the courtesy use of his mother's subsidiary title and became Alastair Windsor, styled Earl of Macduff.

On 11 December 1917, it was further decided  by Letters Patent that:

the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes.

In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II confirmed her grandfather's decision that the royal family's surname would continue to be Windsor. Her Majesty declared on 9 April 1952 that it was:

her Will and Pleasure that She and Her Children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that Her descendants other than female descendants who marry and their descendants shall bear the name of Windsor.

A few years later, HM The Queen modified this statement by issuing Letters Patent in February 1960 which stated in part:

while I and my children will continue to be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, my descendants, other than descendants enjoying the style, title or attributes of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess, and female descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name Mountbatten-Windsor.

Did this mean that the name of some members of the royal family changed from "Windsor" to "Mountbatten-Windsor"?  Some people contend that the goal of this declaration was meant to not only change the surname of the children of HM The Queen but those of her male-line descendants as well. At Princess Anne's wedding in November 1974, Anne signed the marriage register 'Anne', without a surname. It was the registrar who filled in her names as 'Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Mountbatten-Windsor'. According to a Buckingham Palace statement issued in October 1975, the specific addition of the surname 'Mountbatten-Windsor' was "the Queen's decision that this should be done". Further, HM The Queen consulted with the acting Prime Minister to confirm whether all her children would have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. She received the following reply:

"The effect of Your Majesty's Declaration is that all the children of Your Majesty who may at any time need a surname have the surnames of Mountbatten-Windsor."
(Prince Philip: A Biography, by Denis Judd, London: Michael John, 1980, page 196)

It would seem that the surname of HM The Queen's children is whatever HM wishes. Legally and constitutionally, however, the Queen cannot do as she wishes. The surname of the Queen's children is Mountbatten-Windsor in practise and has appeared three times:  at Princess Anne's first marriage in 1974, on Prince Andrew's marriage register in 1986, and when the banns were read prior to Princess Anne's second marriage to Commander Laurence in 1992.  (When the Prince of Wales married for the first time in 1981, he signed the register as "Charles P" and the registrar filled in his name as "His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George The Prince of Wales".)  Nonetheless, the family name remains legally Windsor because there hasn't been any modification or clarification to the Letters Patent of 1960.

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2. Who are the members of the royal family?

The term royal family "has no strict legal definition" (The Royal Encyclopedia, 1991). "The expression 'royal family' carries no strict legal definition. However, certain relatives of the monarch possess special privileges and are subject to special common law or statutory provisions. Traditionally members of the royal family perform a public social or ceremonial function by virtue of the legal institution of the monarchy, and this is reflected in the styles and forms of precedence which are in existence" (Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th ed. (Reissue) ((vol 12(1) par. 27). Thus, depending on the purpose one has in mind (applying the Royal Marriages Act or the Civil List Act), or the criterion used (those entitled to styles or precedence), one can come up with different lists.

The Sovereign decides which members of his or her family are accorded the status of members of the Royal Family. From time to time, Queen Elizabeth II compiles a list which consists of people who are considered by Her Majesty to make up her immediate family.  In February 1990, there were thirty-five people on this list, excluding royal children.  The list is circulated privately to members of the royal family (who refer to it as the 'printed list') and it is not published elsewhere.  The list has no legal or official status.

When one mentions "royal family", the general public usually thinks the term includes the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (and spouses) of the Sovereign. For the purposes of this FAQ, the term royal family includes the following people:

  • HM The Queen
  • HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
  • HRH The Prince of Wales
  • HRH The Duchess of Cornwall
  • HRH The Duke of Cambridge (Prince William of Wales)
  • HRH Prince George of Cambridge
  • HRH Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales
  • HRH The Princess Royal
  • HRH The Duke of York
  • HRH Princess Beatrice of York
  • HRH Princess Eugenie of York
  • HRH The Earl of Wessex
  • HRH The Countess of Wessex
  • Viscount Severn
  • Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

When speaking informally of the Royal Family, this list of people could include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following people: Princess Anne's husband and her children; Sarah, Duchess of York; Princess Margaret's children, their spouses and her grandchildren; the Duke of Kent and his wife, their children, spouses, and children; Princess Alexandra of Kent, her children, spouses and children; Prince Michael of Kent and his wife and their children; the Duke of Gloucester, his wife and their children; the Earl of Harewood and his wife, his late brother's (the Honourable Gerald Lascelles) wife; the Duke of Fife.

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3. Who is next in line when a king or queen regnant dies?

The right to succeed is determined by statutes, notably the Act of Settlement.  When a king or queen regnant dies, therefore, the new sovereign is the heir of body of Electress Sophia.

The Act of Settlement, passed by Parliament in 1701, states that after the death of Queen Anne, the succession would pass to Sophia, Electress of Hanover "and the heirs of her body, being Protestants". To be able to succeed a king or queen regnant, one must be a Protestant descendant of Electress Sophia. This means that those born a member of the Royal Family, but not those who marry into the Royal Family, are eligible to be in line of succession. It does not mean that the late king's widow or the late queen's widower is the new sovereign. (Marriage to the sovereign does not give the widow or widower greater precedence over those in line of succession.)

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4. What is the order of succession to the Throne?

An order of succession is a mechanism or algorithm that determines the new sovereign at the time the old sovereign dies. It usually specifies a path to follow in the genealogical tree from the deceased sovereign, and oftentimes additional criteria to be met by the potential successor. The first person to be found by the algorithm is the new sovereign. The algorithm is defined by statutes.

At any point in time, there is a sovereign, and the rule of succession can be applied (as a pure mental game, as long as the sovereign is alive) in the following way: "if the sovereign were to die this minute, who would succeed?" The answer to the question is the heir, either apparent or presumptive.

One can, of course, extend the game a step further, and ask who is the heir's heir. In other words, the question becomes: "if the sovereign and the heir were to die this minute, who would succeed?" By extending the question in this fashion, one creates a "line of succession", in which the heir is number 1 (or next in line, after the sovereign), the heir's heir is number 2, and so on. The line of succession is thus constructed recursively, by asking at each step N: "if the sovereign and the first N-1 people in the order were to die this minute, who would succeed?" The answer is person number N on the list.

Because British statutes (such as the Act of Settlement) impose additional criteria, this process is not purely genealogical. For each candidate found along the path in the genealogical tree, the criteria (described below) must be evaluated. Thus an individual may be ineligible, in which case the individual is treated as if he or she "were naturally dead", and the search moves on to the next individual.

The procedure is roughly as follows. If individual A is dead or ineligible: 1. look for A's eldest-born male B (if none were born, go to 3). 2. If B is dead or ineligible, go to 1 with "B" instead of "A". 3. If no candidate meeting the criteria is found, return to A, find the the next eldest-born male C; repeat steps 1-3 with "C" instead of "A", until a candidate is found or all of A's male children are exhausted. 4. Repeat steps 1-3 with "female" instead of "male". 5. If no candidate has been found yet, go to A's royal parent D and look for D's next eldest-born male, repeating steps 1-4 with "D" instead of "A". 6. If no candidate has been found, go to D's royal parent E and repeat steps 1-5. 7. Keep going climbing up the royal genealogy. If you reach step 6 with D = Electress Sophia, there are no candidates left (this will take a while, because there are at least 5700 individuals descended from her: see the list).

When section 1 of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 comes into force, the procedure will ignore the gender of persons born after 28 Oct 2011.

The criteria required of a candidate are that he or she be born in wedlock, of a marriage contracted in accordance with the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, and that he or she not be a Roman Catholic or have married one (according to the Act of Settlement of 1701). More precisely, the Act recalls that the Bill of Rights of 1689 enacted "That all and every Person and Persons that then [in 1689] were or afterwards should be reconciled to or shall hold Communion with the See or Church of Rome or should professe the Popish religion or marry a Papist should be excluded and are by that Act [the Bill of Rights] made forever incapable to inherit possess or enjoy the Crown [...]"; and the Act enacts "That all and every Person and Persons who shall be or may take or inherit the said Crown by vertue of the Limitation of this present Act [to Electress Sophia and the Heirs of Her Body being Protestants] and is are or shall be reconciled to or shall hold Communion with the See or Church of Rome or shall profess the Popish religion or shall marry a Papist shall be subject to such Incapacities as in such Case or Cases are by the said recited Act [the Bill of Rights]provided enacted and established".

There is a debate over the meaning of this clause. Under one interpretation, being a Roman Catholic at the time of succession forever results in an incapacity to succeed at that time. Under the other, being a Roman Catholic at any time after 1689 ("then or afterwards") immediately creates a perpetual incapacity to succeed whenever the succession becomes open. Under the first interpretation, a Roman Catholic, if he or she converts before the crown comes to him or her, can succeed (even if he does so the minute before). Under the second, anyone who is a Roman Catholic no matter how briefly is forever excluded.

Another source of contention is the phrase "marry a Papist". Although its meaning seems straightforward, some think that it should be read as "being married to a Papist". In that case, a man whose deceased wife was Roman Catholic could still succeed. Under the literal reading of the phrase, anyone who ever marries a Roman Catholic is forever excluded. This seems to be the reading of 8(2) Halsbury's Laws of England par 39, which states: "a person who is a Roman Catholic or marries a Roman Catholic, is excluded from inheriting, possessing or enjoying the Crown [...]".

When section 2 of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 comes into force, the phrase "marry a Papist" will be removed from the Act of Succession and marrying, or having married, a Catholic will cease to exclude a person from the succession. Also, when section 3 of the same Act comes into force, the requirement to obtain royal consent for a marriage will be restricted to the first 6 persons in line of succession.

Because of these differences in interpretation, some individuals have been assigned a "bis" number in the line of succession that follows. It should be noted, however, that such an expert in Britsh constitutional law as Vernon Bogdanor has written (The Monarchy and the Constitution, p. 55): "Any member of the Royal Family who marries a Catholic becomes ineligible to succeed. Thus when Prince Michael of Kent [...] married a Catholic [...] and when the Earl of St. Andrews [...] married a Catholic [...], they lost their rights of succession, for themselves, though not necessarily for their children."

The following people are in line of succession to the Throne. It is limited to the first fourty or so in line of succession to keep the list at a reasonable length.

  1. HRH The Prince of Wales (b. 1948)
  2. HRH The Duke of Cambridge (b. 1982)
  3. HRH Prince George of Cambridge (b. 2013)
  4. HRH Prince Henry of Wales (b. 1984)
  5. HRH The Duke of York (b. 1960)
  6. HRH Princess Beatrice of York (b. 1988)
  7. HRH Princess Eugenie of York (b. 1990)
  8. HRH The Earl of Wessex (b. 1964)
  9. Lord James Mountbatten-Windsor (Viscount Severn) (b. 2007)
  10. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (b. 2003)
  11. HRH The Princess Royal (b. 1950)
  12. Peter Phillips (b. 1977)
  13. Savannah Phillips (b. 2010)
  14. Isla Phillips (b. 2012)
  15. Zara Phillips (b. 1981)
  16. David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley (b. 1961)
  17. Hon. Charles Patrick Inigo Armstrong-Jones (b. 1999)
  18. Hon. Margarita Elizabeth Alleyne Armstrong-Jones (b. 2002)
  19. Lady Sarah Chatto (b. 1964)
  20. Samuel Chatto (b. 1996)
  21. Arthur David Nathaniel Chatto (b. 1999)
  22. HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1944)
  23. Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster (b. 1974)
  24. Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden (b. 2007)
  25. Lady Cosima Windsor (b. 2010)
  26. Lady Davina Lewis (b. 1977)
  27. Master Tane Lewis (b. 2010)
  28. Miss Senna Lewis (b. 2012)
  29. Lady Rose Gilman (b. 1980)
  30. Master Rufus Gilman (b. 2010)
  31. Miss Lyla Gilman (b. 2012)
  32. HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (b. 1935)
    bis. George, earl of Saint Andrews (b. 1962) (married to a Roman Catholic, Note 1)
    bis. Edward Windsor, Baron Downpatrick, a Roman Catholic (b. 1988) (Note 2)
    bis. Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor (b. 1992)
    bis. Lady Amelia Windsor (b. 1995)
    bis. Lord Nicholas Windsor, a Roman Catholic (b. 1970) (Note 3)
    bis. Albert Windsor (b. 2007)
    bis. Leopold Windsor (b. 2009)
  33. Lady Helen Taylor (b. 1964)
  34. Columbus Taylor (b. 1994)
  35. Cassius Taylor (b. 1996)
  36. Eloise Taylor (b. 2003)
  37. Estella Taylor (b. 2004)
    bis. HRH Prince Michael of Kent (b. 1942) (married to a Roman Catholic, Note 4)
  38. Lord Frederick Windsor (b. 1979)
  39. Lady Gabriella Windsor (b. 1981)
  40. HRH Princess Alexandra, the Honorable Lady Ogilvy (1936)
  41. James Ogilvy (b. 1964)
  42. Alexander Ogilvy (b. 1996)
  43. Flora Ogilvy (b. 1994)
  44. Marina Mowatt (b. 1966)
  45. Christian Mowatt (b. 1993)
  46. Zenouska Mowatt (b. 1990)
Notes:

1. The Duke of Kent's elder son, George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews (the father of three next persons in the line), could not presently succeed because of his marriage to Sylvana Tomaselli, a Roman Catholic. George's children, however, could succeed as long as they are not Roman Catholics themselves. However, once section 1 of the Act of Succession to the Crown 2013 comes into force, he will be restored to the line of succession.

The duchess of Kent converted to the Roman Catholic faith on Jan 14, 1994. This does not affect the rights of the duke of Kent.

2. The Earl of St. Andrews's son, Lord Downpatrick, converted to the Roman Catholic faith on May 4, 2003.

3. Lord Nicholas Windsor converted to the Roman Catholic faith around Easter 2001.

4. The father of Lord Frederick and Lady Gabriella Windsor, Prince Michael of Kent, could not presently succeed because of his marriage to Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, a Roman Catholic. Prince Michael's children, however, could succeed as long as they are not Roman Catholics themselves. However, once section 1 of the Act of Succession to the Crown 2013 comes into force, he will be restored to the line of succession.

Contrary to what earlier versions of this FAQ asserted, the line of succession has a legal meaning. It is referred to (but not defined) in the Regency Act 1937, by which an eventual Regent is chosen to be the next in line of succession, subject to the exclusions of section 2 of the Act of Settlement as recalled above, and other conditions (being a British citizen of full age, residing in the UK, holding Communion with the Church of England); and by which the sovereign can temporarily delegate his or her powers to a group of people consisting of his or her spouse, and the next four persons in the line of succession who satisfy the conditions to be regent.

The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 also refers to the line of succession in section 3, without defining it either.


In general terms, the modern rules for eligibility as an heir or heiress are (adapted from "The Royal Line of Succession: From William the Conqueror to Prince William of Wales", compiled by John Butcher, edited by Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd., 1983):

  1. the reigning sovereign's sons (and their sons then daughters), then daughters (and their sons then daughters), in order of their birth; if a child dies or is already dead, it passes to that child's sons then daughters, in order of their birth
  2. if the reigning sovereign has no descendants, the line passes to either his younger brothers (if he's a king), then sisters, in order of their birth; if the sibling dies or is already dead, it passes to that sibling's sons, then daughters, in order of their birth; or, to her younger sisters (if she is a queen), in order of their birth; if the sister dies or is already dead, then it passes to that sister's sons, then daughters, in order of their birth
  3. if there are no descendants of the sovereign's lineal parent, the line passes to that parent's brothers or sisters; so on and so forth
  4. no one born out of wedlock or born to an eligible parent whose marriage contravenes the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 can be in line of succession
  5. no one who is, or becomes, or marries a Roman Catholic (according to the Act of Settlement 1701) can be in line of succession

When section 1 of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 comes into force, sons born after 25 oct 2011 will cease to have precedence over anyone else by virtue of their gender, a person who fails to secure royal consent to a marriage and the issue of that marriage will be excluded only if that person is among the first 6 persons in line, and persons marrying a Roman Catholic will remain in line of succession.

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5. Where can I find a complete list of all those in line to the British Throne?

A list of all of the descendants of Electress Sophia, including Catholics and arranged in succession order, complete as of Jan. 1, 2011, is at:
http://www.wargs.com/essays/succession/complete.html

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6. Who is the last person in the line of succession the British throne?

The persons who are genealogically last in line to succeed to the British throne under the Act of Settlement are found among the von Keudell descendants of Prince Ernst of Württemberg (1807-1868).  (Prince Ernst is a descendant of King George I's daughter, Sophie Dorothea (1687-1757), wife of Friedrich Wilhelm, King in Prussia, himself the only son of Sophia Charlotte (1668-1705), last child of the Electress Sophia). According to the list cited above, the last three people in the line of succession are Klaus Vogel (b. 1964), his son Lorenz (b. 1998) and his sister Karin (b. 1973).

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7. What happens if no one is left in the line of succession the British throne?

