History of Styles and Titles Part III: Hanover to Windsor.

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George III of the United Kingdom, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Kings and Queens of England, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Queen Anne of Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, styles, titles

The kingdoms of England and Scotland were formally united into a single Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 by the Act of Union. Queen Anne consequently assumed the title “Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.”. It remained in use until 1801, when Great Britain and Ireland combined to become the United Kingdom. George III used the opportunity to drop both the reference to France and “etc.” from the style. It was suggested to him that he assume the title “Emperor”, but he rejected the proposal. Instead, the style became “King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith”.

King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith

In 1876 “Empress of India” was added to Queen Victoria’s titles by the Royal Titles Act 1876, so that the Queen of the United Kingdom, the ruler of a vast empire, would not be outranked by her own daughter who had married the heir to the German Empire (an empire by the necessity of establishing a federal monarchy in which several kings wished to retain their royal titles despite their subjugation to a different monarchy). Her successor, Edward VII, changed the style to reflect the United Kingdom’s other colonial possessions, adding “and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas” after “Ireland”. In general usage the monarch came to be called the King-Emperor, especially in the Crown’s overseas possessions and in British India and the princely states.

Empress of India

In 1922 the Irish Free State gained independence. In 1927 the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 changed the description “of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas” to “of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas”. The 1927 Act was also significant for opening the door to dominions (later Commonwealth realms) having the right to determine their own style and title for the sovereign, a right which was first exercised in 1953.

King Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India, Defender of the Faith

The designation “Emperor of India” was dropped from the royal style in 1948 after the independence of India and Pakistan a year earlier, even though King George VI remained king of the dominion of India until 1950, when it became a republic within the Commonwealth. The dominion of Pakistan existed between 1947 and 1956, when it too became a republic within the Commonwealth. Similarly, although the republic of Ireland was constituted in 1949, “Great Britain and Ireland” was not replaced with “Great Britain and Northern Ireland” until 1953.

In the same year the phrase “Head of the Commonwealth” was also added, and “British Dominions beyond the Seas” was replaced with “other Realms and Territories”. Thus, the style of the present sovereign is “By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”.

ELizabeth II, By the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

Also in 1953, separate styles were adopted for each of the realms over which the sovereign reigned. Most realms used the form, “Queen of … and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth”, omitting the title “Defender of the Faith”. Australia, New Zealand and Canada all included a reference to the United Kingdom as well as “Defender of the Faith”, but only Canada still uses this form.

History of Styles and Titles, Part II: Tudor & Stuart Period.

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House of Stuart, House of Tudor, James I of England, James VI of Scotland, King Henry VIII of England, Kings and Queens of England, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, kings and queens of Scotland, Philip II of Spain, Pope Leo X, Pope Paul III, Queen Mary’s Marriage Act, styles, titles

After 1422 the royal title remained unchanged for almost a century. For these many years the title was, Rex Angliae et Franciae et Dominus Hiberniae (King of England and of France and Lord of Ireland). Numerous amendments, however, were effected during Henry VIII’s reign.

Here are the different ways Henry VIII was styled throughout his reign.

1535–1536
By the Grace of God, King of England and France, Defender of the Faith, Lord of Ireland, and of the Church of England in Earth Supreme Head.
1536–1542
By the Grace of God, King of England and France, Defender of the Faith, Lord of Ireland, and of the Church of England and of Ireland in Earth Supreme Head.
1542–1555
By the Grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and of the Church of England and of Ireland in Earth Supreme Head.

After Henry wrote a book against the Protestant Martin Luther, Pope Leo X rewarded him by granting the title “Defender of the Faith”.

Henry VIII, King of England, France and Ireland

After disagreements with the Papacy over his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, establishing the Church of England in 1533. Pope Paul III rescinded the grant of the title “Defender of the Faith”, but Henry continued to use it. In 1535 Henry added “of the Church of England in Earth, under Jesus Christ, Supreme Head” to his style in 1535; a reference to the Church of Ireland was added in 1536.

Meanwhile, advised that many Irish people regarded the pope as the true temporal authority in their nation, with the king of England acting as a mere representative, Henry VIII changed “Lord of Ireland” to “King of Ireland” in 1542. All changes made by Henry VIII were confirmed by an English Act of Parliament passed in 1544.

Mary I of England, Henry VIII’s Catholic daughter, omitted “of the Church of England and also of Ireland in Earth Supreme Head” in 1553, replacing it with “etc.”, but the phrase remained part of the official style until an Act of Parliament to the contrary was passed in 1555. In the meantime Mary had married the Spanish prince Felipe, son of King Carlos I of Spain (Holy Roman Emperor Karl V).

Mary I & Felipe II, King and Queen of England and France, Naples, Jerusalem and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, King and Queen of Spain and Sicily

The monarchs adopted a joint style, “King and Queen of England and France, Naples, Jerusalem and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spain and Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgundy and Brabant, Count and Countess of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol”, acknowledging both Mary’s and Felipe’s titles. Further changes were made after Felipe became King of Spain and Sicily (Felipe II) upon his father’s abdication.

England’s Parliament enacted Queen Mary’s Marriage Act to regulate the marriage. According to the Act, Felipe II was granted the title King of England and Ireland and it was stipulated that as long as their marriage lasted Felipe was considered co-sovereign along with his wife but with Mary retaining the majority of authority.

When the Protestant Elizabeth I ascended the Throne, she used the simpler “Queen of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.”. The “etc.” was added in anticipation of a restoration of the supremacy phrase, which never actually occurred.

James VI-I, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland (King of Great Britain).

After James VI, who was already King of Scotland, ascended the English Throne, the official style changed to “King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.”; his mother Mary I, Queen of Scots, had already laid claim to these titles (in a different order, jointly with François II of France, then with the King’s father, Lord Darnley), but she was beheaded by her Protestant opponent, Elizabeth I.

