Most Americans have only a rudimentary grasp of British royal titles. Thanks to all those Disney movies, we know that a prince or princess is the son or daughter of a king, but beyond that, all the titles – duke, earl, baron, etc. -- get murky. It is unclear, at least for us commoners, how people get these royal titles, if they are able to pass them down to their children, and which titles outrank others.
A colorized pic of the new King of England after the coronation ceremony. He succeeded to his brother Edward VIII. There are also his wife Queen Consort Elizabeth and their two daughters Elizabeth and Margaret. They are all greeting the crowd from the bal
Let’s take a look at the British royal title hierarchy to find the answers to these questions and to learn the nuances of royal peerage – that’s the term used for the class of people who hold royal or honorary titles in British nobility. As an added bonus, you will get a colorized view of some of the more popular or historic title holders.
King and Queen
The late Prince Philip remained a prince even after his wife became queen. (britishheritage.com)
At the top of the royal hierarchy is the king or queen. Notice how we didn’t say king AND queen. In British royalty, there is only one royal leader. Since 1952, Queen Elizabeth has served in this capacity. Queen Elizabeth was married to Prince Philip for 74 years until his passing last year. Even though he was of royal blood himself and married to a queen, Philip was not a king. He was a consort. A consort, the husband or wife of a reigning monarch, acknowledges the person’s special position without bestowing them a title they didn’t earn themselves upon the death of their parents. Philip was called Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. When Prince Charles becomes king, his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will become the queen consort.
Princes, Princesses, and Princess Royal
Anne, the daughter of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth, is a princess. In this colorized photo, we see her with her one-time husband, Mark Philips, and their children Zara and Peter. Zara has the title of princess royal, but Peter is not called prince ro
The children of kings and queens are called princes and princesses, but it is actually a bit more complicated than that. The offspring of a prince also have the titles of prince or princess. The children of princesses, however, don’t get this privilege. But there is a twist – the Princess Royal. Here’s how it works. The oldest daughter of princesses is given the title of Princess Royal. Subsequent daughters do not have this honor. Neither do the sons of princesses. While there is a Princess Royal, but not a Prince Royal.
Dukes and Duchesses
A colorized pic of the happy couple. Giving up the title of king to marry the love of his life, Edward VIII was demoted to Duke of Windsor and his American wife, Wallis Simpson, became the Duchess of Windsor upon their 1937 wedding. (gentlemansjournal.com
In the peerage hierarchy, the titles of duke and duchess rank the highest. When a prince or princess gets married, they are given new titles of duke or duchess as a traditional part of the peerage system. On his wedding day to Kate Middleton, Prince William was granted the title of Duke of Cambridge and his bride became the Duchess of Cambridge. Generations ago, when a prince was given the title of duke of a specific place, it meant that he was given all the land in that geographic region as part of his dukedom. It doesn’t work like that anymore. The title is really just an honorary thing with no land value attached to it. In fact, one dukedom is not viewed as better than another. The Queen just picks them arbitrarily.
Marquess or Marchioness
Here is President John F. Kennedy's sister, Kathleen, in a colorized photo. When Kathleen married William Cavendish the Marquess of Harington, in 1944, she became the Marchioness of Hartington. (pinterest)
The titles of marquess and marchioness, which rank right after duke and duchess in the royal hierarchy, are nearly extinct these days. No new marquess has been named since 1936 when the Marquess of Willingdon was titled. If there are lingering marquesses and marchionesses around, it is because they’re pseudo-royals who inherited the title from their father. Don’t be too impressed by this fancy-sounding title. There are really no special privileges attached to the titles of marquees or marchioness.
Earl or Countess
A colorized photo of Arthur Balfour, the 1st Earl of Balfour, who served as the British Prime Minister in the early 1900s. (atlanticjewishtimes.com)
Here is an odd bit of trivia for you. The title of earl is the oldest title in the British peerage system. An earl is akin to a count, a title found in other European monarchies. England doesn’t have counts, but they do have countesses. Countesses are the female version of earls, which sounds a lot better than earlnesses. Once again, all the royal privileges that used to come with being an earl or countess are long gone. The titles of earl, which can be handed down from father to son, and countess, which are awarded through marriage, have no weight to them, but they do sound regal.
Violet Bonham Carter, shown in this colorized photo from the 1920s, was the grandmother of actress Helena Bonham Carter and the Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury. (allthatsinteresting.com)
Children of earls and countesses can be given the titles of viscount and viscountess, or they can be awarded to a person by the reigning monarch. The same is true of baron and baroness. Originally, a baron or baroness was a wealthy landowner who used his or her holdings as feudal farmland that profited from the monarchy. In exchange for their monetary support, the baron or baroness was permitted to attend courtly events and participate in parliament. Today, even though there are more barons than any other title in the British peerage system, there are no special perks that come with the title.
Lords and Ladies
Even as a barefoot, sports-loving kid, as this colorized pic shows, Princess Diana had the title of Lady Diana. (rd.com)
So where do lords and ladies fit into the hierarchy? The answer is “everywhere!” Rather than using the cumbersome titles of viscount, marchioness, and so on, royal titles holders are simply referred to as lord and lady. It signifies that there is a title but relieves people from mistakenly using the wrong one or – gasp – having to ask the person to explain their peerage to you. It also puts people on a level playing field.