What would happen to the British throne if all the descendants of Electress Sophia disappeared? The answer is that Parliament would have done something about it in advance. With thousands of people in the line of succession, Parliament is not likely to ever be taken by surprise by their complete disappearance.

There is a precedent for such a situation. In 1701, William III was reigning alone and childless. His heir apparent was Anne, married to Prince George of Denmark. She had given birth to twelve children between 1683 and 1700, but only one had survived past infancy, and he had died at the age of 11 in July 1700. Beside Anne, there was no one in the line of succession established in 1689. For that reason, Parliament passed the Act of Settlement "for a further provision of the succession of the Crown in the Protestant line."

Should Parliament really be caught by surprise, and the throne left vacant without any successor, a de facto king (chosen somehow) could call a valid Parliament which would then enact that the king was also de jure. Such a procedure was used by Henry VII in 1485, and by William and Mary in 1689.

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8. If King James II hadn't been overthrown in 1688/1689, who would be the sovereign today?

If King James II hadn't been overthrown in 1688/1689, Europe's history would have been very different in many ways. At some level, the question is impossible to answer, because it requires conjectures about three hundred years' worth of history; in particular, about what marriages would have taken place and what the issue would have been. Different people would have been on the throne, and they would have certainly married differently.

If King James II hadn't been overthrown in 1688/89, and if all births, marriages and deaths had taken place exactly the way they did in fact take place, Franz, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1933) would be the sovereign today.  Franz, who is the great-grandson of the last King of Bavaria, is known as Francis II , King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland to his Jacobite followers since the death of his father in July 1996.  Franz finds himself in this position because he is the senior co-heir general (senior representative) of King Charles I. Following the death of the last legitimate descendant of James II (Henry IX, called Duke of York, Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, Dean of the Sacred College, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica) in July 1807, the right to the (Jacobite) throne passed through the royal families of Sardinia, Modena and Bavaria. The immediate heirs of Franz (he is unmarried and childless) are his brother Prince Max, duke in Bavaria (b. 1937) and his eldest daughter Sophie (b. 1967) who is married to Hereditary Prince Aloïs of Liechtenstein.  Their eldest child, Prince Joseph Wenzel, was born in London in May 1995.

There are some individuals who question the validity of the Wittelsbach/Jacobite claim which came through a niece-uncle marriage.  It was raised by W. J. Palmer in "The Jacobite Heir: A Doubt", published in The Genealogists' Magazine, vol. 12, no. 6 (June 1956), pp 188-189, and was answered by Philip M. Thomas in "The Jacobite Heir: A Doubt Allayed" in the same Magazine, vol. 12, no. 8 (December 1956), pp 273-275.  The answer is that British law recognizes, as valid, marriages which would not be valid in Britain if the marriage was valid in the place where (a) the marriage occurred and (b) where the person was domiciled.  Since the niece, Princess Maria Beatrice of Sardinia (1792-1840), was domiciled in Sardinia, where her father was King, and her uncle the Duke of Modena, Francesco IV (1779-1846), was domiciled in Modena, and the marriage was valid there (Papal dispensation, etc.), the marriage is then valid in Britain.

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9. If Salic Law had applied in Great Britain and Victoria had not succeeded King William IV as Queen in 1837, who would be the sovereign today?

If Salic Law had prevailed at the time of the death of King William IV (r. 1830-1837), and all births, marriages, and deaths had taken place exactly the way they did since, HRH Prince Ernst August of Hanover (b. 1954) would be sovereign today.  In other words, Queen Victoria would have remained Princess Victoria of Kent (her father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent) and the succession would have gone to her paternal uncle Prince Ernest Augustus of Great Britain (1771-1851).  (He became King of Hanover in 1837.)  The reason that HRH Prince Ernst August would be sovereign today is because he is the senior male lineal descendant of Prince Ernest Augustus who died in 1851.

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10. Who were the monarchs of England?

This list of kings and queens from Egbert, King of Wessex to Elizabeth II can be found on the official web site of the British Monarchy at http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5.asp.

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11. Can the sovereign abdicate?

Britain does not allow unilateral abdications.  "In a monarchy, succession to the throne is a matter not of choice but of duty."  (The Monarchy and the Constitution, by Vernon Bogdanor, Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1995)

Parliament sets the conditions under which the monarch reigns.  Parliament, when it passed the Act of Settlement in 1701, included language that states the Throne is to go to the Electress Sophia and the heirs of her body.  Parliament did not say, in that Act, that the Throne is to go to the heir of the body of the Electress Sophia only if the said heir of the body wants it.  Parliament requires the Throne to go to the heir of the body of the Electress Sophia and to nobody else.

In the case of King Edward VIII, he succeeded because he was the heir of Electress Sophia of Hanover, and Parliament made her the heir in the 1701 Act of Settlement. Parliament, in 1936, altered the Act of Settlement by removing Edward VIII and accelerating the succession of George VI.  Up until that point, Edward was the heir of the body of the Electress Sophia.  Not until he died could someone else be the heir of Electress Sophia. Therefore, to make someone else king before Edward VIII's death required a modification of the Act of Settlement.  Were Edward VIII to have actually quit, to have unilaterally declared that he refused to reign, that he was walking off the job, then he would have been acting in defiance of the will of Parliament, as expressed in the Act of Settlement.  As a constitutional monarchist, Edward VIII was more respectful of the wishes of the Legislature.

King Edward VIII was the only sovereign in British history (since the reign of William the Conqueror) to declare he wished to voluntarily cease to be king.  What followed was a very precisely choreographed dance. In the Instrument of Abdication of 10 December 1936, Edward VIII did not say "I abdicate", but said it was his desire to stop being king, and it was his desire that appropriate legislation be enacted ("I declare [...] My [...] determination to renounce [...and] that effect should be given to this").  The next day, 11 December 1936 Parliament drew up and passed the "His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act".  This Act had four legal consequences:

  1. that (after royal assent) there would be a demise in the Crown,
  2. that the next person eligible to succeed to the Crown would do so (this was HRH Prince Albert, Duke of York),
  3. that His Majesty and his descendants were no longer eligible to succeed to the Throne under the terms of the Act of Settlement,
  4. that the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 would not apply to His Majesty and his descendants.
As all Acts, this one required royal assent be become law. Edward VIII, still king, gave Royal Assent to the Act that same day (11 December 1936). At that moment and not before, he ceased to be king.

Therefore, Edward VIII didn't abdicate on his own. What he did do is state his wish to voluntary cease being king, and, once legislation was put into place, be allowed by Parliament to do so. Of course, in the final analysis, Edward VIII ceased to be king only because he wished to do so, and did so of his own will. In that sense, he did abdicate. But the British constitution requires both king and Parliament to participate in an abdication, and an abdication cannot take place without either king or Parliament.

The complete text of the Declaration of Abdication Act and of the Instrument of Abdication can be found at the following URL:
http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/abdicate.html

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12. Have there ever been monarchs who abdicated?

Of England's forty-two monarchs since 1066, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II, two were forced to abdicate after they were deposed, one was deemed to have abdicated, and one voluntarily chose to cease being king.

Monarchs Forced to Abdicate:

  1. Edward II (1284-1327):
    - reigned from 1307-1327
    - deposed (by an illegally-convened "Parliament") on 20 January 1327
    - forced to abdicate in favour of his son Edward (Edward III) on 25 January 1327
  2. Richard II (1367-1400):
    - reigned from 1377-1399
    - deposed on 29 September 1399 by Henry of Bolingbroke who usurped the throne as Henry IV
    - forced to abdicate by Parliament on 29 Sept. 1399

Monarch Deemed to Have Abdicated:
  1. James II (1633-1701):
    - reigned from 1685-1688
    - attempted to leave the country on 11 December 1688 (succeeded on 23 December)
    - deemed by Parliament meeting on 28 January 1689 to have abdicated on 11 December 1688
Monarch Who Voluntarily Chose to Renounce:
  1. Edward VIII (1894-1972):
    - reigned from January - December 1936
    - voluntarily sought to renounce the throne and did so by instrument dated 10 December 1936, which was confirmed by the Declaration of Abdication Act passed on 11 December 1936

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13. Can a member of the royal family do as he or she pleases?

It is true that members of the royal family do not have any formal constitutional functions. They do not, however, have the same freedom as the rest of the nation's citizens to behave and say in public what they wish.  For example, if they intend to make a speech which could be considered controversial, it is courteous for them to send a copy of their speech beforehand to the appropriate government minister.  The Sovereign and his heir do not vote in elections, general or local ones, because they must remain politically neutral and it would be considered unconstitutional for them to do so. Until 1999, the members of the royal family who held a hereditary peerage were subject to a 'legal incapacity to vote', as members of the house of lords. The House of Lords Act of 1999 has removed that disqualification for all peers who lost the right to sit in the House of Lords, including the prince of Wales, the dukes of Edinburgh, York, Gloucester, and Kent, and the earl of Wessex. Traditionally, HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and HRH The Princess Margaret did not vote because of their closeness to HM The Queen even though they have always been legally entitled. Further, the members of the royal family do not stand for election to political or non-political positions.  The royal family's public role is to stand for unity and neutrality.

The members of the royal family are bound by the Act of Settlement and the Royal Marriages Act when planning to marry. Since the spouse of a member of the royal family is instantly in a special position, as the possible parent or ancestor of a future sovereign, it is indeed perfectly relevant for the Crown to have a say in whom a member of the royal family marries.  If any member of the royal family refuses to accept that authority they may act as they wish, but forfeit their rights and privileges.  If they wish to retain the privileges of their rank, they have a duty of obedience to the law - and it is perfectly reasonable that permission to marry should be part of the law (every European royal family and many mediatised ones have "house Laws" regulating marriage).  Even in "ordinary" families, parents indicate their consent or disapproval of the choice of spouse of a family member, and the consequence of disobedience may occasionally lead to alienation in a family.  There isn't anything particularly odd or unusual about this.

In the case of the royal family, Princess Margaret's decision not to marry Peter Townsend was not least because she was persuaded that as someone so close to the Throne she had a duty of obedience to royal tradition and to the teachings of the Church of England (as they then stood).  In both the cases of the Duchess of Windsor and Princess Margaret, it was not the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 which stood in the way of their marriages. Rather, it was the laws of the Church of England, and the impossibility at that time of being married to a divorced person and being able to receive the Sacraments (a necessary part of the Coronation service).

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14. When a man marries a princess or a queen, does he take his wife's rank?

When a man marries a princess or a queen, he does not take his wife's rank and become automatically a prince or a king. In (English) common law a man retains his name upon marriage.  Conversely, when a woman marries a prince or a king, she becomes automatically a princess or a queen; this is in keeping with (English) common Law whereby a woman is entitled to her husband's name.  If the husband of a queen were permitted to be known as king, he would then technically rank higher than his wife the queen.

The husband of a princess or a queen can have a peerage or a title conferred upon him by the Sovereign.  Three examples when a peerage or a title was bestowed  on the spouse of a princess or a queen:

  • 1961: when Antony Armstrong-Jones, husband of HRH Princess Margaret, was created a peer when he was made Earl of Snowdon on 6 October 1961 (Antony and Margaret had been married since 6 May 1960)
  • 1947: when Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, husband of HRH Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), was created a peer when he was made Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947 the day of his wedding (N.B.: Philip received the style Royal Highness the day before on 19 November, and was made a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 22 February 1957)
  • 1857: when Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria, was granted the title Prince Consort on 26 June 1857 (N.B.: Albert received the style Royal Highness on 6 February 1840 four days before his marriage)

It is worth noting that the British Constitution does not make any provision for the position of a husband to a Queen (see the question: 'What is the title of a Queen's husband?' below). A man who marries a princess who later becomes queen or who marries a queen regnant, does not become king. Queen Victoria succinctly summarized the situation:

'It is a strange omission in our Constitution that while the wife of a King has the highest rank and dignity in the realm after her husband assigned to her by law, the husband of a Queen regnant is entirely ignored by the law.'
(Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert, by Stanley Weintraub, The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc., New York, 1997)

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15. When a woman marries a prince, why does she use her husband's Christian name in her title instead of her own name?

The wife of a prince takes her husband's Christian name in her title as do all married royal women. This is because it is the correct style for any married woman ('Mrs' followed by her husband's Christian name and then his surname.) When a woman is known as 'HRH Princess [her Christian name] of [Gloucester, or Great Britain, or Kent, or York, etc...]', this indicates she is a princess by birth.  When a woman is known as 'HRH Princess [her husband's Christian name] of [Gloucester, or Great Britain, or Kent, or York, etc...]', this indicates she is a princess by marriage.  That is why it is correct for the former Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz to be known as 'HRH Princess Michael of Kent' instead of being known as 'HRH Princess Marie-Christine of Kent'.

The situation is slightly different when a woman is married to a prince who happens to be a royal duke or the Prince of Wales.  When a woman is married to a royal duke she is known, for example, as 'HRH The Duchess of Kent', not 'HRH Duchess [her husband's or her Christian name] of Kent'. When a woman is married to the Prince of Wales, she is known as 'HRH The Princess of Wales', not 'HRH Princess [her husband's or her Christian name] of Wales'.

The ways of addressing royal women change once there is a divorce.  In the case of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, Diana was entitled to 'HRH The Princess of Wales' while she and Charles were married.  Following her divorce, Diana ceased to be both a Royal Highness and a princess because she was no longer married to a Royal Highness and prince. (These were hers only by marriage not by birthright.)  Accordingly, Diana became known by the name 'Diana, Princess of Wales'. In the case of Sarah, Duchess of York she was entitled to be known as 'HRH The Duchess of York' while she and Andrew were married. Following her divorce, she too ceased to be both a Royal Highness and a princess because she was no longer married to a Royal Highness and a prince. (Again, these were hers only by marriage not by birthright.) Sarah is therefore known by the name 'Sarah, Duchess of York'. This style is common to divorced wives of British peers which was the situation in which Diana and Sarah were in August and May 1996, respectively. (Note, however, that Sarah is not addressed as 'Your Grace'.)

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16. What are the different types of queen?

There are three types of queen in practise in Britain, but only one of them is sovereign.

queen regnant
- a woman who actually reigns; a woman in the line of succession who succeeds as sovereign in her own right
- example:  Princess Elizabeth was the first in line of succession and became Queen upon the death of her father, George VI, in 1952
queen consort
- the wife of a king; a woman who marries a man who is in the line of succession who later becomes King or is already King at the time of their marriage
- example:  the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married a man who was in line of succession, Prince Albert, Duke of York; he later succeeded as King upon the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII in 1936
- a Queen Consort is entitled to be called Queen (followed by her Christian name) for the rest of her life even after her husband dies
queen dowager
- the widow of a king; a woman who is the widow of a late reigning king
- example:  HM Queen Mary became queen dowager following the death of her husband HM King George V in 1936
- a particular type of queen dowager is one who uses the appellation 'Queen Mother'
- example:  following the death of her husband, King George VI in 1952, HM Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002) chose to be called HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother; as a queen dowager, she is referred to as HM Queen Elizabeth, while her daughter the queen regnant is referred to as HM The Queen

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17. What type of sovereign is HM The Queen?

HM Queen Elizabeth II is a queen regnant who is a constitutional monarch.  She took an oath at her Coronation to rule according to the laws and customs of the people.  Her Majesty is the Head of State of the United Kingdom and is Head of the Commonwealth. She is Sovereign of the British Orders of Knighthood, Sovereign Head of the Order of St. John, Lord High Admiral, and, in theory, is all-powerful, the source of justice and the fountain of honour.  However, her power is limited by the (unwritten) Constitution.  The Queen's real power lies in her being able to deny absolute power to anyone else.  For example, it is in her power to dismiss the prime minister and dissolve Parliament.

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18. When did HM The Queen succeed?

HRH Princess Elizabeth succeeded her father, King George VI, upon his death on 6 February 1952.  Seventeen months later, she was crowned as HM Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey.

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19. What type of work does HM The Queen do as sovereign?

The website called "The Working Day of Her Majesty The Queen" will be of interest to those who wish to gain an insight into HM The Queen's daily work as sovereign: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page312.asp

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20. What are HM The Queen's titles?

The full titles of Queen Elizabeth II are:

United Kingdom: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith
Canada:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith
Australia:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
New Zealand:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of New Zealand and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith
Jamaica:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Jamaica and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth
Barbados:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Barbados and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
The Bahamas:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Grenada:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Grenada and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Papua New Guinea:
Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Papua New Guinea and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Solomon Islands:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Solomon Islands and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Tuvalu:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Tuvalu and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Saint Lucia:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Saint Lucia and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Belize:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Belize and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Antigua and Barbuda:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Antigua and Barbuda and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth
Saint Christopher and Nevis:
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Saint Christopher and Nevis and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.

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21. Why does the queen have so many different titles?