In 1604 James VI made a proclamation permitting the use of “King of Great Britain” instead of “King of England and Scotland”. This new style, though commonly used to refer to the King, was never statutory; (it was never approved by Parliament) therefore, it did not appear on legal instruments. It did, however, appear on the inscriptions on coins. England and Scotland remained separate political bodies until 1707.

A History of Styles & Titles: Part I

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Charles VI of France, Duke of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc, King of England, King of France, King of the English, Kingdom of Wessex, Kings and Queens of England, styles, titles, Wessex, William Rufus, William the Conqueror

The Anglo-Saxon kings of England used numerous different titles, including “King of the Anglo-Saxons” and “King of the English. Around the mid 880s Is period in which almost all chroniclers agree that the Saxon people of pre-unification England submitted to Alfred. This was not, however, the point at which Alfred came to be known as King of England; in fact, he would never adopt the title for himself.

Initially Alfred was titled King of Wessex until 886 when in London Alfred received the formal submission of “all the English people that were not under subjection to the Danes”, and thereafter he adopted the title Anglorum Saxonum rex (King of the Anglo-Saxons). While Alfred was not the first king to claim to rule all of the English, his rule represents the start of the first unbroken line of kings to rule the whole of England, the House of Wessex.

Alfred’s son and successor His son Edward the Elder conquered the eastern Danelaw, but it was his son and successor Æthelstan who became the first king to rule the whole of England when he conquered Northumbria in 927, and he is regarded by some modern historians as the first true king of England. The title “King of the English” or Rex Anglorum in Latin, was first used to describe Æthelstan in one of his charters in 928.

Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons.

Variations of the monarchs title were adopted by some kings of Wessex and England; for example, Edred used “King of the Anglo-Saxons, Northumbrians, pagans and Britons”. These titles were sometimes accompanied by extravagant epithets; for instance, Æthelstan was “King of the English, raised by the right hand of the Almighty to the Throne of the whole Kingdom of Britain”.

William I the Conqueror used the simple “King of the English” and “Duke of the Normans” as his titles. His successor, William II, was the first to consistently use the style “by the Grace of God”. Henry I added “Duke of the Normans” in 1121, though he had seized Normandy from his brother Robert in 1106. In 1152 Henry II acquired many further French possessions through his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine; soon thereafter, he added “Duke of the Aquitanians” and “Count of the Angevins” to his titles.

“King of the English”, “Duke of the Normans”, “Duke of the Aquitanians” and “Count of the Angevins” remained in use until King John ascended the throne in 1199, when they changed the title “King of the English” to “King of England”, along with “Duke of Normandy”, “Duke of Aquitaine” and “Count of Anjou”, respectively. John, furthermore, was already the titular ruler of Ireland; therefore, he added “Lord of Ireland” to his style.

In 1204 England lost both Normandy and Anjou. Nevertheless, they did not renounce the associated titles until 1259. French territory once again became the subject of dispute after the death of the French King Charles IV in 1328. Edward III claimed the French Throne, arguing that it was to pass to him through his mother Isabella, Charles IV’s sister. In France, however, it was asserted that the Throne could not pass to or through a woman according to the Salic Law.

Nevertheless, Edward III began to use the title “King of France” (dropping “Duke of Aquitaine”) after 1337. In 1340 he entered France, where he was publicly proclaimed King. In 1360, however, he agreed to relinquish his title to the French claimant. Though he stopped using the title in legal documents, he did not formally exchange letters confirming the renunciation with the French King. In 1369 Edward III resumed the title, claiming that the French had breached their treaty.

Henry VI, King of England, Lord of Ireland and King of France.

In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was an agreement signed by Henry V of England and Charles VI of France, recognizing Henry as Charles’ successor, and stipulating that Henry’s heirs would succeed him on the throne of France. It disinherited the Dauphin Charles (with further claim, in 1421, that the young Charles was illegitimate). It also betrothed Charles VI’s daughter, Catherine of Valois, to Henry V. Henry V then adopted the title Heir of France instead.

Henry V and Charles VI died within two months of each other in 1422, and Henry V’s infant son (Charles VI’s grandson) Henry VI became King of France. He was the only English king who was de facto King of France, rather than using the style as a mere title of pretense. He is also the only English monarch to actually have been crowned King of France (as Henri II, in 1431). However, by 1429 Charles VII was crowned at Reims with the support of Joan of Arc and begun to push the English out of northern France. In 1435, an end to the French civil war between Burgundians and Armagnacs allowed Charles to return to Paris the following year, and by 1453 the English had been driven out of their last strongholds in Normandy and Guyenne. The only French territory left to the English was Calais which they held until 1558.

Coat of Arms of Henry VI with the Lion of England and the French fleur-de-lys.

Nonetheless the kings and queens of England (and, later, of Great Britain) continued to claim the French throne for centuries, through the early modern period. The words “of France” was prominently included among their realms as listed in their titles and styles, and the French fleur-de-lys was included in the royal arms. This continued until 1801, by which time France had no monarch, having become a republic.

Announcing a new series: A History of Styles & Titles

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Charles II of England and Scotland, Constitutional Monarchy, Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, German Emperor, German Empire, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Kings of france, Monarchy, styles, titles

After doing my post on the styles of the Dutch monarch I’ve decided to do a history of titles and styles for the following monarchies.

The United Kingdom
(England, Scotland & Ireland)
France
Germany
(Holy Roman Empire, German Empire)

Before I commence with the histories of the titles and styles for each country I’d like to distinguish between a styles and a title.

