British princess
The use of the title of Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is entirely at the will of the sovereign, and is now expressed in letters patent. Individuals holding the title of princess will usually also be granted the style of Her Royal Highness. The current letters patent were issued in 1917 during World War I, with one extension in 2012.
Between 1714 and 1917, pursuant to the then custom, daughters of the monarch and daughters of male-line descendants of a monarch were accorded the rank of a British princess. King George V issued letters patent on 30 November 1917, predefining who held the title, style and rank of a British Princess to restrict the automatic assignment of the title "princess" and the use of the style "Royal Highness" to the following persons:
- the legitimate daughters of a British Sovereign
- the legitimate male line granddaughters of a British sovereign.
The wife of a British prince whose marriage has been approved by the British Sovereign is automatically accorded the status of the prince and the feminine form of her husband's titles.
Princesses of the blood royal and princesses by marriage
Under the current practice, princesses of the blood royal are the legitimate daughters and the legitimate male line granddaughters of a British sovereign. They are dynasts, that is potential successors to the throne. For these individuals, the title "Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" and the style "Her Royal Highness" is an entitlement for life. The title Princess and the style Royal Highness is prefixed to the Christian name, before another title of honour. From 1714 until 1917, the male-line great-granddaughters of the Sovereign were titled "Princess of Great Britain and Ireland" with the style "Highness". Since 1917, the male-line great-granddaughters of the Sovereign have held "the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes". For example, the daughters of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a male line grandson of George V, are styled Lady Davina Windsor and Lady Rose Gilman.The legal wife of a British prince is also entitled to the status and rank of a British princess. If their husband is not the holder of his own substantive title, then the wife of a British prince has the right to be styled as Princess followed by their husband's first given name. However, if their husband is the holder of either a Dukedom or an Earldom then this takes precedence. For example, upon her marriage to Prince Michael of Kent in 1978, Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz assumed the title and style of "Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent". Similarly, upon her marriage to then Prince Richard of Gloucester, the former Birgitte van Deurs assumed the title and style of "Her Royal Highness Princess Richard of Gloucester". Upon marriage, the wife of the prince of Wales becomes "Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales". Upon marriage, the wife of a royal duke becomes "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of X". When Prince Richard of Gloucester succeeded to his father's dukedom in 1974, his wife became "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester". Since 1714, only four princesses were at marriage known in their title by their husband's name, since all the others took the duchess form of the royal duke's title. The four are Princess George of Cumberland, Princess Arthur of Connaught, Princess Richard of Gloucester and Princess Michael of Kent.
Princesses by marriage are entitled to the style "Royal Highness" by virtue of marriage, and retain the style if widowed. However, Elizabeth II issued letters patent dated 21 August 1996 stating that any woman divorced from a prince of the United Kingdom would no longer be entitled to the style "Royal Highness". This has so far applied to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York. The title of HRH is not intrinsically linked to the title of Princess. Diana was restyled as "Diana, Princess of Wales" following her divorce as a courtesy of the late Queen Elizabeth II having been officially styled as The Princess of Wales during marriage. If Diana had ever remarried then she would have lost the right to the style and title completely.
Since the passage of the Royal Marriages Act 1772, there were a few instances in the reign of King George III in which princes of the blood contracted marriages without consent of the king. This meant they were not legally married, denying the woman the lawful style "Her Royal Highness", as well as any title in the peerage. For example, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, a male-line grandson of King George III, 'married' Sarah Louisa Fairbrother: the marriage was in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, and therefore legally invalid. Accordingly, the duke's wife was never titled the Duchess of Cambridge or accorded the style "Her Royal Highness". Instead, she was known as "Mrs FitzGeorge". An exception to the rule was created for King Edward VIII following his 1936 abdication. King George VI issued letters patent dated 27 May 1937 that entitled The Duke of Windsor, as Edward was now entitled, "to hold and enjoy for himself only the title, style or attribute of Royal Highness so however that his wife and descendants if any shall not hold the said title, style or attribute".
There is also the case when a princess of the blood royal marries a British prince. She also becomes a princess by marriage and will be addressed in the same way. An example of this situation was the late Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, when she married her cousin Prince Arthur of Connaught and became "Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife".
Typically a princess by marriage should not be called princess followed by her first name. Diana, Princess of Wales, was consistently referred to as "Princess Diana" by fans and the media, but this usage of the title is technically erroneous, as she was not the child of a monarch nor the child of a son of a monarch. However, this tradition was broken once in the past century with Elizabeth II's aunt, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, being referred to—with permission from the sovereign—in official sources as such following the death of her husband.
History
The use of the titles prince and princess and the styles of Highness and Royal Highness for members of the Royal Family is of fairly recent usage in the British Isles. Before 1714, there was no settled practice regarding the use of the titles prince and princess other than the heir apparent and his wife. Since 1301, the eldest sons of the Kings of England have generally been created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. Their wives were titled Princess of Wales.The title Princess Royal came into being in 1642 when Queen Henrietta Maria, the French-born wife of King Charles I, wished to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the French King was styled Madame Royale. However, there was no settled practice on the use of the title princess for the Sovereign's younger daughters or male-line granddaughters. For example, as late as the time of King Charles II, the daughters of his brother James, Duke of York, both of whom became Queens regnant, were called simply "The Lady Mary" and "The Lady Anne". The future Queen Anne was styled princess in her marriage treaty to Prince George of Denmark and then styled "Princess Anne of Denmark" once married. However, in exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the deposed James II & VII gave the title of Princess Royal to his last daughter, Louisa Maria.
After the accession of George Louis of Hanover as King George I, the children, grandchildren, and male line great-grandchildren of the British Sovereign were automatically titled "Prince or Princess of Great Britain and Ireland" and styled "Royal Highness" or "Highness". Queen Victoria confirmed this practice in letters patent dated 30 January 1864.
On 31 December 2012, Elizabeth II issued letters patent enabling all children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales to enjoy the princely title and style of Royal Highness, as opposed to only the eldest son.
Styling of princesses
Princesses of the blood royal
- Daughter of a Sovereign: HRH The Princess N.''
- *The style HRH The Princess Royal is customarily granted by the Sovereign, when vacant, to the Sovereign's eldest daughter.
- Daughter of a son of a Sovereign: HRH Princess N of X, where X is the territorial designation of their father's senior peerage; e.g. HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent, HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales, HRH Princess Lilibet of Sussex.
- *Prior to Princess Charlotte, a daughter of the Prince of Wales: HRH Princess N
- *Prior to 1917, a daughter of a son of a son of a Sovereign: HH Princess N of X
- From 31 December 2012, daughter of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales: HRH Princess N of X.