The transformation from the single imperial crown held by queen Victoria to the 16 crowns held in personal union today by Elizabeth II took place as part of the process of the transformation of the British empire into a free association of independent states. In the 19th century, many British colonies were granted limited self-government under the crown, and this autonomy increased with the creation of Dominions, the first of which was Canada (1867). In the years following the first world war, a series of "Imperial Conferences" of Dominion heads of government were held. After the 1926 Conference, a declaration was issued that the dominions were:

autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic and external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations

This declaration of intent was implemented in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster, which granted immediate legislative independence to Canada, South Africa and Ireland, and was extended to Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland if ratified by the Parliaments of those countries.  Newfoundland reverted from Dominion to Colonial status in 1934 without ever ratifying the Statute; Australia and New Zealand ratified it in 1942 and 1947 respectively. The key section was clause 4, which stated that:

No Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement of this Act shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to a Dominion as part of the law of that Dominion, unless it is expressly declared in that Act that that Dominion has requested, and consented to, the enactment thereof.

The importance of this for the monarchy was that any future legislation of the UK parliament affecting the succession to the throne required the assent of each dominion in order to have effect in that dominion. This was recognised by the drafters and specifically called out in the preamble as a convention to be followed in the future:

. . . it would be in accord with the established constitutional position of all the members of the Commonwealth in relation to one another that any alteration in the law touching the Succession to the Throne or the Royal Style and Titles shall hereafter require the assent as well of the Parliaments of all the Dominions as of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The convention was followed in the Abdication crisis of 1936, and the Abdication Act of that year called out the assent of Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The Irish Free State assented separately, through the passage of the External Relations Act of 1936.

The Commonwealth thereby became an association of independent nations linked by common allegiance to a shared monarch. The monarch was represented in each country by a governor-general appointed by the Crown on the advice of the government of that country. This convention was subverted by the Irish Free State, which in 1936 removed all reference to the monarchy from its constitution and abolished the position of governor-general, and in 1937 adopted a new constitution creating an Irish presidency; the only role left to the monarchy was in connection with the accreditation of Irish envoys abroad. Nevertheless, Ireland was allowed to remain in the Commonwealth until 1949, at which point it formally declared itself to be a republic, which it had been in practice for many years. Allegiance to the monarch as a condition of Commonwealth membership was formally removed when India secured agreement in 1949 to remain in the Commonwealth after it became a Republic in 1950. Since 1995, the Commonwealth consists of 16 independent monarchies under the queen, 6 monarchies with their own monarchs, and 32 republics. With the acceptance of Mozambique into the Commonwealth in 1995, even the unspoken qualification of a common British colonial heritage no longer applies.

These changes were also reflected in the royal styles and titles. Edward VII was "by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India", which in his time described a single imperial domain. George VI's titles, although superficially very similar, were still appropriate to describe the major change which had taken place in the structure of the Commonwealth: "by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India." However, this royal style was not sustainable after the Crown was transformed from a common allegiance held by all Commonwealth members to a position as Head of the Commonwealth which included republican members. Consequently, the Royal Styles and Titles of the queen were changed on her accession so that she has a separate royal style for each country, all incorporating the common element: "Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth . . .", (see question 12).

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22. Is the queen also separately queen of any territories which are not independent countries?

At first sight the answer is "No". However, there are three cases where the situation is not entirely clear: the Cook Islands, the six Australian states, and Scotland. A useful rule of thumb is to test the ability of government of the candidate territory to affect the royal succession in that territory. By this test, the Cook Islands is, for all practical purposes, a separate monarchy, while the Australian states and Scotland are probably not.

Most of the Commonwealth dependent territories are still governed through the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand. There are two states which have maintained a free association with New Zealand – the Cook Islands and Niue. Under the Cook Islands Constitution of 1965, the queen is head of state "in right of New Zealand". At that time her representative was appointed by the governor-general of New Zealand, and the New Zealand parliament retained considerable powers to legislate on behalf of the Cook Islands. A very similar arrangement was made for Niue in 1974. However, in 1981 the Cook Island constitution was amended in two significant respects: (i) the queen's representative was appointed directly by the queen herself and (ii) the Cook Islands parliament was granted complete legislative independence of New Zealand in both internal and external affairs. As a result, the current relationship of the monarchy to the Cook Islands is effectively identical to that of any independent Commonwealth monarchy, even though the queen is still nominally head of state "in right of New Zealand". In particular, if the royal succession in right of New Zealand were changed, this would require the separate consent of the Cook Islands before it applied there.

The second obscure case is that of the Australian states. This arises because the state governors maintain a direct relationship with the Crown independently of the Governor-General. The framers of the Australian constitution deliberately chose to do this in order to give the states relief against a possibly oppressive federal government. Under the Statute of Westminster, the preexisting relationships between the British Crown and parliament and the Australian states were preserved intact, so that the governors of Australian states continued to owe allegiance to the UK Crown rather than the Australian one. Through the Australia Act of 1986, these residual links were adjusted, so that the governors in the Australian states now represent the Australian crown, but they remain in direct relationship with the queen. It has been argued that this direct relationship creates separate state crowns, but since the states were and are unable to affect the succession to either the UK or the Australian crowns as it applies in their territory, it seems difficult to sustain this position.

Nevertheless, in the debate about whether Australia should become a republic, decided by referendum in 1999, the possibility was raised by both monarchists and republicans that the individual states might decide separately. If different states made different decisions, this might result in the creation of one or more state monarchies. In particular, the government of Queensland amended the state constitution in 1977 to "entrench" the role of the governor as representative of the Crown -- i.e. it could only be changed by a referendum of Queensland voters. As insurance, the entrenchment position was itself entrenched. This persisted until a new state constitution was adopted in 2001. After 1977, members of the Queensland legislature swore separate allegiance to "the queen of Queensland", as well as to the Queen of Australia. In practice, the queen of Queensland was a symbolic fiction. However, if the Australian people as a whole had chosen to create a republic in 1999 but the vote of the people of Queensland had not met the provisions of entrenchment, it is unclear what the actual effect of this would have been: whether the governor of Queensland would henceforth have represented the Australian President, as successor to the Australian Crown, or whether a successor Queensland Crown, still held by the queen, would have come into existence. In the event, the circumstance did not arise.

These considerations do not apply to Canada because the lieutenant-governors of the Canadian provinces are appointed by the Governor-General, and always have been. Thus, they can only represent the monarchy represented by the Governor- General, so the fate of the Canadian monarchy is automatically reflected in the provinces, unless special provision is made otherwise. For litigation purposes, the Canadian crown is said to be divisible, so that, for example, the Crown "in right of Saskatchewan" might press suit against the Crown "in right of Prince Edward Island", but this does not imply the existence of separate provincial monarchies in the same sense as is proposed for the Australian states.

Finally, there is the case of Scotland. In opening the new Scottish Parliament on Jul 1, 1999, its Presiding Officer Sir David Steel stated that it was "constitutionally correct" to refer to the queen as "Queen of Scots", from which it might be inferred that devolution had had the effect of separating the Scottish Crown from that of the United Kingdom. He did not give any justification for this statement, and it appears to be incorrect. Clause I of the Acts of Union of 1707 united the former Scottish and English crowns "forever" in the crown of the United Kingdom. The Scotland Act of 1998, which created the new Scottish Parliament, incorporated the Acts of Union in clause 37, and in Schedule 5 specifically stated that the Crown, including the succession, and the Union were among the "reserved matters" that were defined, in clause 29, to be outside the competence of that Parliament.

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23. What are all the countries which have been Commonwealth monarchies, and when?

The following table lists the dates of independence under the monarch and, where applicable, transformation from Commonwealth monarchy to republican status for each country, apart from the United Kingdom, which is or has been a Commonwealth monarchy. There have been 35 Commonwealth monarchies at one time or another, with a peak of 18 between 1983 and 1987. The current count is 16.
Country Monarchy Republic
Canada 1931 -- (a)
Ireland 1931 1936 (a)(b)
South Africa 1931 1961(a)
Australia 1942 -- (c)
New Zealand 1947 -- (c)(d)
India 1947 1950
Pakistan 1947 1956
Ceylon 19481972(e)
Ghana 19571960
Nigeria 19601963
Sierra Leone 19611971
Tanganyika 19611962(f)
Trinidad and Tobago 1962 1976
Uganda 1962 1963
Jamaica 1962 --
Kenya 1963 1964
Malawi 1964 1966
Malta 1964 1974
Rhodesia 1965 1970(g)
Gambia 1965 1970
Barbados 1966 --
Guyana 1966 1970
Mauritius 1968 1992
Fiji 1970 1987
Bahamas 1973 --
Grenada 1974 --
Papua New Guinea 1975 --
Solomon Islands1978 --
Tuvalu 1978 --
St.Lucia 1979 --
St.Vincent & the Grenadines 1979 --
Antigua & Barbuda 1981 --
Belize 1981 --
St.Kitts-Nevis 1983 --

This table is based on a list posted to ATR by Rupert Barnes on 11 December 1997 (the 66th anniversary of the Statute of Westminster), with confirmation and additional material drawn from various web-sites and other resources, notably The Commonwealth (http://www.thecommonwealth.org/)

Notes:

(a) Date of legislative independence through the Statute of Westminster. Canada had become a Dominion in 1867, South Africa in 1910, and the Irish Free State in 1922.
(b) The date of the end of monarchy in Ireland is a matter of controversy -- see the discussion in question (20) above. Alternate dates which are argued are 1937 and 1949.
(c) Date of ratification of the Statute of Westminster. Australia had become a Dominion in 1901 and New Zealand in 1907.
(d) The Cook Islands is nominally part of the realm of New Zealand but has for all practical purposes been a separate realm since 1981 – see the discussion on question (21) above.
(e) Name changed to Sri Lanka under the 1972 constitution.
(f) Name changed to Tanzania after the union with Zanzibar in 1963.
(g) Now Zimbabwe. Rhodesia unilaterally declared itself independent, without agreement from Britain, or recognition from the other Commonwealth members or from the Crown. While the Rhodesian Constitution of 1965 nominally created a Commonwealth monarchy of the normal form, no Governor-General was ever appointed to represent the queen. Instead, the Rhodesian government appointed an "Officer Administering the Government" to fill the role. The last colonial governor, Sir Humphrey Gibbs, remained in place till 1969.

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24. Why does The Queen celebrate her birthday twice a year?

HM The Queen was born HRH Princess Elizabeth of York on 21 April 1926.  She naturally celebrates her birthday privately on this date.

As sovereign, Her Majesty's official birthday is marked with a military parade called the (The Queen's) Birthday Parade (popularly known as "Trooping the Colour").  It is held publicly in early June (either the first, second or third Saturday) in London in a ceremony which dates back to the early 18th century.

Trooping the Colour ceremony is based on the days when mounted guards and sentries kept watch at royal palaces and such in London.  These guards carried or 'trooped' the flags of their battalion which could be seen and recognised by the soldiers.  In 1748, it was decided that the parade would mark the official birthday of the sovereign with King George II being the first monarch to attend the ceremony.  (Some sources say the first time the parade marked the sovereign's birthday was in 1805 for George III.)  It became an annual event in 1820 with the accession of King George IV.  Later still, following King Edward VII's accession in 1901, it became a regular custom for the monarch to take personally the salute.  The parade is followed by the appearance of the royal family (and their guests) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with a fly-past by the RAF.  This royal tradition has evolved over the years and has become a tourist attraction enjoyed not only by the assembled public but by television spectators around the world.

In 1947, HRH Princess Elizabeth participated in Trooping the Colour for the first time in her capacity as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.  Later, in 1951, she took the salute for her father King George VI who was ill.

This year, Trooping the Colour will be held on Saturday, 17 June, 2006.

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25. Why is Queen Elizabeth II "HM" and not "HRH"?

The style His (or Her) Majesty is reserved for those individuals who are kings or queens. Elizabeth II as queen is styled Her Majesty. If she was a princess who was the daughter of a king or queen, she would be styled Royal Highness (HRH).  (HM was "HRH Princess Elizabeth" during her father's lifetime.)

In the United Kingdom, the style HM is also the style of the wife or the widow of a king.

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26. Why are the children of HM The Queen "HRH" while the children of HRH Princess Margaret are not?

The children of HM The Queen (Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward) are styled HRH because they are children of the sovereign, a queen. Their style and title are allowed to them as children of the sovereign.

The children of HRH Princess Margaret (David and Sarah) are not HRH because princesses do not usually transmit their titles to their children.  Instead, David and Sarah's names and titles come to them from their father, the Earl of Snowdon. As children of a peer, David is allowed the courtesy use of his father's subsidiary title of Viscount Linley, while Sarah is allowed the use of the prefix 'Lady' before her Christian name followed by her surname. The children of HRH Princess Anne (Peter and Zara) and HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent (James and Marina) are in a similar situation as those of HRH Princess Margaret. They are the children of a royal mother but take their rank from their father.

There has been one exception to this rule in this century. On 9 November 1905, King Edward VII bestowed the style 'Princess Royal' on his eldest daughter, HRH Princess Louise. On the same day, His Majesty elevated the daughters of Princess Louise to the rank of 'princess' with the style of 'Highness'. With this unilateral decision on the part of their grandfather the King, Lady Alexandra Duff (1891-1959) and Lady Maud Duff (1893-1945) no longer held their rank from their father (Sir Alexander Duff, Duke of Fife) but rather from the will of the Sovereign.

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27. Which members of the royal family are entitled to "HRH"?

King George V issued Letters Patent on 30 October 1917 regulating who would be entitled to the style of HRH and the title of Prince (or Princess).  Since that date, the style of His (or Her) Royal Highness is reserved for:

  • the children of a sovereign
  • the children of sons of a sovereign (that is, grandchildren in the male line of a sovereign)
  • the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (as modified by letters patent of 31 Dec 2012)

It is also the correct style for the wives of those who are entitled to bear the style of HRH.  A widow does not lose the style of HRH upon her husband's death, whereas a divorced wife loses the style of HRH following her divorce.  Before their divorces, Diana was allowed the style and title of "HRH The Princess of Wales", while her sister-in-law Sarah was allowed the style and title of "HRH The Duchess of York". Neither were entitled to such forms of address as "HRH Princess Diana", "Princess Diana of Wales", or "HRH Duchess Sarah", "Duchess Sarah of York" despite what was and still is reported by the media.

Since 1917, there have been three exceptions to this rule:

First: the Duke of Edinburgh. On the day before his marriage to the present Queen, Lt. Philip Mountbatten was created "HRH The Duke of Edinburgh". King George VI was seemingly under the impression that since he had given Philip the style of HRH, it meant he was also giving him the title of prince, which was not so. It wasn't until 22 February 1957 that HM The Queen corrected this situation and made her husband a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Second: the Prince of Wales and his sister the Princess Royal. On 9 November 1948, HM King George VI "issued letters patent under the Great Seal ordaining that any children born to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh would have the title of prince or princess and the style of Royal Highness." (Prince Charles: A Biography, by Anthony Holden, 1979). Thus, Charles (born less than a week after this decision) and Anne (born less than two years later) were to enjoy the style of HRH before they would have been entitled to it upon their mother's accession as Queen.

Third: On the wedding day of HRH The Earl of Wessex to Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones, a press release from Buckingham Palace announced the queen's decision (made with the couple's agreement) that any children they have should not be given the style His or Her Royal Highness, but would have courtesy titles as sons or daughters of an earl. While royal styles and titles have usually been conferred and withdrawn by way of letters patent or royal warrants, precedents show that such instruments are not necessary, and there is no reason to doubt that the press release correctly expresses the sovereign's will, which is all that matters.

At present, there are twenty members of the Royal Family who are entitled to the style HRH:

  1. HRH The Prince of Wales (the child of a sovereign)
  2. HRH The Duchess of Cornwall (wife of a son of a sovereign)
  3. HRH The Duke of Cambridge (the child of a son of a sovereign)
  4. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge (the wife of a child of a son of a sovereign)
  5. HRH Prince George of Cambridge (the child of the eldest son of the prince of Wales)
  6. HRH Prince Henry of Wales (the child of a son of a sovereign)
  7. HRH The Duke of York (the child of a sovereign)
  8. HRH Princess Beatrice of York (the child of a son of a sovereign)
  9. HRH Princess Eugenie of York (the child of a son of a sovereign)
  10. HRH The Earl of Wessex (the child of a sovereign)
  11. HRH The Countess of Wessex (the wife of a son of a sovereign)
  12. HRH The Princess Royal (the child of a sovereign)
  13. HRH The Duke of Gloucester (the child of a son of a sovereign)
  14. HRH The Duchess of Gloucester (the wife of a child of a son of a sovereign)
  15. HRH The Duke of Kent (the child of a son of a sovereign)
  16. HRH The Duchess of Kent (the wife of a child of a son of a sovereign)
  17. HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy (the child of a son of a sovereign)
  18. HRH Prince Michael of Kent (the child of a son of a sovereign)
  19. HRH Princess Michael of Kent (the wife of a child of a son of a sovereign)
  20. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

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28. Who are the relatives of HM The Queen?