His Majesty King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Styles

A style of office, honorific or manner/form of address, is an official or legally recognized form of address, and may often be used in conjunction with a title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorificcan also be awarded to an individual in a personal capacity. Such styles are particularly associated with monarchies, where they may be used by a wife of an office holder or of a prince of the blood, for the duration of their marriage. They are also almost universally used for presidents in republics and in many countries for members of legislative bodies, higher-ranking judges and senior constitutional office holders. Leading religious figures also have styles.

His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, Franz-Joseph I, The Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria and Illyria; King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and of Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Oświęcim, Zator and Ćeszyn, Friuli, Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Zara (Zadar); Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent (Trento) and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro (Kotor), and over the Windic march; Grand Voivode of the Voivodship of Serbia.”

Titles

Title
Prefix or suffix added to someone’s name in certain contexts

A title is one or more words used before or after a person’s name, in certain contexts. It may signify either veneration, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the first and last name (for example, Graf in German, Cardinal in Catholic usage (Richard Cardinal Cushing) or clerical titles such as Archbishop). Some titles are hereditary.
For other uses, see Title (disambiguation).

Types

Titles include:
* Honorific titles or styles of address, a phrase used to convey respect to the recipient of a communication, or to recognize an attribute such as:
* Imperial, royal and noble ranks
* Academic degree
* Other accomplishment, as with a title of honor
* Title of authority, an identifier that specifies the office or position held by an official

Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions(for example, one region’s prince might be equal to another’s grand duke), the following is a reasonably comprehensive list that provides information on both general ranks and specific differences.

History of the Titles of the Prince of Wales. Conclusion.

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Earl of Chester, Henry IV of England, King Edward I of England, King Edward II of England, King John of England, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, titles

The Earl of Chester

The County of Cheshire was the seat from which powerful Earls (or “Counts” from the Norman-French) of Chester rose from the late eleventh century. The Earls held land all over England, comprising ‘the honour of Chester’ and by the late twelfth century the earls had established a position of power as quasi-princely rulers of Cheshire that led to the later establishment of the County Palatine of Chester and Flint. The Earls of Chester held so much power that the Magna Carta set down by King John did not apply to Cheshire and the sixth earl was compelled to issue his own versions.

HRH The Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester

The earldom passed to the Crown by escheat in 1237 on the death of John the Scot, Earl of Huntingdon, seventh and last of the Earls. William III de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle, claimed the earldom as husband of Christina, the senior co-heir, but the king persuaded them to quitclaim their rights in 1241 in exchange for modest lands elsewhere. The other co-heiresses did likewise. It was annexed to the Crown in 1246. King Henry III then passed the Lordship of Chester, but not the title of Earl, to his son, the Lord Edward, in 1254; and as King Edward I, this son in turn conferred the title and lands of the Earldom on his son, Edward, the first English Prince of Wales (future Edward II of England).

Earldom of Chester

The establishment of royal control of the Earldom of Chester made possible King Edward I’s conquest of north Wales, and Chester played a vital part as a supply base during the Welsh Wars (1275–84), so the separate organisation of a county palatine was preserved. This continued until the time of King Henry VIII. Since 1301, the Earldom of Chester has always been conferred jointly with the title Prince of Wales.

Chester was Briefly promoted to a principality in 1398 by King Richard II, who titled himself “Prince of Chester.” It was reduced to an earldom again in 1399 by King Henry IV. Whereas the Sovereign’s eldest son is born Duke of Cornwall, he must be made or created Earl of Chester it is not an hereditary title similarly to the title Prince of Wales; which also is not hereditary.

Prince of Wales

For most of the post-Roman period, Wales was divided into several smaller states. Before the Norman conquest of England, the most powerful Welsh ruler at any given time was generally known as King of the Britons. In the 12th and 13th centuries, this title evolved into Prince of Wales (see Brut y Tywysogion). In Latin, the new title was Princeps Walliae, and in Welsh it was Tywysog Cymru. The literal translation of Tywysog is “leader”. (The verb tywys means “to lead”.)

Only a handful of native princes had their claim to the overlordship of Wales recognised by the English Crown. The first known to have used such a title was Owain Gwynedd, adopting the title Prince of the Welsh around 1165 after earlier using rex Waliae (“King of Wales”). His grandson Llywelyn the Great is not known to have used the title “Prince of Wales” as such, although his use, from around 1230, of the style “Prince of Aberffraw, Lord of Snowdon” was tantamount to a proclamation of authority over most of Wales, and he did use the title “Prince of North Wales” as did his predecessor Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd.

In 1240, the title was theoretically inherited by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn, though he is not known to have used it. Instead he styled himself as “Prince of Wales” around 1244, the first Welsh prince to do so. In 1246, his nephew Llywelyn ap Gruffudd succeeded to the throne of Gwynedd, and used the style as early as 1258. In 1267, with the signing of the Treaty of Montgomery, he was recognised by both King Henry III of England and the representative of the Papacy as Prince of Wales. In 1282, Llywelyn was killed during Edward I of England’s invasion of Wales and although his brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd succeeded to the Welsh princeship, issuing documents as prince, his principality was not recognised by the English Crown.

Three Welshmen, however, claimed the title of Prince of Wales after 1283.

The first was Madog ap Llywelyn, a member of the House of Gwynedd, who led a nationwide revolt in 1294-5, defeating English forces in battle near Denbigh and seizing Caernarfon Castle. His revolt was suppressed, however, after the Battle of Maes Moydog in March 1295, and the prince was imprisoned in London.

In the 1370s, Owain Lawgoch (“Red Hand”), an English-born descendant of one of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s brothers, claimed the title of Prince of Wales, but was assassinated in France in 1378 before he could return to Wales to claim his inheritance.

It is Owain Glyndŵr, however, whom many Welsh people regard as having been the last native Prince. On 16 September 1400, he was proclaimed Prince of Wales by his supporters, and held parliaments at Harlech Castle and elsewhere during his revolt, which encompassed all of Wales. It was not until 1409 that his revolt in quest of Welsh independence was suppressed by Henry IV.

As title of heir apparent

The tradition of conferring the title “Prince of Wales” on the heir apparent of the monarch is usually considered to have begun in 1301, when King Edward I of England invested his son Edward of Caernarfon with the title at a Parliament held in Lincoln. According to legend, the king had promised the Welsh that he would name “a prince born in Wales, who did not speak a word of English” and then produced his infant son, who had been born at Caernarfon, to their surprise. However, the story may well be apocryphal, as it can only be traced to the 16th century, and, in the time of Edward I, the English aristocracy spoke Norman French, not English (some versions of the legend include lack of knowledge in both languages as a requirement, and one reported version has the very specific phrase “born on Welsh soil and speaking no other language”).

William Camden wrote in his 1607 work Britannia that originally the title “Prince of Wales” was not conferred automatically upon the eldest living son of the King of England because Edward II (who had been the first English Prince of Wales) neglected to invest his eldest son, the future Edward III, with that title. It was Edward III who revived the practice of naming the eldest son Prince of Wales, which was then maintained by his successors:

Nevertheless, according to conventional wisdom, since 1301 the Prince of Wales has usually been the eldest living son (if and only if he is also the heir apparent) of the King or Queen Regnant of England (subsequently of Great Britain, 1707, and of the United Kingdom, 1801). That he is also the heir apparent is important. Following the death of Prince Arthur, the Prince of Wales, Henry VII invested his second son, the future Henry VIII, with the title—although only after it was clear that Arthur’s wife, Catherine of Aragon, was not pregnant; when Frederick, Prince of Wales died while his father reigned, George II created Frederick’s son George (the king’s grandson and new heir apparent) Prince of Wales. The title is not automatic and is not heritable; it merges into the Crown when a prince accedes to the throne, or lapses on his death leaving the sovereign free to re-grant it to the new heir apparent (such as the late prince’s son or brother). Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales on 26 July 1958, some six years after he became heir apparent, and had to wait another 11 years for his investiture, on 1 July 1969.

The title Prince of Wales is always conferred along with the Earldom of Chester. The convention began in 1399; all previous Princes of Wales also received the earldom, but separately from the title of Prince. Prior to 1272 a hereditary and not necessarily royal Earldom of Chester had already been created several times, eventually merging in the Crown each time. The earldom was recreated, merging in the Crown in 1307 and again in 1327. Its creations since have been associated with the creations of the Prince of Wales.

History of the Titles of the Prince of Wales: Part IV.

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Charles Lennox, Duke of Lancaster, Duke of York, Dux, House of Lords, Kings and Queens of England, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, kings and queens of Scotland, Peerage, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Richard II of England, Roman Republic, titles

HRH The Duke of Cornwall, The Duke of Rothesay

The next title I will examine is that of Duke. A duke (male) or duchess (female) can be a confusing title. A duke can be a monarch ruling over a duchy in their own right with sovereignty equal to that of a king or queen, though duke has been considered lesser title. A duke can also be a titled or a member of royalty or nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch. The title originates comes from the Latin dux, which translates to “leader” a title first applied a military commander in Roman Republic who otherwise to did not have an official rank (particularly one of Germanic or Celtic origin). As the title and position evolved a duke came to mean the leading military commander of a province.

Duchy and dukedom

A duchy is the territory or geopolitical entity ruled by a duke. In Continental Europe (France, Holy Roman Empire, German Empire etc) a duchy was often a Sovereign or semi-Sovereign state where the ruling duke was the monarch. In the English system the title of duke has never been associated with independent rule in the British Isles. Therefore a duke was a title of nobility, called a dukedom, not duchy (excepting the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster, more on that later), and the holder did not rule over a territory, and as the political system evolved a duke was allowed to be a member of the House of Lords.

In Anglo-Saxon England, after the Roman Legions exited Britain the typical Roman political divisions were largely ignored and the highest political rank beneath that of king was ealdorman. The title ealdormen were referred to as duces (the plural of the original Latin dux). However, gradually with the Danish invasions of England the title ealdorman was replaced by the Danish eorl (later earl). After the Norman conquest, their power and regional jurisdiction was limited to that of the Norman counts. The titles of Earl and Baron became the most dominant until the reign of Edward III of England (1227-1277).

Edward III created the first English dukedom when he created his eldest son Edward, the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, as Duke of Cornwall in 1337. This creation was motivated by the loss of the title Duke of Normandy by the king. After the death of the Black Prince, the duchy of Cornwall passed to his nine-year-old son, who would eventually succeed his grandfather as Richard II.

The title of Duke of Lancaster was created by Edward III in 1351 for Henry of Grosmont, 4th Earl of Lancaster, a great-grandson of Henry III in the male line. He died in 1361 without a male heir and the peerage expired. The second creation was on November 13, 1362, for John of Gaunt, 1st Earl of Richmond, who was both the 1st Duke of Lancaster’s son-in-law and also fourth son of King Edward III. John had married Blanche of Lancaster, 6th Countess of Lancaster, daughter of Henry Grosmont and heiress to his estates. On the same day Edward III also created his second son, Lionel of Antwerp, as Duke of Clarence.

All five of Edward III’s surviving sons were created dukes but the last two were made duke’s by Edward III’s grandson and successor, Richard II. In 1385, Richard II invested his last two uncles with dukedoms on the same day. Thomas of Woodstock was named Duke of Gloucester and Edmund of Langley became Duke of York. From the Dukes of Lancaster and Dukes of York came the Houses of Lancaster and York respectively who’s descendants battled for the throne during the Wars of the Roses.