The following list should be a help to anyone who has ever wondered if Princess Margaret is the daughter of HM The Queen or if Princess Anne is her sister, who were Her Majesty's parents, or how many grandchildren Her Majesty has.

  • Parents:
    • HM King George VI of Great Britain (1895-1952)
    • Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002)
  • Paternal Grandparents:
    • HM King George V of Great Britain (1865-1936)
    • HSH Princess Mary of Teck (1867-1953)
  • Maternal Grandparents:
    • Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (1855-1944)
    • Nina Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck (1862-1938)
  • Husband:
    • HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip of Greece) (b. 1921)
      (son of HRH Prince Andrew of Greece and HSH Princess Alice of Battenberg)
  • Children:
    • HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) (b. 1948)
    • HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) (b. 1950)
    • HRH The Duke of York (Prince Andrew) (b. 1960)
    • HRH The Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward) (b. 1964)
  • Grandchildren:
    • HRH The Duke of Cambridge (b. 1982)
    • HRH Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales (b. 1984)
      (sons of The Prince of Wales)

    • HRH Princess Beatrice of York (b. 1988)
    • HRH Princess Eugenie of York (b. 1990)
      (daughters of The Duke of York)

    • Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (b. 2003)
    • Viscount Severn (b. 2007)
      (children of The Earl of Wessex)

    • Peter Phillips (b. 1977)
    • Zara Phillips (b. 1981)
      (children of The Princess Royal)
  • Great-grandchildren:
    • HRH Prince George of Cambridge (b. 2013)
      (son of the Duke of Cambridge)
  • Nephew and Niece:
    • David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley (b. 1961), who has a son and a daughter
    • Lady Sarah Chatto (née Armstrong-Jones) (b. 1964), who has two sons
      (children of Princess Margaret)
  • Surviving Paternal Cousins:
      (son of late HRH Princess Mary of Great Britain, Princess Royal)

    • HRH The Duke of Gloucester (Prince Richard of Great Britain) (b. 1944)
      (son of late HRH Prince Henry of Great Britain, Duke of Gloucester)

    • HRH The Duke of Kent (Prince Edward of Great Britain) (b. 1935)
    • HRH Princess Alexandra of Great Britain, the Hon Lady Ogilvy (b. 1936)
    • HRH Prince Michael of Great Britain (Kent) (b. 1942)
      (children of late HRH Prince George of Great Britain, Duke of Kent)

    N.B.: Her Majesty does not have any surviving aunts or uncles; Her Majesty does have a number of surviving maternal cousins, however.

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    29. Was Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark a British subject before he became naturalized in 1947?

    Yes, Prince Philip was a British subject before he became naturalized in 1947.  In fact, he had been from birth because of the Sophia Naturalization Act .  This Act, passed in 1705, gave in perpetuity the right of British citizenship to Sophia's non-Catholic descendants. At the time of Prince Philip's naturalization in February 1947, no one seemed aware that this procedure was unnecessary, not even his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten who "worked diligently towards the granting of Philip's British citizenship" (Prince Philip:  A Biography, by Denis Judd, London: Michael Joseph Ltd., 1980).  This fact was discovered only after the legal victory of his cousin, Prince Ernst August of Hanover, in which he won his right to British citizenship.  In 1956, HRH Prince Ernst August of Hanover (1914-1987) sought and won his battle to claim the status of British citizen because of the Sophia Naturalization Act.  Prince Ernst August's claim to this right was based on the fact that he was a lineal descendant of the Electress Sophia and a Protestant.

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    30. Did Prince Philip renounce his Greek titles and his succession rights to the Greek throne before his marriage to HRH Princess Elizabeth?

    Some alt.talk.royalty members feel quite strongly that Prince Philip did indeed renounce his right of succession to the throne of Greece in 1944 with permission of King George II of the Hellenes.  They also feel that Prince Philip renounced his titles of Prince of Greece and Prince of Denmark (he was born HRH Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark) when he became a naturalized British citizen and assumed the surname Mountbatten in February 1947.

    However, other members of alt.talk.royalty feel just as strongly that Prince Philip did not renounce either his succession rights or his princely titles.  They believe that since there isn't any documentary proof showing Prince Philip renounced his titles or his rights these events did not occur.  Their argument rests on the fact that no one has been able to cite the text of the renunciation, the date it was executed, the date it became effective, or even the clause in the House laws of the Royal House of Greece permitting a Prince to renounce. (Prince Philip is the only Greek prince who is ever said to have renounced his rights and his titles.)  They view it as a case in which Prince Philip simply stopped using his Greek and Danish titles and that he never formally relinquished them.  (Foreign rules and regulation such as British Home Office naturalization procedures did not have any effect on Prince Philip's title or his style of HRH as a Prince of Greece.  As such, those who put forth these arguments say that he, his children and male-line grandchildren are Princes/Princesses of Greece and Denmark, in addition to any other titles they may hold.)  Other individuals take this argument further by pointing out that even if Prince Philip renounced his rights of succession to the Greek throne, it was not enacted under Greek law.  Lastly, they believe there isn't any primary documentary evidence that shows this so-called renunciation was accepted (publicly or privately) by the Greek Sovereign.

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    31. Which members of the royal family have a ducal title and who inherits their titles at their deaths?

    At the present time, seven members of the royal family hold a ducal title.  The titles and their holders are (in order of creation):

    • Cornwall (cr. 1337, held by HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales since 1952)
    • Lancaster (cr. 1362/1399, held by HM The Queen, as Sovereign, since 1952)
    • Rothesay (cr. 1398/1469, held by HRH The Prince of Wales since 1952)
    • Gloucester (cr. 1928, held by HRH Prince Richard since 1974)
    • Kent (cr. 1934, held by HRH Prince Edward since 1942)
    • Edinburgh (cr. 1947, held by HRH Prince Philip since 1947)
    • York (cr. 1986, held by HRH Prince Andrew since 1986)
    • Cambridge (cr. 2011, held by HRH Prince William since 2011)
    One member holds a comital title:
    • Wessex (held by HRH Prince Edward since 1999)

    Cornwall

    Since its creation in 1337, this dukedom has been reserved for the son and heir apparent of the Sovereign. The title was first created on 3 March 1337 when King Edward III bestowed it on his eldest son, Edward (later known as the Black Prince). When Edward, Duke of Cornwall died in his father's lifetime in June 1376, "all his peerage dignities (none of which devolved on his son in consequence of the spec. rems. thereof) lapsed to the Crown." (source: The Complete Peerage, volume III, page 437)  Edward's younger surviving son, Richard (the future King Richard II), became heir apparent of his grandfather King Edward III, but did not inherit the title Duke of Cornwall. A few months later, in November 1376, Richard was created Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester. When he acceded as King Richard II in 1377, all his peerage titles merged in the Crown.

    Prince Charles became heir apparent in 1952 upon his mother's accession as Queen Elizabeth II.  Prince Charles, as the oldest son of the Sovereign, inherited the title Duke of Cornwall, as well as the (Scottish) titles Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

    If Prince Charles dies in the lifetime of his mother the Queen, all of the peerages he holds (as heir apparent) would revert to the Crown.  No one inherits them, not even his son Prince William.  Following Prince Charles's death, HM The Queen could make her grandson, Prince William, "Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester" and these would be his for life or until he succeeded to the Throne.  Prince Charles's other titles (Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, etc...) would not be given to or inherited by Prince William as these are reserved for the oldest son of the Sovereign.

    Edinburgh

    Edinburgh was first created as a dukedom for Prince Frederick (1707-1751), eldest son and heir of  the future King George II.  On 26 July 1726, Prince Frederick was created Duke of Edenburgh (as it was then spelled), Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham, Viscount of Launceston, Baron of Snaudon (as Snowdon was then spelled).  When his father acceded to the throne in 1727, Prince Frederick became heir apparent and inherited the title Duke of Cornwall.  When Frederick died in 1751 in his father's lifetime, his titles (Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, etc...) lapsed (reverted) to the Crown while his title Duke of Edinburgh devolved on (was inherited by) his son and heir, the future George III.  George was Duke of Edinburgh from 1751 until 1760 when he acceded to the throne as King George III and all his honours merged in the Crown. The second creation was for Victoria's second son Alfred (1844-1900), who was made Earl of Ulster, Earl of Kent, and Duke of Edinburgh on May 24, 1866. The titles became extinct with his death on July 30, 1900.

    Lt. Philip Mountbatten (as Prince Philip was then known), was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, Baron Greenwich in the peerage of the United Kingdom in November 1947.

    Peculiarities of the present dukedom of Edinburgh

    The grant of a hereditary dukedom to a royal consort creates a peculiar situation, because of the confluence of two factors:

    1. the dukedom of Edinburgh is hereditary
      (the Letters Patent specify the standard remainder of "heirs male of his body lawfully begotten");
    2. any peerage inherited by the Sovereign ceases to exist, or "merges in the Crown":
      (the Sovereign, being the "fons honorum" or fountain of honour, cannot hold a peerage him/herself, because the Sovereign is higher than any peer).
    Thus, the present duke may not be the last (because of 1), but the dukedom is likely to merge sooner or later (because of 2).

    Consider the most likely scenario, that the Prince of Wales survives both his parents (scenario A). At the death of his mother, he will become sovereign. At the death of his father, he will become duke of Edinburgh. Either event may happen before the other: in either case, the dukedom will merge when the last parent dies. A less likely scenario is that the Prince of Wales does not survive both his parents. Then: (a) if Charles dies after his mother but before his father, the dukedom will merge in the Crown at the death of Philip. (b) If Charles dies after his father but before his mother, the dukedom will pass from Philip to Charles to William, and merge when William becomes king. (c) If Charles dies before both his parents, repeat scenario A with William instead of Charles. Further, even less likely variations, can be imagined. (One exotic variant has Charles renouncing his rights to the throne in favor of his son; the dukedom would then pass to Charles while the Crown passes to William).

    Note that the dukedom will not necessarily merge in the Crown. Here is one scenario where it doesn't: both Charles and William die after Philip but before Elizabeth II, and William leaves a daughter. In that case, the Crown passes to William's daughter and her descendants, the dukedom passes to Henry and his descendants. But, given that the Queen has a son who has two sons, it is far likelier that the dukedom will merge sooner or later.

    Will Edward inherit the dukedom of Edinburgh?

    On the day of the marriage of the Earl of Wessex (June 19, 1999) it was announced by Buckingham Palace that "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince of Wales have also agreed that The Prince Edward should be given the Dukedom of Edinburgh in due course, when the present title now held by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown."

    The announcement makes clear that the grant of Edinburgh to Edward will only take place after the present title has merged (which, as discussed above, may not happen but is most likely to do so). What is slightly less clear, although it is implied, is that Edward will receive a new grant of the dukedom of Edinburgh. This ambiguity has been a source of confusion, because the announcement may be read to say that the present dukedom will be given to Edward. That is not the case: it cannot be given to anyone, it can only pass according to the remainder defined in the Letters Patent of creation, unless modified by an Act of Parliament (which is always possible, but unlikely).

    The "agreement" between the Queen, Prince Philip, and the Prince of Wales, should be thought to be more of a commitment among mother, father, and son, rather than a legally binding contract. The Prince of Wales is involved because, in most likelihood, he (as HM King Charles III) will grant the (new) Dukedom of Edinburgh to his brother, after the death of their parents, and the reversion of the present title to the Crown. Prince Philip is involved in the agreement out of respect for his role as father, and his having been the Duke of Edinburgh for over 50 years, rather than any sense that he controls the inheritance of his titles. And the Queen's role is in explaining why she is not granting a dukedom to her son upon his marriage, as she had done when she created Prince Andrew as Duke of York.

    Gloucester

    Gloucester, with its long history as an earldom, was first created as a dukedom in August 1385 for Thomas "of Woodstock" (1355-1397), youngest son of King Edward III.  In later years, Thomas became dissatisfied with his nephew the King (Richard II) and sought to depose him.  Thomas was arrested and murdered while in captivity.  Because he had been declared guilty of treason and his estates and goods forfeited, his son did not inherit his title Duke of Gloucester.

    The present creation of the dukedom of Gloucester dates from March 1928 when HRH Prince Henry (1900-1974), son of King George V, was created Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, Baron Culloden.  Henry, whose elder unmarried son HRH Prince William (1941-1972) predeceased him in a flying accident, was succeeded by his younger son HRH Prince Richard (b. 1944) as Duke of Gloucester at his death in 1974.  Prince Richard will be succeeded in his turn by his son because this peerage is a hereditary one in the male line.

    Kent

    The first duke of Kent was HRH Prince Edward (1767-1820), son of King George III. Edward was created Duke of Kent and Strathearn, Earl of Dublin in April 1799.  At his death, all his honours became extinct as he had but one surviving legitimate child, a daughter, the future Queen Victoria.

    The present creation of the dukedom of Kent dates to when HRH Prince George (1902-1942), younger son of King George V, was created Duke of Kent, Earl of St. Andrews, Baron Downpatrick in October 1934.  George died in a plane crash while on active service in W.W.II and was succeeded by his elder son HRH Prince Edward (b. 1935) as Duke of Kent.  Just like the dukedom of Gloucester, the dukedom of Kent is a hereditary one (in the male line) and Prince Edward will be succeeded in due time by his elder son.

    Lancaster

    As the dukedom of Lancaster has never been conferred again since the Middle Ages, it will be dealt with here only briefly.  In 1267, King Henry III's younger son Edmund (1245-1296) received the county, honour and the castle of Lancaster.  Edmund's grandson Henry was created the first Duke of Lancaster in 1351.  King Henry IV, a descendant of this first duke, declared that the Lancastrian inheritance would no longer form part of the other possessions of the Crown and would descend to his male heirs.  As such, it is considered the personal prerogative of the monarch and the title Duke of Lancaster is held by the Sovereign.  Today, the duchy of Lancaster comprises acreage in various counties and provides a source of income for the monarch.

    Rothesay

    Robert III, King of Scots created his eldest son, David (1378-1402), Duke of Rothesay on 28 April 1398.  This title and that of Duke of Albany (created for David's uncle Robert) were the first dukedoms to be made in Scotland.  David's peerage dignities reverted to the Crown at his death because he died in the lifetime of his father and without leaving any children of his marriage.

    The title Duke of Rothesay and those of Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland have been reserved for the eldest son of the king of Scotland since an Act of Parliament made them so in November 1469.  (But as The Complete Peerage, volume XI, page 209, note "e" points out:  "The act of 1469, however, as far as regards the Dukedom of Rothesay, seems but a confirmation of the limitation of that title as [...] it was originally so granted in 1398 [...]").

    Since the union of the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1603, these traditional titles belong to the Sovereign's eldest son.  Just as Prince Charles inherited the title Duke of Cornwall on becoming heir apparent in 1952 upon his mother's accession, he has inherited the titles Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

    York

    In August 1385, Edmund "of Langley" (1341-1402), son of King Edward III, was created Duke of York by his nephew King Richard II.  Edmund's successor as Duke of York, Edward, was killed at Agincourt. The title eventually merged when Edward IV came to the throne in 1461.

    The present creation of the dukedom of York is a recent one and dates to July 1986 when HRH Prince Andrew (b. 1960), second son of HM Queen Elizabeth II, was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh.  At the present time, Prince Andrew has two children, daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, who will not be able to inherit the dukedom as it was created with the remainder to his heirs male.  Should Andrew die without leaving any sons, his title (or more accurately, the 1986 creation of it) will become extinct.  The title still belongs to the Crown, however, and the Sovereign is free to create it anew for another member of the royal family.

    Wessex

    Wessex has no history as a peerage title. It was last held as a feudal title by Harald Godwinesson (d. 1066). It was announced on June 19, 1999 (the day of the marriage of Prince Edward with Sophie Rhys-Jones) that he would receive the titles of Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn. It is the first time that a prince receives a title no higher than Earl. There is, however, a promise to grant him a title of duke of Edinburgh "in due course" (see above).

    Important points

    • these peerage titles (with the exception of Cornwall, Lancaster and Rothesay) are hereditary according to their Letters Patent which contain the standard remainder "heirs male of his body".

    • Once a peerage is granted to a member of the royal family, that peerage title is not subsequently granted to anyone outside of the royal family.  It is possible, however, for the title to be created anew for another member of the royal family.

    • two possibilities exist which would prevent the legitimate heir from succeeding to a peerage:  death and disclaiming.  Even if the legitimate heir was disqualified from succession to the Throne, he would not be disqualified from (for example) inheriting Prince Philip's Edinburgh peerage.  For such a disqualification to occur would require the legitimate heir being declared illegitimate.  Under the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, the marriage of a descendant of the Sovereign which does not receive the prior written permission of the Sovereign in Council would not be legal if contracted in England.  For example, if Princes William or Henry of Wales married without prior permission from the Sovereign, their marriage would be null and void and their children would be considered illegitimate.  (Illegitimate issue can not succeed to honours or peerages.)  Thus, the children of William and Henry would be bypassed in favor of Prince Andrew and his heirs. Although the Royal Marriages Act 1772 will be repealed when section 3 of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 comes into force, the need to secure royal consent will remain for the next 6 persons in line; Prince William will never more than 2nd in line, Prince Henry is currently 4th.