By 1483, a total of 16 ducal titles had been created: Those associated with the Royal Family were; Cornwall, Lancaster, Clarence, Gloucester, and York. Those dukedoms established for the nobility were; Ireland, Hereford, Aumale, Exeter, Surrey, Norfolk, Bedford, Somerset, Buckingham, Warwick and Suffolk. Some dukedoms became extinct, others had multiple creations, and those associated with the Royal Family merged with the crown upon the holder’s accession to the throne.

Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Aubigny (illegitimate son of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. (July 29, 1672 – May 27, 1723)

In the United Kingdom, the inherited position of a duke along with its dignities, privileges, and rights is a dukedom. However, Dukes in the United Kingdom are addressed as “Your Grace” and referred to as “His Grace”. Currently, there are thirty-five dukedoms in the Peerage of England, Peerage of Scotland, Peerage of Great Britain, Peerage of Ireland and Peerage of the United Kingdom, held by thirty different people, as three people hold two dukedoms and one holds three

Royal Dukedoms

A Royal Duke is a duke who is a member of the British Royal Family, entitled to the style of “His Royal Highness”. The current Royal Dukedoms are, in order of precedence:
* Duke of Lancaster, held by Elizabeth II
* Duke of Edinburgh, held by Prince Philip
* Duke of Cornwall (England) and Duke of Rothesay (Scotland), held by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
* Duke of York, held by Prince Andrew
* Duke of Cambridge held by Prince William
* Duke of Sussex held by Prince Harry
* Duke of Gloucester, held by Prince Richard
* Duke of Kent, held by Prince Edward (who should not be confused with the Earl of Wessex)
*
With the exceptions of the dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay (which can only be held by the eldest son of the Sovereign), royal dukedoms are hereditary, according to the terms of the Letters Patent that created them, which usually contain the standard remainder to the “heirs male of his body”. The British monarch also holds and is entitled to the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster, and within the borders of the County Palatine of Lancashire is by tradition saluted as “The Duke of Lancaster”. Even when the monarch is a Queen regnant, she does not use the title of Duchess.

Forms of address

* Begin: My Lord Duke
* Address: His Grace the Duke of _____
* Speak to as: Your Grace (formal and employees), Duke (social)
* Ceremonial, formal, or legal title: The Most High, Noble and Potent Prince His Grace [forename], Duke of _____
Coronet

A British or Irish Duke is entitled to a coronet (a silver-gilt circlet, chased as jewelled but not actually gemmed) bearing eight conventional strawberry leaves on the rim of the circlet. The physical coronet is worn only at coronations. Any peer can bear his coronet of rank on his coat of arms above the shield.

History of the Prince of Wales titles. Part II

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Font of All Honours, House of Hanover, King George I of Great Britain, King George II of Great Britain, King George III of Great Britain, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Prince, Princess, Princess of Wales, Queen Victoria, titles

Since the time of the House of Tudor and through the times of the House of Stuart, when sons of the Sovereign were granted the courtesy title of Prince, questions of how far in the male line to extend the title was not an issue for grand children of the Sovereign in the male line hadn’t yet occurred. With the accession of King George I in 1714 and the Hanoverians, new situations arose.

First issue that George I faced in the need to regulate titles was with his siblings. Since they were not the sons of a British sovereign, they were German princes and sons of the Elector of Hanover, were they entitled to be prince or princess of Great Britain? King George I, as the “Font of All Honours” was able to grant peerage titles to his youngest brother, Ernest-Augustus. In 1716, Ernest-Augustus visited England where, on June 29, 1716, he was created Duke of York, Albany and Earl of Ulster. On April 30, 1718 (OS), he was created a Knight of the Garter together with his grand-nephew Frederick-Louis, later Prince of Wales. Another brother of George I, Prince Maximilian-William, converted to Catholicism, losing his place in the line of succession to the British throne and therefore didn’t receive any peerage titles. However, neither Ernest-Augustus or Maximilian-William were created Princes of Great Britain and remained Princes of Hanover and Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

George I came to the throne a grandfather, his eldest son, future George II, had several children. The children of the Prince of Wales were given the title of Princes and Princesses, and the style of “Highness”.  This arrangement was changed in 1737 when George II granted his grandchildren, all children of his eldest son, Frederick-Louis, Prince of Wales the title Prince and Princess and their style was raised to “Royal Highness.” This occurrence was an exception and wouldn’t become formalized by letters patent until 1864 by Queen Victoria with the birth of Prince Albert-Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the eldest son of the future King Edward VII. 


George III’s reign also saw the first great-grandchildren of a sovereign in male line, Prince William-Frederick, 2nd duke of Gloucester and his sister, Sophia, were also nephew and niece of a sovereign. They were titled “Prince” and “Princess”, but were only styled “Highness. It is not absolutely clear, however, whether the title of Prince was due to being great-grandson of George II or nephew of George III. On July 22, 1816, Sophia’s brother Prince William-Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, married their cousin, Princess Mary, a daughter of George III. On their wedding day, the Prince Regent bestowed the style of Royal Highness on the Duke of Gloucester, Princess Mary was a Royal Highness by birth. The next day, the Duke of Gloucester’s sister Princess Sophia was also bestowed with this style, giving her equal rank with her brother.

Despite raising the Gloucesters to the style of Royal Highness, a tradition was emerging: all male-line descendants from the Sovereign were styled Prince/ss; children of the sovereign and the sovereign’s eldest son were Royal Highnesses, all others were Highnesses. The Letters Patent of 1864, which only deal directly with the style of Royal Highness, state the custom in the preamble: “Princes and Princesses of [the] Royal Family descended from and in lineal succession to the Crown as now established by law all bear the style and title of Highness”.