    • just because a member of the royal family entitled to the style HRH is a duke does not mean his dukedom is a 'royal' dukedom.  There isn't anything fundamental about ducal titles which make them royal dukedoms - it's a case of whether or not the particular holder of the dukedom is royal.  For example, when HRH Prince Edward (b. 1935) is succeeded as Duke of Kent by his elder son George, the dukedom of Kent will not cease to be royal but it will cease to be associated with royalty because George, as a great grandson of a Sovereign, is not entitled to the style of HRH.  (This situation applies equally to the present Duke of Gloucester and his son.)

    • a peerage for a member of the royal family isn't any different to any other peerage.  All peerages are now created by letters patent.  It is the peerage that is created, not the title.

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    32. What is the difference between an heir apparent and an heir presumptive?

    The difference between an heir apparent and an heir presumptive is as follows:

    Heir Apparent

    - the next in line to the Throne whose right to succeed cannot be defeated by the birth of of someone with a superior right to succeed
    - the eldest son of the Sovereign is always the heir apparent who becomes Duke of Cornwall by inheritance as well as becoming by inheritance Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland
    - the heir apparent is normally created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester
    - Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II
    - should Prince Charles die while Prince of Wales, his elder son William would become heir apparent because no other birth of any sort (male or female) to anyone in the line of succession could displace him from his place in succession (William is the eldest son of the eldest son of the Sovereign); also, William would not inherit the title Prince of Wales, but he could be invested as such, as he does not have to be the son of a monarch to become Prince of Wales (after the death of Frederick, Prince of Wales, King George II invested his grandson and heir, the future King George III, with the title of Prince of Wales)

    Heir Presumptive

    - the next in line to the Throne whose right to succeed could be defeated by the birth of someone with a superior right
    - Queen Elizabeth II, when Princess Elizabeth, was heiress presumptive from her father's accession as king in 1936 until her father's death in 1952 because it was always possible that her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth might have had a son

    It is possible for a woman to be heir apparent, under the following circumstances. Suppose king X has an eldest son Y, and Y has an only daughter Z. Suppose that Y dies while X is still reigning: then Z becomes heir apparent, because no one can ever displace her in the order of succession.

    Also, it happened once that a woman was heir apparent, albeit due to a peculiarity of the Act of Succession: Princess Anne of Denmark (future Queen Anne) was heir apparent to her brother-in-law William III after the death of Queen Mary, because she had priority over his issue.

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    33. How many Princes of Wales have there been and who were they?

    Since the title was first created in 1301 for the son of King Edward I, there have been twenty-one English Princes of Wales.

    The title is traditionally bestowed upon the heir apparent and he is usually the eldest son of the sovereign. There have been times when the heir apparent and Prince of Wales was not the eldest son of the sovereign but rather the grandson: Prince of Wales number 3 (future Richard II) and number 16 (future George III).

    The title 'Princess of Wales' belongs to the wife of the Prince of Wales. It is not a title bestowed on a sovereign's daughter.

    A Prince of Wales's role is to wait. He has no formal functions and has no constitutional powers (although he can act as the Sovereign's deputy). Today's Prince of Wales, however, receives cabinet papers and gives audiences to cabinet ministers (The Monarchy and the Constitution, by Vernon Bogdanor, 1995).

    The Twenty-One Princes of Wales:

    1. Edward of Carnarvon (1284-1327)
    Son of: King Edward I
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 7 February 1301/7 February 1301
    Succeeded: his father as King Edward II on 8 July 1307
    Note: the first English prince to be created Prince of Wales
    2. Edward of Woodstock ('The Black Prince') (1330-1376)
    Son of: King Edward III
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 12 May 1343/12 May 1343
    Note: died before his father on 8 June 1376
    3. Richard of Bordeaux (1367-1400)
    Son of: Edward 'the Black Prince', Prince of Wales
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 20 November 1376/
    Succeeded: his grandfather as King Richard II on 21 June 1377
    4. Henry of Monmouth (1387-1422)
    Son of: King Henry IV
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 15 October 1399/15 October 1399
    Succeeded: his father as King Henry V on 20 March 1413
    5. Edward of Westminster (1453-1471)
    Son of: King Henry VI
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 15 March 1454/9 June 1454
    Note: died before his father on 4 May 1471 (killed after the battle of Tewkesbury)
    6. Edward of Westminster (also, of York) (1470-1483)
    Son of: King Edward IV
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 25 or 26 June 1471/
    Succeeded: his father as King Edward V on 9 April 1483
    7. Edward of Middleham (1473-1484)
    Son of: King Richard III
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 24 August 1483/9 September 1483
    Note: died before his father on 9 April 1484
    8. Arthur of Winchester (1486-1502)
    Son of: King Henry VII
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 29 November 1489/27 February 1490
    Note: died before his father on 2 April 1502
    9. Henry of Greenwich(1491-1547)
    Son of: King Henry VII
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 18 February 1504/18 February 1504
    Succeeded: his father as King Henry VIII on 21 April 1509
    10. Henry Frederick (1594-1612)
    Son of: James I, King of Scots/James I, King of England
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 4 June 1610/4 June 1610
    Note: died before his father ca 6 November 1612
    11. Charles (1600-1649)
    Son of: King James I
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 4 November 1616/4 November 1616
    Succeeded: his father as King Charles I on 27 March 1625
    12. Charles (1630-1685)
    Son of: King Charles I
    Date of Creation/Investiture:
    Succeeded his father as de jure King Charles II on 30 Jan. 1649
    Note: was designated Prince of Wales around May 1638 but was never formally so created
    13. James ('The Old Pretender') (1688-1766)
    Son of: King James II
    Date of Creation/Investiture:
    Succeeded: his father as de jure King James III & VIII on 6 September 1701
    Note: was styled, though never formally so created, Prince of Wales from his birth (10 June 1688) or from 4 July 1688
    14. George (1683-1760)
    Son of: King George I
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 22 or 27 September 1714/22 or 27 September 1714
    Succeeded: his father as King George II on 11 June 1727
    15. Frederick (1707-1751)
    Son of: King George II
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 8 January 1729/
    Note: died before his father on 20 March 1751
    16. George (1738-1820)
    Son of: Frederick, Prince of Wales
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 20 April 1751/
    Succeeded: his grandfather as King George III on 25 October 1760
    17. George 1762-1830)
    Son of: King George III
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 17 or 19 August 1762/
    Succeeded: his father as King George IV on 29 January 1820
    18. Albert Edward (1841-1910)
    Son of: Queen Victoria
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 8 December 1841/
    Succeeded: his mother as King Edward VII on 22 January 1901
    19. George (1865-1936)
    Son of: King Edward VII
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 9 November 1901/
    Succeeded: his father as King George V on 6 May 1910
    20. Edward (1894-1972)
    Son of: King George V
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 23 June 1910/13 July 1911
    Succeeded: his father as King Edward VIII 20 January 1936
    21. Charles (born 1948)
    Son of: Queen Elizabeth II
    Date of Creation/Investiture: 26 July 1958/1 July 1969

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    34. Who were the princesses who bore the style "Princess Royal"?

    There are seven princesses who bore the style "Princess Royal" since it was first used in the seventeenth century.

    Background:

    The style "Princess Royal" is usually bestowed upon the eldest daughter of the sovereign. It is "regarded as a style rather than a rank or title, as it is purely honorary, bearing no particular connotation of precedence" (The Royal Encyclopedia, edited by Ronald Allison and Sarah Riddell, 1991)

    The style Princess Royal came into being when Queen Henrietta Maria (daughter of Henri IV, King of France and wife of Charles I, King of England) wished to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the French King was styled ('Madame Royale').

    There can be only one Princess Royal at any given time because the style is held for life. It therefore cannot be bestowed upon the eldest daughter of the reigning sovereign during the lifetime of a current Princess Royal. The style is granted by Royal Warrant not created by Letters Patent. It is not automatically given to the eldest daughter, but is conferred at the discretion of the reigning sovereign.

    There were two princesses who were eligible for the style but did not receive it (that is, there were no impediment preventing the style being bestowed): Princess Mary (the future Queen Mary II), daughter of King James II, who could have been granted the style between 1685 and 1688, and, Sophia Dorothea, Queen in Prussia, daughter of King George I, who could have been granted the style between 1714 and 1727.

    The granting of this style does not rest on any particular merit and does not confer any particular privilege to the holder. There isn't any investiture ceremony nor are there any specific duties attached to it. The style is not inherited on the death of a Princess Royal.

    The Seven Princesses Royal:

    1. Princess Mary (1631-1660)
    Daughter of: King Charles I
    Date Granted: unknown, perhaps 1642
    Spouse: Willem II, Prince of Orange (1626-1650)
    Note: Princess Mary was the first princess to known as 'Princess Royal'
    2. Princess Anne (1709-1759)
    Daughter of: King George II
    Date Granted: 30 August 1727
    Spouse: Willem IV, Prince of Orange (1711-1751)
    Note: Princess Anne became Princess Royal in the lifetime of her aunt, Sophia Dorothea, Queen in Prussia (d. 1757), who had been eligible for this honour but who did not receive it
    3. Princess Charlotte (1766-1828)
    Daughter of: King George III
    Date Granted: from birth (officially designated on 22 June 1789)
    Spouse of: Friedrich I, King of Württemberg (1754-1816)
    4. Princess Victoria (1840-1901)
    Daughter of: Queen Victoria
    Date Granted: from birth (armorial bearings granted 19 January 1841)
    Spouse of: Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia (1831-1888)
    5. Princess Louise (1867-1931)
    Daughter of: King Edward VII
    Date Granted: 9 November 1905
    Spouse of: Sir Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife (1849-1912)
    6. Princess Mary (1897-1965)
    Daughter of: King George V
    Date Granted: 15 December 1931 (made public 1 January 1932)
    Spouse of: Sir Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (1882-1947)
    7. Princess Anne (b. 1950)
    Daughter of: Queen Elizabeth II
    Date Granted: 13 June 1987
    Spouse: 1st (later divorced), Mark Phillips (b. 1948)
    2nd, Timothy Laurence (b. 1955)

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    35. Where can I find the Acts, Proclamations and Instruments concerning the royal succession?

    Some Acts , Proclamations and Instruments passed by the Parliaments of England and Great Britain are online.  The selected documents in the following list feature a brief explanation followed by an URL for online viewing (except for the Sophia Naturalization Act)

    1. Bill of Rights, 1689

    The "Bill of Rights" (its official name since the Short Titles Act 1896) was a statute passed in 1689 guaranteeing the rights of Parliament against the arbitrary rule by the Sovereign.  It limited the Sovereign's power and subjected Him to law, and decided that the succession to the Throne would no longer be based only on hereditary right but could be altered by Parliament.  Thus, succession to the Throne was denied to King James II , his heirs general and to those who were Catholic or married to Catholics.  (There isn't any ban on marriages to atheists, Hindus, Mormons, Muslims, Rastafarians, or any religion other than the "Popish" religion.)  Note that the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement, seen below, refer only to the disqualification of someone who marries a Papist. No provision is made for the disqualification of someone who (like HRH the Duke of Kent) marries someone who later becomes a Papist.

    http://www.jacobite.ca/documents/16891216.htm
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/england.htm

    2. Act of Settlement, 1701

    The Act of Settlement was passed in 1701 in the reign of King William III.  It was designed to ensure a Protestant succession to the throne.  It set the succession as William III (the then sovereign) for his life, then Princess Anne of Denmark (later Queen Anne), then Princess Anne's descendants (the last had already died), then William III's descendants (he had none), then Princess Sophia, electress and duchess dowager of Hanover, then the heirs of Sophia's body being Protestants.  Note that it doesn't mention who, if anybody, was to succeed if Sophia's heirs died out.  This means that there is a finite number of persons who are eligible, under this Act, to succeed to the British Throne, that is, the descendants of Sophia. The non-Protestant disqualification, which is not actually laid out in the Act of Settlement but in a previous Act (see the Bill of Rights, above), is a personal disqualification, namely doing the wrong thing disqualifies that person for the rest of his life, but does not disqualify his children.

    Noel McFerran has the original text at http://www.jacobite.ca/documents/1701settlement.htm with modernized spelling and punctuation. But the Act has been amended several times since. A scan of the text as currently in force (inclusive of various amendments made to it since 1701).

    3. Sophia Naturalization Act, 1705

    The Sophia Naturalization Act was passed in 1705.  It gave to Electress Sophia of Hanover and "the issue of her body" the right of British citizenship in perpetuity, that is "that they [...] should be naturalized, and be deemed [...] natural born subjects of England".

    The Act is cited as "4 & 5 Anne c. 16", and the text is available in Statutes of the Realm (reprinted Buffalo, N.Y.: William S. Hein, 1993, vol. 8, p. 487).  However, this right of British citizenship is excluded to Roman Catholics, as can be seen in Article II of the Act which reads in part:

    Provided always and be it further enacted [and declared] by the Authority aforesaid That every Person and Persons who shall be naturalized by virtue of this Act of Parliament and shall become a Papist or profess the Popish Religion shall not enjoy any Benefit or Advantage of a natural born Subject of England but every such Person shall be adjudged and taken as an Alien born out of Allegiance of the Queen of England to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever Any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
    It is worth noting that any foreign royals who have been made British subjects by this Act (as in, for example, HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands or HM King Constantine II of the Hellenes) are not British royals.  This is correct up to the effective date of the British Nationality Act of 1948 when the Sophia Naturalization Act was repealed by name.  Any descendant of Electress Sophia born after 1948 cannot claim British nationality under the Sophia Naturalization Act.

    4. Royal Marriages Act, 1772

    The Royal Marriages Act was an Act of Parliament passed in 1772 by request of King George III  after two of his brothers married without his permission women he considered unsuitable as wives of princes.  The RMA stipulates that all descendants of George II, other than the sovereign and the descendants of princesses who have married into foreign families, are required to obtain the consent of the Sovereign, signified under the Great Seal and declared in Council, before any marriage is contracted.  The Act contains a clause that states if consent is refused, those who are 25 years or older can inform the Privy Council of their intention to go ahead with the marriage; then, unless within twelve months both Houses of Parliament (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) show their disapproval, the marriage may lawfully take place.  If the marriage is not approved and still takes place, it is considered null and void and any children are regarded as illegitimate. The RMA can determine whether a marriage is valid or not, but it does not affect the constitutional position of the individual (that person retains his place in the line of succession) although it does affect those of his children (they do not have a place in the line of succession).  Further, it would seem that the RMA applies not only to marriages within Britain but outside of the country as well.  (Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex, son of King George III, married without permission, in Rome on 4 April 1793, Lady Augusta Murray.  Their marriage was held to be invalid in August 1794 by the Court of Arches, even though it had occurred out of Britain, because the permission had not been granted.) Lastly, the RMA, which is still in effect, extends to infinity (it has no cutoff point).

    The RMA will be repealed when section 3, subsection 4 of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 comes into force. In its place, the requirement to secure royal consent will be required of the first 6 persons in line of succession only. Failure to obtain royal consent signified under the Great Seal, declared in Council, and recorded in the books of the Privy Council, will exclude the person and the person's descendants from the marriage from the line of succession.

    Repeal of the RMA, however, will not retroactively confer validity on all marriages that were contracted in contravention to the RMA. By subsection 5, it will do so for a marriage (a) that was contracted by someone not among the first 6 in line of succession at the time of marriages, (b) for which no consent was sought or 12 months' notice given, (c) whose parties could reasonably be unaware that the RMA applied to them, and (d) for which no one took action on the basis that it was void. Moreover, even if a marriage becomes retroactively valid by subsection 5, subsection 6 provides that it does not affect the succession to the Crown. That a marriage meets conditions (c) and (d) seems difficult to prove; but since there are several thousand descendants of George II of which many are British, and only a small subset can be shown to have obtained consent, the repeal will probably restores the validity of many marriages.

    http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/rma1772.html

    5. July 17, 1917 Proclamation

    On 17 July 1917, King George V issued a Proclamation which stated that the male line descendants of the royal family would bear the surname Windsor.

    http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/windsor.html

    6. Instrument of Abdication, 1936

    King Edward VIII succeeded his father George V in January 1936.  He was determined to marry Wallis Simpson (they first met in 1931) following her October 1936 divorce from her second husband.  The government and leaders of the Church of England were convinced that neither the country nor the Dominions would accept a queen who had been twice divorced.  Despite all advice, King Edward VIII went ahead with his intention to marry the woman he loved.  He had to make a choice about his future and ultimately chose Mrs Simpson.  In early December 1936, King Edward VIII informed the Prime Minister of his decision to cease being king.  And so, the Instrument of Abdication was signed on 10 December 1936 and it became law the next day when Parliament passed the Declaration of Abdication Act.

    http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/abdicate.html

    7. Succession to the Crown Act 2013

    This Act received the royal assent on 25 April 2013. However, only section 5 came into force on that date, and section 5 provides that the other provisions of the Act come into force "on such day and as such time as the Lord President of the Council may be order made by statutory instrument appoint," something that has not yet happened (and "different days and times may be appointed for different purposes", so all provisions may not come into force at the same time). The purpose of this clause is to postpone commencement of the full Act until all of HM's realms have enacted identical changes to the law of succession. Until such time the order of succession remains unchanged.