The statement does not say exactly who is a prince or princess.  But an opinion of the Lord Chancellor in July 1878 states that “there is not, in my opinion, any limit among those in Succession to the Throne within which the use of the style of Prince is to be confined, until some such limit is imposed by the Will of the Sovereign as the Fountain of all Honour”.  Queen Victoria cared enough about this opinion that, to put an end to controversies, she sent a copy to Garter King of Arms.


It is interesting to note that the Letters Patent of 1864 say “descended from and in lineal succession to the Crown”  It is impossible to state what the custom might have been for female-line descendants, since the habit of marrying daughters into foreign royal houses meant that no such descendants lived in Britain.  As of 1864, the first and only marriage of a prince or princess in Great Britain, had been that of the duke of Gloucester (great-grandson of George II) to the daughter of George III, in 1816. That marriage remained childless and if they had had children, those children would have been great-great grandchildren in the male line from the Sovereign and it would have been interesting to see what these children would have been styled.

It wouldn’t be until the early part of the 20th Century would the need once again arise to address what to call the great-grandchildren of a sovereign in male line. This time the results would be different. More on that in my next post.

History of the Prince of Wales titles.

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Henry VII of England, Kingdom of England, Kingdom of France, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Prince Charles, Prince of the Blood, Princess of Wales, titles

This is my first entry into looking at all the titles of the Prince of Wales. I will start with the of Prince, then we’ll look at the title of Duke and Earl etc. Then I’ll look at each specific title, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall etc.

HRH The Prince of Wales

In examining the origins of the title and position of Prince we go back to the ancient world. The Latin word prīnceps (older Latin *prīsmo-kaps, literally “the one who takes the first place/position”). Generally the Latin term prīnceps is also referred to as “First Citizen” and became the title of the informal leader of the Roman senate some centuries before the transition to empire, the princeps senatus.

Emperor Augustus established the formal position of monarch on the basis of principate, not dominion. He also tasked his grandsons as summer rulers of the city when most of the government were on holiday in the country or attending religious rituals, and, for that task, granted them the title of princeps. Historically, this is a first example of the title of Prince being granted as a courtesy title on members of the family.

From the days of the Roman Empire the title of Prince evolved in two ways. The most familiar is Prince being a male member of a monarch’s, or former monarch’s, family ranked below a king and above a duke. In some States of Europe the title of Prince is a title of nobility and for other states the title denotes sovereignty. Whether the title is used as a courtesy title for a member of a Royal Family or that as a Noble or one that denotes Sovereignty in his own right, the title is often hereditary and also regulated. The feminine equivalent is a princess.

Generically, prince refers to a member of a family that ruled by hereditary right, the title referring either to sovereigns or to cadets of a sovereign’s family. The term may be broadly used of persons in various cultures, continents or eras. In Europe, it is the title legally borne by dynastic cadets in monarchies, and borne by courtesy by members of formerly reigning dynasties.

Each country in Europe has its own rich history with the title of Prince and I will not delve into those here for my focus is the history of the title of Prince in Britain.

Who held the title of Prince?

To put it simply, the title “prince” is used throughout British history (England, Scotland, Wales etc) and has been used to mark descent from a sovereign.  Just who qualified for that title changed throughout the history of each of these realms. The further back we go in time the waters muddy to just who held these titles and how they were regulated. It wasn’t until 1714 do we see titles regulated in the manner we’re most familiar with as George I (1714-1727) shaped the British title system to conform to the way titles were regulated in Hanover and the rest of Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Despite inaugurating this title system many ways George I regulated titles no longer exists as George V overhauled the system in 1917 which has remained basically the same since then.

Henry VII King of England and Lord of Ireland.

It generally surprises people to learn that the use of Prince as courtesy style for sons of the Sovereign dates only to Henry VII (1485-1509). Prior to the Tudor period it’s been difficult to find the evidence to how the term Prince, or Princess was used. We all know the legends of Robin Hood and how when King Richard the Lion Heart was off on Crusade and the kingdom was ruled by the evil Prince John. Was John really called a “Prince” in his day, or is giving him that title a more recent and retroactive practice?

However, if the title of Prince didn’t become a courtesy title for the sons of the Sovereign until the reign of Henry VII, then it seems any association with the title Prince for earlier members of the Sovereigns family is a more modern or recent practice. Another interesting fact is that the usage of the title of Princess during the Tudor period was inconsistent. There is evidence that future Queen’s Mary I and Elizabeth I were sometimes referred to Princess Mary of Princess Elizabeth, and also the Lady Mary and the Lady Elizabeth. It wasn’t until the Restoration of Charles II (1660-1685) that daughters of the Sovereign were styled princesses.  Both sons and daughters of the Sovereign were styled Royal Highness from the time of the Restoration. 

Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

If the title of Prince was first a courtesy title for the sons of a Sovereign then the question arises how far in the male line should the title of Prince be extended? Grandsons? Great-grandson or even further? In Europe, the Holy Roman Empire for example, primogeniture took a while to be established therefore princely titles and titles of nobility were extended to all male descendants.

In France, during the 16th century, the title of Prince extended to all existing male-line descendents of kings.  This principle established in law as early as 1400 that agnates had a right of succession no matter how distant their kinship.  This differed from the the English style where succession rights were not always extended to male line descendants of the Sovereign. An example of this is with Henry VII who descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster’s (son of Edward III 1327-1377) third marriage. Although the children of this union were born illegitimate they were subsequently legitimized but without succession rights.

In Britain the concept of “Prince of the Blood Royal, ” in imitation of the French style, makes its appearance. I’d also like to note that the title of Prince, as a courtesy title, is not a title that is granted to an individual like a peerage title (Duke, Earl & Marquess etc) but rather a style or appellation customarily used to indicate the relationship to the sovereign, and membership in the royal house. 