    Once the provisions of the act come into force:

    • gender (section 1): the gender of a person born after 28 Oct 2011 will not give that person or that person's descendants precedence over any other person whenever born
    • religion (section 2): marrying a Roman Catholic will no longer disqualify, and those who had been disqualified will cease to be excluded if they are alive when the provision comes into force (if they aren't, the question is moot, since the disqualification does not affect anyone but the individual);
    • marriage (section 3):
      • the Royal Marriages Act 1772 will be repealed;
      • a person's failure to secure consent of the sovereign for marriage will exclude the person and the person's descendants from that marriage from the succession only if the person is one of the 6 persons next in line;
      • marriages previously considered void under the Royal Marriages Act will be treated as never having been void if they fulfill certain conditions, but without any effect on the succession to the Crown.

    Once these provisions come into effect, the following individuals will be affected:

    • section 1: any male born between 28 Oct 2011 and the commencement of section 1 who has an older sister will cease to displace her in the line of succession (none so far);
      (for example, a hypothetical son of the Duke of York would currently be 6th in line, but would move to 8th place after commencement of section 1)
    • section 2: the Earl of Saint Andrews and HRH Prince Michael of Kent will be restored to the line of succession (becoming 33d and 39th respectively);
    • section 3: no retroactive effect on the line of succession.

    See the official text of the Act at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/20/contents/enacted

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    36. What is the Farran exemption?

    In the 1950s, a man named Charles Farran found what he considered to be a loophole in the Royal Marriages Act.  He pointed out that since Queen Alexandra (wife of King Edward VII) was a descendant of a princess who had married into a foreign family, she was not covered by the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.  (This Act contains a clause which exempts descendants of all princesses who marry into foreign royal houses, even those descendants who marry back into the British line and their descendants, from requiring the Sovereign's permission before marrying).  As descendants of a British princess who married into a foreign royal family, Queen Alexandra and her descendants were exempt from the Act's requirements.  Therefore, depending on whether or not Queen Victoria can be considered to be a princess who married into a foreign royal house (that is, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), everybody who could be covered by the Royal Marriages Act has a Farran exemption (*) and so the Act is dead.  Farran's arguments do not seem to bother the present royal family who behaves as if there isn't any substance to them.  After all, there hasn't been any court ruling one way or another on this point.

    It is worth noting that at no point does the Royal Marriages Act define precisely the word "princesses" or the phrase "into foreign houses".

    The requirements of the Royal Marriages Act were applied when the present Duke of Fife (a descendant of HRH Princess Louise, daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) asked for permission to marry a Roman Catholic and was refused, leading to his subsequent marriage to a Protestant.  This is the only occasion when the Royal Marriages Act was recently applied.  In the cases of HRH Prince Michael of Kent and his nephew the Earl of St Andrews, both were given permission to marry Roman Catholics under the Royal Marriages Act.  The Royal Marriages Act is quite explicit about the exemptions and it would be inappropriate and wrong for a court to second guess what an 18th century parliament intended but did not say.  The only reason the Royal Marriages Act is applied where it shouldn't be (e.g. to the current royal family) is that none of those affected have felt the need to challenge it.

    The Royal Marriages Act has not been repealed, and there aren't any plans at this time to do so.  The Farran exemption has never been applied to a British marriage, it is simply one man's opinion and carries no legal weight.  Members of the royal family, including their Hanoverian cousins, still seek permission to marry according to the Royal Marriages Act.

    * a list of the individuals covered by the Farran exemption can be seen in an a.t.r. post called "Royal Marriages Act coverage", by William Addams Reitwiesner, dated Sep 7, 1996

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    37. What is the address of HM The Queen?

    The address of HM The Queen is as follows:

    Buckingham Palace
    London SW 1
    United Kingdom

    When sending a letter to HM, the envelope should read as follows:

    The Private Secretary to HM The Queen
    Buckingham Palace
    London SW 1
    United Kingdom

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    38. Does Prince William of Wales have an e-mail address?

    If he does, he certainly hasn't posted it on our newsgroup. We sincerely doubt that Prince William, or any other royal for that matter, would want the world to know his e-mail address. We can't vouch whether he or other royals are lurking in a.t.r. or any other newsgroup.

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    39. What are some of the royal palaces and places of burial?

    The following information about palaces and places of burial of Britain's royal family is an excerpt taken from the "Royal Landmarks for alt.talk.royalty FAQ" (the remainder of this mini-FAQ can be seen at:
    http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/landmark.html)

    Palaces:

    near Aberdeen Balmoral grounds (& house ?) open to the public. Bought by Queen Victoria & Prince Albert in 1852 from the Duff family. Prince Albert rebuilt the castle in 'Scotch Baronial' style the estate now extends to about 24,000 acres on the River Dee & includes Abergeldie, Birkhall, Braemar (where the Highland Games are held in Sept.) and Crathie village church where the Royal Family worships when in residence in August and September
    Edinburgh Palace of Holyroodhouse official residence of The Queen when she goes to Scotland every year; open to the public
    King's Lynn, Norfolk Sandringham House open to the public
    London Buckingham Palace (including The Queen's Gallery and The Royal Mews) official residence of The Queen; open in summer
    London Kensington Palace former residence of Diana Princess of Wales. Several members of the Royal Family have apartments in this palace. Parts are open to the public
    London St. James's Palace closed to the public; residence of some members of the Royal Family
    London Whitehall Palace destroyed by fire in the 17th century; only Banqueting House survived and can be visited
    Castle of Mey (northern tip of Scotland) the gardens open to the public in the summer months. Acquired and renovated by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in the 1950s following the death of her husband King George VI
    Windsor, Berkshire Windsor Castle parts open to the public

    Places of Burial:

    Frogmore, Berkshire Royal Mausoleum Victoria, Albert and a few others
    Great Brington, Northamptonshire Althorp Park grave of Diana Princess of Wales. The Althorp estate belongs to Earl Spencer, but it will be open to the public from July 1 till August 30 2001
    London Westminster Abbey open to the public; mostly medieval royals, with some Hanoverian kings and family members
    Windsor, Berkshire Windsor Castle (St. George's Chapel) Hanovers, Windsors and others

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    40. Mini-biography of Diana, Princess of Wales

    A mini-biography of Diana, Princess of Wales in the form of questions and answers (such as when was Diana born, who are the members of Diana's immediate family, what was Diana's title during her marriage and after her divorce, and was Diana stripped of "HRH" following her divorce) can be found at the website called "Diana, Princess of Wales". To view the site, please follow the link at this URL: http://users.uniserve.com/~canyon/diana.html

    41. Is a new king free to choose a new name, or does Charles have to reign as "Charles III"?

    This is a matter of tradition. No sovereign has reigned in England under a name not given at baptism, and only one did in Scotland (John Stewart reigned as Robert III from 1390 to 1406, because of the dislike for king John Baillol).

    Until the advent of the Hannoverian dynasty in the 18th century, British princes received only one name at baptism. Since 1714, monarchs have always had a choice. Several monarchs chose to reign under a name that was not their first:

    • Alexandrina Victoria was known as, and reigned as Victoria;
    • Albert Edward was known as, and reigned as Edward VII;
    • Albert Frederick Arthur George was known as Albert, but reigned as George VI.

    Only George VI reigned under a name under which he was not known; this can be explained by the desire to bridge over the unpleasant memories of Edward VIII's abdication back to the long and stable reign of George V. (Edward VIII himself was privately known by his last given name David, but Edward was his first name and the one under which he was publicly known before he acceded.)

    The current prince of Wales has four to choose from: Charles, Philip, Arthur, George. Tradition suggests that he will choose one of the four, and that some special reason would have to impel him not to choose "Charles". Should he choose Philip, he would be the second of the name (Mary I's husband was proclaimed king). Should he choose Arthur, he would be the first of the name since the conquest.

    42. What is the title of a Queen's husband?

    There are too few cases in English or British history to establish a rule. Here are the precedents:

    • Matilda (d. 1167) should have succeeded her father Henry I in 1135 but a civil war broke out and she never effectively ruled, although the crown ultimately passed to her son. Thus the question of the style of her husband, Geoffrey Plantagenet, never really arose.
    • Mary Tudor married in 1554 Philip, king of Naples. He became king of England and Ireland by right of his wife. Parliament was called in their names, acts are dated from the year of their joint reign. His reign ended with her death in 1558, as stipulated by the marriage contract and by act of Parliament (1 Mar I 3 c.2).
    • Mary Stuart, queen of Scots, had two husbands who held the title of king: François, dauphin then king of France, (d. 1560) and Henry Lord Darnley (d. 1567).
    • Mary II and William III became queen and king jointly and each in his own right, by virtue of the Bill of Rights; after her death, he ruled in his own name. Thus, his title did not derive from being the husband of a queen.
    • Anne's husband, prince George of Denmark, was created duke of Cumberland in 1689, before her accession.
    • Victoria's husband received the title of Prince Consort in 1857. He never received a peerage.
    • Elizabeth II's husband had been created duke of Edinburgh in 1947, before her accession. He was also made a prince of the United Kingdom in 1957.

    One can also note a near-miss: when George IV's daughter and heiress presumptive married prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a dukedom of Kendall was mooted for him, but he apparently turned it down.

    In short, no two husbands of queens were treated alike. However, it is unlikely that the case of Mary I's husband will arise again.

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    43. How are sovereigns numbered?

    Scottish and English sovereigns were numbered separately, as long as the kingdoms were separate. Note that English and British sovereigns are numbered since the Conquest; also, they are usually numbered only if that Christian name has been born by more than one ruler (thus one says "Queen Victoria" and not "Queen Victoria I").

    With the personal union of the crowns in 1603 sovereigns used dual numbers when applicable, e.g., James VI and I (6th of Scotland and 1st of England). Since the union of the kingdoms in 1707, a single numeral has been used for each sovereign, and it has been the one consistent with the English rather than the Scottish sequence of sovereigns: William IV (rather than III), Edward VII (rather than I). Soon after the accession of Elizabeth II, it was announced that, henceforth, the highest numeral from either sequence would be chosen, so that the next Richard will be the 4th, but the next James will be the 8th.

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    44. What happens when a king dies and his widow is pregnant?

    The case is interesting only if the king does not already have a son (who would then immediately succeed). There are two possibilities: (a) if the deceased king left a daughter, she could be displaced by the birth of a brother, but not by the birth of another daughter. (b) If he left no children, the child, male or female, should logically succeed.

    But neither case has ever occurred, nor is either addressed explicitly in legislation, so any answer is speculative. The case occurred in Spain in 1883, where a similar succession law existed, and a regency was put in place (see the ATR FAQ for how other countries handled the same situation). But the Regency Act has no provision for a regency without a sovereign (or with an unknown sovereign).

    In cas (a) above, the eldest existing daughter could be proclaimed conditionally. This is suggested by the accession of Victoria in 1837. William IV had died, leaving Queen Adelaide, a 45-year old widow. Victoria was proclaimed queen "saving the rights of any issue of his late Majesty King William IV. which may be born of his late Majesty's consort". While not a legally binding document, the proclamation hints at how the matter would be handled.

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    Part III: British Noble Families

    1. What is the peerage?

    In UK law, a peerage is an incorporeal heriditament (a non-corporeal form of property, a sort of virtual real estate), being one of the several dignities, including baronetcies and knighthoods, which can be created by the Crown.

    At one time, the term nobility applied to all ranks above commoners and included earls, barons, knights and esquires.  With the establishment of the House of Lords came a distinction between hereditary nobility (that is, the peerage) and the lower ranks with gentry still considered as noble.  By the 19th century, however, the gentry was excluded from the term nobility.  (The English and Irish gentry are not recognized in British law as nobility, but the Scots are.)

    The Peerage is made up of two parts:  one part is the separate ranks in the peerage (see question 2 below) and the other part is the five separate peerages.  These separate peerages are the peerage of England, of Scotland, of Ireland, of Great Britain, and of the United Kingdom.  Peers were created in the "peerage of England" or the "peerage of Scotland" up until 1707 when these two kingdoms combined under what is known as the Act of Union.  Peers created after this date were in the "peerage of Great Britain".  Peers continued to be created in the "peerage of Ireland" until 1801 when Great Britain and Ireland were combined in a second Act of Union.  Peers created after this date were in the "peerage of the United Kingdom".

    Exceptions and interesting points worth noting:

    • it is possible to have two peerages with the same title:  for example, one could be "Baron XYZ, in the Peerage of Ireland" and also "Baron XYZ, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom"; in other words, it is not the title of the peerage that is important but the existence of the peerage itself.

    • some peerages were still created in the peerage of Ireland after 1801 but these peers were not allowed to sit in the House of Lords

    • one could be created a peer of Scotland or Ireland without being necessarily a Scotsman or Irishman

    • the rank of baron does not exist in the peerage of Scotland because in Scotland a baron means a Barony in land; the equivalent rank for baron is Lord of Parliament (shortened to Lord)

    • a peer is usually known by the highest peerage title he possesses (there are a few exceptions to this rule); if a peer has more than one peerage of the same grade (for instances, two or three ducal titles), he chooses the one by which he wishes to be known

    • the Sovereign can create a peerage title regardless of whether the place named has ever been under British rule or not (example:  Earl Mountbatten of Burma, in which the suffix is a description of the lord in question; it serves as a reminder of the historical associations the peer has with the area in question and does not represent any sort of territorial claim or suzerainty over Burma)

    • until 11 November 1999, peers of hereditary titles sat in the House of Lords, with the exception of life peers and peers in the peerage of Ireland (unless they held a peerage in one of the other four Peerages); since the House of Lords Act of 1999 (1999 c. 34) came into force, the Lord Chamberlain, the Earl Marshal and 90 hereditary peers continue to sit in the House of Lords; the final state of the House of Lords, and the role that hereditary peers might play in it, has not yet been decided (as of Sep 2000)

    • life peers or peeresses (Barons or Baronesses) are addressed as if they were hereditary peers or peeresses; their children have the same style as those of hereditary peers or peeresses; the first life peer was Sir James Parke, Knight when he was created Baron Wensleydale in 1856 (life peerages were introduced to help increase the numbers in the House of Lords and were a way to ennoble those who did not have the financial means to support a hereditary peerage)

    • peeresses in their own right are women, usually Countesses and Baronesses, who have either succeeded to a title or have been created a peer (in Scotland, a baroness would be a Lady of Parliament, shortened to Lady); peeresses can be holders of hereditary titles or life titles; the husband of a Countess or Baroness in her own right is not allowed to use his wife's title as his courtesy title.

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    2. What ranks are there in the peerage?

    The five British peerage ranks in order of seniority are duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron.

    Duke
    - the title of duke (from Latin Dux, a leader) was created by King Edward III in 1337 and is the most senior rank in the peerage.  Edward of Woodstock (later known as the Black Prince) was created Duke of Cornwall in March 1337 by his father Edward III.
    - the wife of a duke is a duchess
    - in correspondence, a duke is addressed either as "His Grace the Duke of N..." or "The Duke of N..." with the salutation being either "My Lord Duke" or "Dear Duke N...".  When meeting in social situations, a duke is addressed as "Your Grace".
    - the name of the dignity is dukedom
    - the adjective is ducal
    Marquess
    - the title of marquess (from the term Marchio), now ranks between duke and earl. During Norman times (ca 1066-1154), marchio was given to earls and barons who guarded the Welsh or Scottish marches or border territories.  It lost its territorial meaning in the 1100s.  The first 'marquess' was Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, when he was made Marquess of Dublin in 1385.
    - marquess is sometimes spelled the French way 'marquis'.
    - the wife of a marquess is a marchioness
    - in correspondence, a marquess is addressed either as "The Most Hon. the Marquess of N..." or "The Marquess of N..." with the salutation being either "My Lord" or "Dear Lord N...".  When meeting in social situations, a marquess is addressed as "My Lord".
    - the name of the dignity is marquisdom, marquisate, or marquisship
    - the adjective is marchesal, marquesal, or marquisal
    Earl
    - the title of earl, derived from Scandinavian jarl, is the oldest English title and rank.  In the Middle Ages, it was placed below the rank of marquess.
    - the wife of an earl is a countess
    - in correspondence, an earl is addressed either as "The Right Hon. the Earl (of)  N..." or "The Earl (of) N..." with the salutation being either "My Lord" or "Dear Lord N...". When meeting in social situations, an earl is addressed as "My Lord".
    - the name of the dignity is earldom
    - the adjective is comital
    Viscount
    - the title of viscount (with its origins in Vice-Comes, a deputy or lieutenant of a Count) ranks between an earl and a baron.  John Lord Beaumont was created Viscount Beaumont (in England and Viscount Beaumont in France) in 1440 by King Henry VI
    - the wife of a viscount is a viscountess
    - in correspondence, a viscount is addressed either as "The Right Hon. the Viscount N..." or "The Viscount N..." with the salutation being either "My Lord" or "Dear Lord N...".  When meeting in social situations, a viscount is addressed as "My Lord".
    - the name of the dignity is viscountcy, viscountship, or viscountry
    - the adjective is viscontal, or viscontial
    Baron
    - the lowest rank of the peerage is the title baron.  It was introduced into England by the Norman kings.  The first baron created by patent was John Beauchamp de Holt who was created Baron Kidderminster by King Richard II in 1387
    - the wife of a baron is a baroness
    - in correspondence, a baron is addressed either as "The Right Hon. the Lord N..." or "The Lord N..." with the salutation being either "My Lord" or "Dear Lord N...".  When meeting in social situations, a baron is addressed as "My Lord".
    - the name of the dignity is barony
    - the adjective is baronial.

    Note that baronet (which is a hereditary dignity, however), knight, esquire and gentleman are not titles of nobility and do not form part of the peerage.

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    3. Is everyone in a peer's family noble?

    In Great Britain, a peer is a noble. The status of nobility does not extend to his wife or to his children.  Unless they possess a noble title in their own right, family members are considered commoners.  It is only when a peer dies that the eldest son inherits his father's title and becomes noble.  Daughters do not usually succeed to their father's titles unless it is specifically included in the creation of the title.

    The eldest son of a duke, marquess or earl is allowed to use one of his father's (or mother's, if she is a peeress in her own right) subsidiary peerage titles as a social courtesy, while the eldest son of a viscount or baron is allowed Honourable before his Christian name.  (Note that while the eldest son and heir might have the use of his father's secondary title, his father remains the actual holder of such a title, and that as a courtesy peer the heir is legally not a peer but a commoner.)

    The younger sons and the daughters of a duke or marquess are allowed the use of Lord or Lady before their Christian names.  The younger sons of an earl are allowed the use of Honourable before their Christian names while the daughters are allowed the use of Lady before their Christian names.  The younger sons and the daughters of a viscount and a baron are allowed the use of Honourable before their Christian names.

    If a daughter of a peer marries a commoner (a non-titled person), she retains her precedence as a daughter of a peer.  If she marries a peer, however, her precedence becomes that of wife of the peer. In other words, if she marries "down" (a non-titled person), she keeps her precedence.  If she marries "up" (a titled person), she takes on her husband's precedence.

    Children of married daughters of peers do not have any titles or courtesy styles unless their father is a title holder or their mother is a title holder in her own right.  Also, if a peer marries a spouse with children from a previous union, those children do not have a right of inheritance to the peer's titles nor do they enjoy the precedence of children of the peer.

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    4. Who is a commoner in Britain?

    Anyone who is not the sovereign or the holder of a substantive (as opposed to courtesy) peerage. This includes all members of the royal family who are not peers, and all members of peerage families except the actual peer: for example, Prince Harry of Wales, the Princess Royal, the earl of Arundel (son of a duke) are all commoners.

    While this definition is legally correct, it seems counter-intuitive to many, in part because it is so different from the continental usage. This tends to generate confusion and debates, and use of the word should perhaps be avoided where possible.

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    5. Can a peer renounce his peerage titles?

    Peerages (such as "Duke of Edinburgh") cannot be renounced.  The second Viscount Stansgate tried to do that but it didn't work.  As a consequence, there is now a procedure called "disclaiming" a peerage.  The Peerage Act 1963 allowed hereditary peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain or the United Kingdom  to be disclaimed for life.  (It also allowed hereditary peeresses to be members of the House of Lords, and for all Scottish peers to sit in the House of Lords.)  In the example of Lord Stansgate, he has disclaimed his peerage and is now known as Mr. Anthony (Tony) Wedgwood Benn. The new peer has to disclaim within 12 months of succeeding or reaching the age of 21, whichever came last, and once he has applied to sit in the House of Lords he cannot disclaim.

    Once a peerage is disclaimed it is an irrevocable decision and the peerage no longer exists during the lifetime of the disclaiming peer.  Further, no other hereditary peerage is conferred on the disclaiming peer.  A life peerage, on the other hand, can be bestowed on one who has disclaimed his hereditary peerages (as in the examples of the former 2nd Viscount Hailsham and the former 14th Earl of Home).  Life peerages cannot be disclaimed, however.  As soon as a peer has disclaimed his peerage, he reverts to the status held before he inherited the peerage.  The wife of a disclaimed peer also reverts to the same style as her husband.  If the wife inherited any courtesy style from her father, she may revert to its use.  The children of a disclaimed peer retain their precedence as the children of a peer, and any courtesy titles and styles borne while their father was a peer.  It is open to any child of a disclaiming peer to say that he or she no longer wishes to be known by these styles.

    Succession to the disclaimed peerage is not accelerated (that is, the oldest son does not get the peerage as soon as his father has disclaimed it), nor is it diverted (to a brother or cousin, for instance).  The peerage is in suspended animation until the disclaimed peer dies.  The next person is then eligible to succeed normally under the terms of the remainder.

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    6. Can a woman inherit a peerage?

    Some peerages are inherited in the male line, while others can be inherited by females. Other peerages fall into abeyance when there are sisters, and others have sliding remainders.  Each peerage is (or can be) different.

    The most important piece of information is the exact text in the patent creating the peerage.  There it will usually say what is to happen to the peerage on the death of the grantee.  The usual phrase in hereditary peerages (not life peerages) is something which means "and the heirs male of his body legitimately born".

    Peerage law determines what is meant by "heirs male", "of his body", and "legitimately born", but doesn't affect the devolution of the peerage as defined in the patent.  Since the Sovereign in the "fons honorum" (fount of honour), the Sovereign can issue whatever peerage he/she wants with whatever remainder he/she wants.

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    7. Can a person buy a title and became a noble?

    The only titles which can be bought legally in Europe are Scottish baronial titles.  These feudal titles are eligible for purchase and can change hands by contract between ordinary citizens.  Further, these titles confer heraldic privileges and precedence.

    Peerage titles are created by the Crown unlike manor titles which can be bought from a previous owner or from a firm specializing in the selling of these feudal titles.  (Often, the sale of feudal titles are held at auctions to the highest bidder.)  The purchase of a 'lord of the manor' title does not make one a nobleman because it is not a peerage title.  It is a feudal title only, although it might carry some historic association.  It does not confer any status, nobiliary rights or privileges.  Possession of such a title (or even a coat of arms) does not make one a noble, although it does in Scotland.

    There isn't anything wrong with buying or selling lordships of the manors, but it is wrong to refer to them as "British titles".  The holder of a manorial lordship is not styled "Lord (or Lady) of the Manor", although he/she can describe himself/herself as such, just as one describes oneself as a "chartered accountant".  A lordship confers no style or precedence whatsoever, nor carries prestige or social advantage.

    More information on this topic can be found at the following web sites:

    The European Nobility
    http://www.chivalricorders.org/nobility/index.htm
    A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal, and Imperial Titles
    http://www.heraldica.org/topics/odegard/titlefaq.htm
    A Glossary of Titles in 35 languages by Alexander Kirschnig
    http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/titel.htm
    Manorial and Other Feudal Titles
    http://www.kwtelecom.com/heraldry/manor.html

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    8. If I buy a coat of arms, am I noble?

    Buying a coat of arms does not make one a noble.  Websites that advertises the selling of coat of arms should be approached with caution.  If the website says something like "a coat of arms is a pictorial representation of a name", be aware that this is simply untrue. Further, selling a "coat of arms for a name" is dishonest.  Selling someone with a particular name a coat of arms as if it is theirs is fraudulent.  In some countries, using a coat of arms which does not rightfully belong to you as an individual is illegal.

    A coat of arms is a pictorial form of identification belonging to a person, a particular family or a corporate body.  It does not belong to a name.  For most names, there is more than one coat of arms, but most people with that name will have no association whatsoever with the arms, unless they are of proven descent from an individual who possessed or was granted the arms in the first place.

    If you have the surname Spencer, for example, you are no more entitled to associate yourself with the arms of the Earl Spencer than you are to claim the earldom itself. Conversely, if you are called Smith and you do have a coat of arms, you could change your name to Jones and still use the same coat of arms.  The arms belong to you and your heirs as people, not to your name.

    More information about coat of arms can be found in the rec.heraldry FAQ (especially Question 3: How can I find my coat of arms or my family's coat of arms?) which can be viewed on the WWW at:  http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/heraldry.faq

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    Part IV: Resources

    1. On-line Sources of Information

    It is amazing what one can find on-line about British royalty, nobility and related topics. The following sites are but a sampling of what one can discover while surfing the 'Net. This list is not meant to be definitive; rather it is a starting point for research. The FAQ compiler and maintainer does not make any judgements as to the contents or opinions found at these sites. If you are using the World Wide Web (aka WWW, W3, Mosaic, Netscape, Lynx), you can reach these pages at the following URLs:

    I - Official Website:

    United Kingdom:
    http://www.royal.gov.uk

    II - Websites which predominantly feature British royalty and nobility:

    Aaron's Royalty Research Project:
    http://www.gilmer.net/royalty
    Althorp House (the late Diana, Princess of Wales's ancestral home):
    http://www.althorp-house.co.uk/
    The Ancestry of the HRH duke of Cambridge (Prince William of Wales):
    http://users.uniserve.com/~canyon/william.html
    The Baronage Press:
    http://www.baronage.co.uk/contents.html
    Britain's Royal Family and related European Lineages:
    http://www.seattleboys.com/royalweb/00.html
    The British Heraldic Archive:
    http://www.kwtelecom.com/heraldry/index.html
    The British system of aristocratic honorifics:
    http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/honrific.html British Titles of Nobility - An Introduction and Primer to the Peerage http://www.chinet.com/~laura/html/titles01.html#N_7_
    Buckingham Palace Press Releases:
    http://www.coi.gov.uk/coi/depts/GQB/GQB.html
    Diana, Princess of Wales:
    http://www.gale.com/gale/cwh/diana-pw.html
    Diana, Princess of Wales's BBC Interview:
    http://scoop.evansville.net/diana.html
    Duke of Gloucester Page (The Most Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem:
    http://www.saintjohn.org/duke.htm
    Dukes of the United Kingdom:
    http://wwwtc.nhmccd.cc.tx.us/people/crf01/history/duke.html
    Hereditary Titles of the British Empire:
    http://www.hereditarytitles.com/
    The Jacobite Heritage:
    http://www.jacobite.ca/
    The Lineages of the Royal Princes of England:
    http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4793/
    Manorial and Other Feudal Titles:
    http://www.kwtelecom.com/heraldry/manor.html
    Monarchs of England:
    http://www.britannia.com/history/h6.html
    Personal Flags and Standards of the Sovereign and Members of the Royal Family:
    http://canada.gc.ca/canadiana/etiqu/chap3-e.htm#royal
    The Prince's Trust:
    http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/n2-index.htm
    The Princess Diana Chronicles:
    http://www.ukfirst.com/diana/links1.html
    U.K. Picture Album: The Royal Family:
    http://www.neosoft.com/~dlgates/uk/ukspecific.html?pix_windsors
    UK-Royalty Mailing List:
    http://www.etoile.demon.co.uk/Rmail.html
    United Kingdom Parliament:
    http://www.parliament.uk
    Unofficial British Royal Family Pages:
    http://www.etoile.co.uk/Royal.html
    Yvonne's Royalty Home Page:
    http://users.uniserve.com/~canyon/royalty.html

    III - Websites with some British royalty and nobility content:

    Brigitte's Royal & Nobility Genealogy:
    http://www.genealogy.com/brigitte/index.html
    Canadian Monarchist Online:
    http://www.interlog.com/~rakhshan
    Charlotte's Web: Roots - Noble & Royal Genealogies:
    http://www.charweb.org/gen/noblesse.html
    Christine's Royal Families Page:
    http://wwwedu.cs.utwente.nl/~kersten/royal.html
    Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet - Royalty and Nobility:
    http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/royalty.htm
    Die Welfen (House of Hanover):
    http://www.welfen.de/
    The European History Web Page:
    http://www.eurohistory.com
    The European Nobility:
    http://www.chivalricorders.org/nobility/index.htm
    European Royal Houses:
    http://www.chivalricorders.org/royalty/index.htm
    The EuroStamm Home Page:
    http://members.aol.com/eurostamm/index.html
    A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal, and Imperial Titles:
    http://www.heraldica.org/topics/odegard/titlefaq.htm
    Heraldica: François Velde's Heraldry Site:
    http://www.heraldica.org/
    Manorial and Other Feudal Titles:
    http://www.kwtelecom.com/heraldry/manor.html
    Marivi's Royalty Page:
    http://www.serv.net/~marivim/royalty.html
    Monarchy Home Page:
    http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3417/monarchy.html
    Paul Theroff's Dynastic Genealogy Files:
    http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff
    and his Online Gotha:
    http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/gotha.htm
    Royal Descents of famous people:
    http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/mh10006/FamTree/famous.royal.html
    Royal Families of the World:
    http://www.royalfamily.com/
    Royal & Noble Genealogical Data on the Web:
    http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/GEDCOM.html
    Royal & Noble Lineages:
    http://www.uq.edu.au/~zzhsoszy/index.html
    Royal Network:
    http://www.royalnetwork.com/
    Royalist's Home Page:
    http://www.themonarchist.com
    The Royalty in History Site:
    http://www.xs4all.nl/~kvenjb/kings.htm

    Back to Table of Contents

    2. Useful Addresses.

    I - Associations:

    The Monarchist League
    P O Box 5307 Bishop’s Stortford Hertfordshire CM23 3DZ, UK
    URL: http://www.monarchy.net
    (you will find addresses of other leagues and associations at this website)

    II - Mail Order:

    Hatchards
    Attention: Robin Piguet
    187 Piccadilly
    London, W1V 9DA
    United Kingdom

    e-mail: 187picc@hatchards.co.uk

    Heraldry Today
    Parliament Piece
    Ramsbury, Wiltshire SN8 2QH
    United Kingdom

    e-mail: heraldry@heraldrytoday.co.uk
    URL: http://www.heraldrytoday.co.uk
    (specialists for books on genealogy, heraldry and royalty)

    International Historic Films, Inc.
    Dept. S
    P.O. Box 29035
    Chicago, IL 60629
    U.S.A.

    (videos of such categories as 'British Heritage' and 'European Royals' for sale)
    URL: http://www.viamall.com/ihf/index.html

    Librairie des Editions Christian
    14, rue Littré
    75006 Paris, France

    URL: http://www.karolus.org/christian/index.htm

    Rainy Day Books
    P.O. Box 775
    Route 119
    Fitzwilliam, NH 03447
    U.S.A.

    Rosemary Bennett Rare Books
    1077 SW13th Avenue
    Albany, OR 97321
    U.S.A.

    (specializing in books about royalty; write for free brochure)

    Rosvall Royal Books
    Enasen-Falekvarna
    S-52191 Falköping
    Sweden

    e-mail: ted.rosvall@falköping.mail.telia.com
    (new and antiquarian royal books in various languages)

    III - Commemoratives:

    Audrey Zeder
    6755 Coralite M
    Long Beach, CA 90808
    U.S.A.

    (write for a 'Commemorative For Sale List' from Queen Victoria to the present, including ceramics, tins, ephemera, novelties)

    IV - Periodicals:

    C.E.D.R.E. (Cercle d'Etudes des dynasties royales européennes)
    12, allée des Jonquilles
    F-60260 Lamorlaye, France

    (quarterly bulletins, in French, about various royal and noble families)

    The European Royal History Journal
    Art Beeche
    285 Van Buren Avenue #5
    Oakland, CA 94610
    U.S.A.

    (six issues per year)

    e-mail: arturo@slip.net

    URL: http://www.eurohistory.com/journal.html
    Journal of Royal & Noble Genealogy: An International Journal of the Augustan Society, Inc.
    The Augustan Society, Inc.
    P.O. Box P
    Torrance, CA 90508-0210
    U.S.A.

    Majesty Magazine
    P.O. Box 301069
    Escondido, CA 92030
    U.S.A.

    (for American and Canadian subscriptions)

    Majesty Subscriptions
    Tower House, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street
    Market Halborough
    Leicester LE16 9EF
    United Kingdom
    (for UK and overseas subscriptions)

    (a monthly magazine focussing on royal families)

    Point de Vue
    Service Abonnement
    70, rue Compans
    F-75019 Paris, France
    URL: http://www.pointdevue.fr

    (a weekly magazine focussing on British and European royalty and nobility, in French)

    Royal Book News
    Marlene Koenig
    5590 Jowett Court
    Alexandria, VA 22315
    U.S.A.