Now back to the question of how far to extend the Princely to more distant relatives in the male line? I speak of the male line because children would inherit surnames and all Princely titles and titles of Nobility from their father, therefore children would not inherent their mothers Royal titles. The only exception being when the mother/female is the Sovereign. 


The problem of styling grandchildren of the sovereign at the English court did not arise much during the Tudors and the Stuarts:

* the only grandchildren of Henry VII born during his lifetime were the children of his daughter Margaret and James IV of Scotland, born outside the realm and those children inherited their father’s Scottish titles.
* Henry VIII had no grandchildren
* Mary I and Elizabeth I had no children
* The only grandchildren of James I-VI born during his lifetime were the children of his daughter Elizabeth and the Elector Palatine, all born overseas, either Heidelberg or the Hague
* only two of those children, Prince Rupert and  Elizabeth, abbess of Herford, ever resided in Britain

* The only child of Charles I married during his lifetime was Mary, whose only son William (future William III-II) was born in the Hague in 1650, a year after Charles I’s death

Therefore, as you can see, there wasn’t an issue in how to style the grandchild born of the Sovereign during their lifetime because there wasn’t any! The problem didn’t arise until the late Stuarts, the with the children of the Duke of York (future James II-VII son of Charles I, brother of Charles II) and the children of Princess Anne (daughter of James II-VII sister of Mary II).  It appears that these grandchildren/nephews of sovereigns were titled
* “Prince” for grandsons in male line,
* “Lord” for grandsons in female line,
* “Lady” for granddaughters in either male or female line,
* and all were styled “Highness”.

Thus, at this stage, the style of Royal Highness remained the prerogative of children of a sovereign.

In order to keep this to a digestible level I’ll stop here and pick up later in the week.

Kate Middleton? NO, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge!

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Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince William, styles, The Duchess of Cambridge, titles, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

After more than five years of marriage to HRH The Duke of Cambridge, his wife, the former Kate Middleton, is still often called Kate Middleton or many other incorrect titles. Her correct title, simply is, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. I swear if by some unfortunate tragedy the Duke of Cambridge were to wake up tomorrow to find that he is the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain the press and others would still call his wife Kate Middleton!

She is a Princess of the United Kingdom via her marriage to HRH The Duke of Cambridge, but because she was not born a member of the royal family she is not entitled to be called Princess Catherine. That right is reserved for women who are the daughter of the sovereign or the granddaughter of the sovereign in the male line. (an exception has been made for little Princess Charlotte of Cambridge who is a great-granddaughter of the sovereign in the male line…more on that in another post).

This was the same case/situation for the late Diana, Princess of Wales (her correct title after the divorce). While Diana was married to HRH The Princes of Wales her correct title was, again simply,  HRH The Princess of Wales. Since Diana was not born either as daughter of the sovereign or the granddaughter of the sovereign in the male line it was not correct to call her “Princess Diana.”

The press never got that right and that is why they and others flounder in what to call the wife of the Duke of Cambridge…Duchess Kate: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (this way of referring to her indicates she is divorced for that is how Diana was referred to after her divorce): Princess Catherine: Princess Kate and a combination of all the above. All are wrong. Her correct style is, Her Royal Highness, and her correct title is…The Duchess of Cambridge. That is it! If you have a peerage title you are known by that peerage title (along with the style His or Her Royal Highness in the case of the royal family members that hold peerage titles) and not your first name. If you are a wife of a peer you take the feminine form of your husband’s title…in the case of the lovely lady formerly known as Kate Middleton, the title is Duchess of Cambridge.

In the future HRH The Duchess of Cambridge will be known as HRH The Princess of Wales when her father-in-law (the current Prince of Wales) becomes king and eventually invests his son as Prince of Wales. Further in the future, and God willing, when the Duke of Cambridge becomes King, as King William V of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (assuming he doesn’t select another regnal name) and the simple correct way to refer to him will be, His Majesty the King, and his his wife’s correct style and tittle will be Her Majesty The Queen. So lets stop calling her Kate Middleton.

Maybe tomorrow or very soon I will write a post on the history of titles and their correct forms and usage.

Is Royalty a Controversial and Complicated subject?

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Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Chester, High Steward of Scotland, King George VI, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Merge with the crown, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince Henry of Wales, Prince of Wales, Prince Philip, Princess Beatrice, Princess Elizabeth of York, Proper usage of titles, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen, titles

You would think this was harmless and fun without much controversy… but you’d be wrong!! You wouldn’t know it from reading the comments on this blog because they are 99% very positive. However, I also run my own royal history page on Facebook (link below) and while that page is also pretty civil you will see some squabbling from time to time. If you’re on Facebook you can follow that page if you’d like.

https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanRoyalHistory

I would to mention a few of my observations to why discussing royalty can be controversial.

1. First of all not everyone is following royalty for the same reasons. Plus, some peoples interest in the topic may not be as deep or as intense as others which lead me to this observation. Before I relate what it is I want to say, I imply no judgment at all. It seems there are two groups of people that are interested in royalty. One group, I call royalty watchers, follow royalty like they would follow any celebrity, be they an actor or an actress, singer or musician or sports figure. Often, as I have observed, many of these types of royalty watchers began watching royalty due to the influence of Diana, Princess of Wales. Therefore, there interest may be limited to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry of Wales, and may be extended to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and other immediate members of the British Royal Family. But there is a limited focus and interest.

2. The other group that are interested in royalty are like myself, they are more of an historian than royalty as celebrity watcher. That means often our knowledge and interest is not just with the British Monarchy (although it may be our favorite) or the current British Royal Family; our interests stretch far back into history and across all monarchies of Europe and even the world. Again, both groups are fine. If you’re interest is not that deep, whatever level you enjoy royalty is fine!

The problem, as I have observed, these two groups often clash.

3. It seems as if they clash over two areas. These two areas are Diana, Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) and the knowledge and usage of titles and correctly addressing the members of the royal family. I apologize for generalizing the situation so if you don’t fit in these categories I understand. It seems the more historical minded people have no problem accepting the Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) into the royal family and seeing her one day being queen along side her husband, future King Charles III. The more casual royalty watcher, those that began watching royalty due to the influence of Diana, Princess of Wales, tend to still hold Diana in very high esteem and cannot stand either the Prince of Wales or the Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) very much. With some there is outright hated. So that can be a controversial topic and an area of conflict.

Another topic that is surprisingly controversial is the usage of titles. Now, I must admit the proper usage of styles and titles is a bit confusing and can take a while to learn, but it can be done. I have found that the more historically minded the royalty watcher they generally do know this information. What I see in the casual royalty enthusiasts can be divided into three categories: a) There are those who do not understand the proper usage of titles or the laws governing how titles are created and inherited and what happens to some of them when the heir to the throne becomes the sovereign or the title becomes extinct. This group is eager to learn about these things. b) The second group may have some knowledge on the subject but they are grossly misinformed and are often wrong. I find this group to be a challenge to deal with because they often do not like to be corrected when they’re wrong and will often stubbornly cling to their misinformation. c) That last group are the very casual royalty watcher who could care less about this topic!

The proper usage of titles and the rules and laws governing them was a big interest of mine so I don’t think I am being too pedantic about this topic considering how much misinformation there is and given the fact that there are people that do want to understand how the system works. Someone has to set an example or all we get is this misinformation! Even keep in mind often the American media and even the British media gets this stuff wrong!!! (even a King got it wrong once)*

Here is a quick run down about how to refer to the members of the royal family. One thing many royalty watchers get upset about is the fact that the press on both sides of the pond still call the wife of Prince William (HRH The Duke of Cambridge) Kate Middleton!! The proper way to refer to the wife of HRH The Duke of Cambridge is, simply, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. It is not Princess Catherine or Duchess Catherine. You do not call members of royalty by their first name if they have a peerage title. For example, its not proper to say “Prince Charles” he is to be called HRH The Prince of Wales. It is alright to drop the HRH and call him the Prince of Wales.

We do not call the Queen, Queen Elizabeth or just Elizabeth, it is proper to refer to her as Her Majesty, The Queen or simply The Queen. Her husband is not to be called “Prince Philip”, he is to be referred by his title, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Now if members of the royal family are not the sovereign and they do not have a peerage title, you refer to them by their style Prince of Princess, their first name and the territorial designation they would inherit from their father. For example, Prince Harry is officially, HRH Prince Henry of Wales because he is the son of the Prince of Wales. The Duke of Cambridge was HRH Prince William of Wales until he received his peerage title.

Princess Beatrice is HRH Princess Beatrice of York because her father is HRH The Duke of York. The Queen, incidentally, was born HRH Princess Elizabeth of York for at the time of her birth her father, future King George VI, was HRH The Duke of York.

For those Princes or Princess without a peerage title to be able to use the predicate “The” in front of their name is reserved only for the sons and daughters of the sovereign. For example, if tomorrow the Prince of Wales were to ascend the throne as king, HRH Prince Henry of Wales would then become HRH The Prince Henry. He would be known as that until he is given a peerage title. Also, if the Prince of Wales were to be king tomorrow, the Duke of Cambridge would automatically inherit the titles Duke of Cornwall in the Peerage of England and the titles Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, and High Stewardship of Scotland, which are the Heir Apparent’s titles in the Peerage of Scotland. The titles Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester are not hereditary and would merge with the crown when the current Prince of Wales becomes king. King Charles III would then be able to re-create his son Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester whenever he sees fit. Until then he known by his double peerage titles while in England, HRH The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge.

That is only the tip of the iceberg. I am sure I will type more about this in the future. Suffice it to say whenever the question of titles and its rules and regulations come up there is often some misinformation which leads to debate and conflict. I don’t claim to be the font of all knowledge on this topic for I am still learning myself. I know a few royal authors that know quite a bit more than I.

Even sometimes the sovereign himself doesn’t know the rules! * In 1947, Prince Phillip of Greece and Denmark renounced his Greek and Danish titles to become a British subject (something he already was, but that is another story) in order to marry the heiress presumptive to the throne, HRH Princess Elizabeth of York. He became Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten (taking the Anglicized name of the Princely House of Battenberg that his mother was from). The day before the wedding King George VI endowed Philip with the style His Royal Highness and the titles, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. However, this did not create him a Prince of the United Kingdom as many, including the King, thought! Despite renouncing his Greek and Danish titles (not legally recognized in Britain anyway) HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was not a Prince! But that didn’t stop the press from continuing to refer to him as Prince Philip. I have a book on the royal family from 1951, a year HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh became queen, and it refers incorrectly to the Duke of Edinburgh as “Prince Philip.”

Some say King George VI did this intentionally and that is the point of debate. However, the matter was left unsettled for ten years. Various dignitaries of State suggested titles for the Duke of Edinburgh. They ranged from Prince Consort, the title Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria held, to the unusual, Prince of the Commonwealth or  Prince of the Realm. The Duke of Edinburgh himself did not want any elevation of his titles. In the end The Queen, issued Letters Patent on February 22, 1957 giving her husband the style and titular dignity of a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He has henceforth been known as His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with the capitalized definite article “The”normally restricted to the children of the Sovereign.

I guess it can get complicated and no wonder titles can be quite the controversial subject!!!