    (bi-monthly newsletter for and about royal books)
    e-mail: makoenig@delphi.com

    Royalty
    P.O. Box 3278
    803 Finchley Road
    London NW11 8DP
    United Kingdom

    (a monthly magazine, similar to Majesty magazine)

    Royalty Digest
    Church Street
    Ticehurst, East Sussex TN57 AA
    United Kingdom

    (a monthly magazine available on subscription)

    V - Publishers:

    Heraldry Today
    Parliament Piece
    Ramsbury, Wiltshire SN8 2QH
    United Kingdom

    e-mail: heraldry@heraldrytoday.co.uk
    URL: http://www.heraldrytoday.co.uk
    (specialists for books on genealogy, heraldry and royalty)

    Back to Table of Contents

    3. Magazines and Videos

    I - Magazines:

    This section features a selection of electronic (on-line) magazines that occasionally feature articles about members of British royal and noble families.

    Hola/Hello (Spanish- and English-language)
    http://www.hola.es
    Paris Match (French-language)
    http://www.parismatch.com
    Britannia - Gateway to the British Isles:
    http://www.britannia.com/

    II - Videos:

    Notes:

    - the following video titles are not available for purchase or rental from the FAQ compiler and maintainer (please do not email the FAQ compiler and maintainer asking to buy or rent these videos)
    - videos are listed in alphabetical order according to title
    - the format shown is: title, brief description, year released, narrator, running time, format (PAL: for viewing in the U.K., Europe and Australia; NTSC: for viewing in Canada, the U.S.A. and Japan)

    Videos:

    • "Annus Horribilis", 1992
    • "The Coronation: 2nd June 1953" (narrated by Robert Powell)
      52 minutes; PAL & NTSC
    • "The Crown Jewels" (narrated by Derek Jacobi)
    • "Diana - Queen of Hearts"
      approximately 50 minutes; PAL & NTSC
    • "Dimbleby Interview with the Prince of Wales"
    • "The Divorce: Fairytale Romance, Nightmare Marriage"
      approximately 60 minutes; PAL & NTSC
    • "Elizabeth R" (BBC's 6-part series about Elizabeth I, starring Glenda Jackson)
    • "The Glittering Crowns"
    • "Her Majesty The Queen: 70 Glorious Years"
      approximately 60 minutes; PAL & NTSC
    • "HRH The Duke of York" (biography of Prince Andrew)
    • "Kings & Queens",  Vol. I, Vol II (kings & queens of Great Britain)
      approximately 55 minutes each; PAL & NTSC
    • "A Prince for Wales"
    • "Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: 90 Glorious Years"
    • "Queen Elizabeth II: 60 Glorious Years"
    • "A Queen Is Crowned"
    • "The Royal Family - A Celebration, From Edward & Mrs Simpson to William and Harry, 80 Years of The House of Windsor"
      approximately 65 minutes; PAL & NTSC
    • "The Royal House of Windsor"
    • "The Royal Wedding", 1981 (the wedding of Charles & Diana)
    • "Royal Wedding", 1986 (the wedding of Andrew & Sarah)

    Back to Table of Contents

    4. Bibliography

    The following list of books is divided into four sections:

    1. Biographies, Memoirs and Related Works
    2. Genealogies and Related Works
    3. General and Reference
    4. Nobility

    N.B.: the selection of titles is not meant to be exhaustive but will provide a suitable introduction to those seeking more information about British royal and noble families.

    Biographies, Memoirs, Etc...:

    Albert, Harold A. Queen Victoria's Sister: the Life and Letters of Princess Feodora. London: Robert, 1967

    Alice, Princess, Countess of Athlone. For My Grandchildren.  London: Evans Brothers, 1965 [Cleveland: World Publishing Co., 1966] [rep. 1979]

    Alice, Princess, Duchess of Gloucester. The Memoirs of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.  London: Collins, 1983

    Aronson, Theo. Grandmama of Europe: the crowned descendants of Queen Victoria. London: Cassell, 1973

    -----. Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone. London: Cassell, 1981

    -----. Princess Margaret: a biography. London: M. O'Mara Books, 1997 [Washington, D.C.: Regnery Pub., 1997]

    Ashdown, Dulcie M. Princess of Wales. New York: Scribner, 1979

    -----. Queen Victoria's mother.  London: Hale, 1974

    Baker-Smith, Veronica P. M. A Life of Anne of Hanover, Princess Royal. Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill, 1995

    Battiscombe, Georgina. Queen Alexandra. London: Constable & Co., 1969 [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969]

    Bennett, Daphne. King Without a Crown: Albert, Prince Consort of England, 1819-1861. London: Heinemann, 1977 [Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1977]

    -----. Queen Victoria's Children. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980

    -----. Vicky: Princess Royal of England and German Empress. London: Collins, Harvill, 1971 [New York: St. Martin's Press, 1971]

    Boothroyd, Basil. Philip: an informal biography.  London:  Longman, 1971 [alternate title: Prince Philip: an informal biography. New York: McCall Publishing Co., 1971]

    Bradford, Sarah. Elizabeth: a biography of Britain's Queen. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 1996 [New York: Riverhead Books, 1997]

    Cathcart, Helen. Anne and the Princesses Royal. London, New York, W. H. Allen, 1973

    Crawford, Marion. The Little Princesses. London: Cassel, 1950 [rep. ed. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd., 1993]

    Dimbleby, Jonathan. The Prince of Wales: a biography. London: Little, Brown and Company, 1994 [Toronto: Doubleday Canada Limited, 1994]

    Donaldson, Frances. Edward VIII. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1974 [Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975]

    Duff, David. Edward of Kent: the life story of Queen Victoria's father. London: Muller, 1973

    -----. Hessian tapestry: the Hesse family and British royalty. Newton Abbot, England; North Pomfret, Vt.: David & Charles, 1979

    -----. The Shy Princess: the life of Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice, the youngest daughter and constant companion of Queen Victoria. London: Muller, 1974

    Erickson, Carolly. Her Little Majesty: the life of Queen Victoria. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997

    Frankland, Noble. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980

    -----. Witness of a Century: the life and times of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, 1850-1942. London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1993

    Fryer, Mary Beacock, et. al. Lives of the Princesses of Wales. Dundurn Press, 1983

    Fulford, Roger, ed. Darling Child: private correspondence of Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, 1871-1878. London: Evans Bros., 1981 [New York: Evans Brothers Ltd., 1976]

    Hoey, Brian. HRH  the Princess Anne: a biography. Feltham: Country Life, 1984

    Holden, Anthony. Prince Charles. New York: Atheneum, 1979 [New York: Atheneum, 1983]

    Hough, Richard. Louis and Victoria: the first Mountbattens. London: Hutchinson & Co., Ltd., 1974

    Judd, Denis. King George VI, 1895-1952.  New York: Franklin Watts, 1982

    -----. Prince Philip: A Biography.  London: Michael Joseph, 1980 [New York: Atheneum, 1980]

    Lacey, Robert. Majesty: Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor. London: Hutchinson, 1977 [New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977]

    Longford, Elizabeth. Elizabeth R:  a biography. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1983 [Toronto: Musson, 1983]

    -----. The Royal House of Windsor. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1974 [New York: Knopf, 1974; New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1984]

    -----. Victoria R.I.  London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1964 [alternate title: Queen Victoria: born to succeed. New York: Harper & Row, 1964]

    Marie-Louise, Princess. My Memories of Six Reigns. London: Evans Brothers Limited, 1956 [New York: Dutton, 1957]

    Morton, Andrew. Diana: her true story. London: Simon & Schuster, 1992 [New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992]

    Nicolson, Harold. King George V: His Life and Reign.  London: Constable, 1952

    Noel, Gerard. Princess Alice:  Queen Victoria's forgotten daughter. London: Constable, 1974

    Packard, Jerrold M. Victoria's Daughters.  St. Martin's Press, 1998

    Palmer, Alan. Princes of Wales. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1979

    Pope-Hennessy, James. Queen Mary, 1867-1953.  London:  G. Allen & Unwin, 1959 [New York: Knopf, 1959]

    Rose, Kenneth. King George V.  London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983 [New York: Knopf, 1984]

    -----. Kings, Queens & Courtiers: intimate portraits of the Royal House of Windsor from its foundation to the present day. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985

    -----. Who's Who in the Royal House of Windsor. New York: Crescent Books, 1985

    Salway, Lance. Queen Victoria's Grandchildren. London: Collins & Brown, 1991

    Sarah, Duchess of York. My Story. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996

    Seward, Ingrid. Diana: an intimate portrait. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1988

    -----. Prince Edward. London: Century, 1995

    -----. Royal Children. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994

    -----. Sarah, HRH the Duchess of York: a biography. London: Harper Collins, 1991 [alternate title: Sarah: the life of a duchess. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991]

    St. Aubyn, Giles. Edward VII, Prince and King. New York: Atheneum, 1979

    Talbot, Godfrey. The Country life book of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. [Feltham]: Country Life Books; London; New York: Distributed by Hamlyn, 1978

    Van der Kiste, John & Bee Jordan. Dearest Affie: Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Victoria's second son, 1844-1900. Gloucester: A. Sutton, 1984 [rep. 1995]

    Warwick, Christopher. Princess Margaret. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1983 [New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983]

    Watson, Sophia. Marina: The story of a princess.  London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1994

    Weintraub, Stanley. Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert. New York: The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc., 1997

    Weir, Alison. The Children of Henry VIII. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996

    -----. The Six Wives of Henry VIII. London: Bodley Head, 1991 [New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991]

    Wheeler-Bennett,  Sir John W. King George VI: His Life and Reign. London: Macmillan, 1958

    Windsor, Duchess of. The Heart Has Its Reasons. 1956

    Windsor, HRH The Duke of. A King's Story: The Memoirs of HRH The Duke of Windsor.  New York: Putnam, 1951

    Ziegler, Philip. King Edward VIII: the official biography. London: Collins, 1990

    Genealogies and Related Works:

    Burke's Guide to the Royal Family, London: Burke's Peerage Limited, 1973

    Burke's Peerage (various editions) (most recent: 1999 edition)

    Burke's Royal Families of the World, Vol. 1, Europe and Latin America, London: Burke's Publishing Co., 1977

    Burke's Royal Families of the World, Vol. 2, Africa and the Middle East, London: Burke's Publishing Co., 1980

    Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (various editions) (most recent: 1995 edition)

    Royalty, Peerage & Nobility of Europe, 96th ed. of the Almanach de la Noblesse de France (in English), 1997

    Addington, A.C. The Royal House of Stuart: the descendants of King James VI of Scotland, James I of England, 3 Vols. London: Skilton, 1969-1976

    Eilers, Marlene A. Queen Victoria's Descendants. Falkoping, Sweden: Rosvall Royal Books, 1997 [New York: Atlantic International Publications, 1987]

    Given-Wilson, Chris & Alice Curteis.  The Royal Bastards of Medieval England. London, Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984 [London, New York: Routledge, 1988

    Lake, Christopher. European Rulers 1060-1981: a cross-referenced genealogy with 162 pedigrees. 1981

    McNaughton, Arnold. The Book of Kings: a royal genealogy. New York: Quadrangle, 1973

    Marquis of Ruvigny & Raineval. Titled Nobility of Europe: an international peerage, or "Who's who", of the sovereigns, princes and nobles of Europe. London: Harrison & Sons, 1914 [reprint ed. London: Burke's Publishing Co., 1980]

    Moncreiffe, Iain, Sir. Royal Highness: ancestry of the royal child. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1982

    Mountbatten, Lord Louis. Relationship Tables, compiled for his children by Earl Mountbatten of Burma. New Delhi: Vice-Regal Press, 1947

    Paget, Gerald. The Lineage and Ancestry of HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, 2 Vols. Edinburgh: Skilton, 1977

    Reitwiesner, William Addams. The American Ancestors and relatives of Lady Diana Frances Spencer. Silver Spring, MD: W.A. Reitwiesner, 1981

    -----. Matrilineal Descents of the European Royalty: a work in progress. Washington, D.C.: W.A. Reitwiesner, 1993

    Roberts, Gary Boyd & William Addams Reitwiesner. American Ancestors and Cousins of the Princess of Wales. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1984

    Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families: the complete genealogy. London: Bodley Head, 1989 [London:  Pimlico, 1996]

    General and Reference:

    Allison, Ronald & Sarah Riddell, eds. The Royal Encyclopedia. London: Macmillan Press, 1991

    Bogdanor, Vernon. The Monarchy and the Constitution. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1995

    Bryant, Sir Arthur. A Thousand Years of British Monarchy. London: Collins, 1975

    Buskin, Richard. The Complete Idiot's Guide to British Royalty. New York: Alpha Books, 1998

    Cannon, John & Ralph Griffiths, eds. The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988

    Delderfield, Eric R. Kings & Queens of England & Great Britain. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles, 1994

    Duke, Suzanne, et. al. (ed.) Debrett's Handbook 1984. London: Debrett's Peerage Limited, 1984

    Fisher, Graham and Heather. Monarchy and the Royal Family: a guide for Everyman. London: Robert Hale, 1979

    -----. Strange and Fascinating Facts About the Royal Family. New York: Bell Pub. Co., 1985

    Hindley, Geoffrey. The Guinness Book of British Royalty.  Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1989 [New York:  distributed by Sterling Pub. Co., 1989]

    Louda, Jirí and Michael Maclagan. Heraldry of the Royal Families of the World. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., Publishers,  1981 [alternate title: Lines of Succession: heraldry of the royal families of the World. London: Macdonald; New York: Macmillan; Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada, 1991]

    Menkes, Suzy. The royal jewels. London: Grafton Books, 1986 [Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1989]

    Montague-Smith, Patrick (ed.). Debrett's Correct Form. London: Headline, 1992

    Montague-Smith, Patrick & Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd. The Country Life Book of Royal Palaces, Castles & Homes: including vanished palaces and historic houses with royal connections. London: Country Life Books;  London; New York: distributed by Hamlyn, 1981

    Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh, ed. Atlas of Royal Britain: palaces, houses, villages, battlefields, castles, cities, towns - a complete survey of royal heritage. London: QED Publishing Ltd., 1984

    Palmer, Alan. Kings and Queens of England. London: Octopus Books, 1976 [London: Peerage Books, 1985]

    -----. Princes of Wales. London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979.

    Pearsall, Ronald. Kings and Queens : a history of British monarchy.  New York: Smithmark Publishers, 1996.

    Rose, Kenneth. Kings, Queens and Courtiers: intimate portraits of the Royal House of Windsor from its foundation to the present day. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1985

    Williamson, David. Brewer's British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996 [New York: Sterling Pub. Co., 1996]

    -----. Debrett's Kings and Queen of Britain. Exeter, Devon: Webb & Bower; London: Michael Joseph, 1986

    Nobility:

    The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. London: The St. Catherine Press, 1910-1959 [reprint ed. Gloucester: Summon, 1982]

    Beckett, J.V. The Aristocracy in England, 1660-1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986

    Bence-Jones, Mark & Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd. The British aristocracy. London: Constable, 1979

    De-la-Noy, Michael. The Honours System. London; New York: Allison & Busby, 1985

    Gadd, Ronald P. Peerage Law. 1985

    Hey, David. The Oxford Dictionary of Local & Family History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997

    Leeson, Francis L. A Directory of British Peerages: from the earliest times to the present day.  London: Society of Genealogists, 1984 [Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co., 1985]

    Lieven, Dominic. The Aristocracy in Europe, 1815-1914. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993

    Masters, Brian. The Dukes: the origins, ennoblement and history of twenty-six families.  London: Blond & Briggs, 1975

    Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh, ed. Debrett's Great British Families. Topsfield, Mass.: Salem House, 1988

    Pine, L.G. Guide to Titles & Forms of Address.

    -----. The New Extinct Peerage, 1884-1971.  London: Heraldry Today, 1972 [Baltimore Genealogical Pub. Co., 1973]

    Winchester, Simon. Their Noble Lordships: the hereditary peerage today. London: Faber & Faber, 1981

    Back to Table of Contents

    Credits, Copyright, Disclaimer

    AUTHORED BY:
    Yvonne Demoskoff

    CONTRIBUTIONS BY:
    Dag T. Hoelseth, Marlene Koenig, Noel S. McFerran, Eric-Jan Noomen, William Addams Reitwiesner, Mark Anthony Rodriguez, Gilbert von Studnitz, François Velde, Chris Bennett (questions 2:20-22).

    COPYRIGHT:
    Copyright © 1998- by François Velde. All rights reserved.

    This document may be freely distributed in its entirety without modification provided that this copyright notice is not removed.  It may not be sold for profit or incorporated in commercial documents (e.g. published for sale on CD-ROM, floppy disks, books, magazines or other print form) without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Permission is expressly granted for this document to be made available for file transfer from installations offering unrestricted anonymous file transfer on the Internet.

    If this document is incorporated in a commercial document, a complimentary copy should be sent to François Velde (http://www.heraldica.org/contact.html).

    This document is provided AS IS without any express or implied warranty.