British Royal Family

The British Royal Family is a group of people closely related to the British monarch. Although there is no strict legal definition of who is or is not a member of the Royal Family http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/britfaq.html#p2-2, and different lists will include different people, those carrying the style His or Her Majesty (HM) or His or Her Royal Highness (HRH) are generally accepted as being members. Usually this equates to the following people being considered to be a member:

Peerages

Female consorts of the Sovereign have generally not been created peers or peeresses. A notable exception occurred in 1532, when Henry VIII created Anne Boleyn Marquess of Pembroke(he gave her the male version of the title as opposed to the female version) before marrying her. Male consorts, however, have sometimes been granted dukedoms. The husband of Mary I was already King of Spain, and that of Mary II was jointly Sovereign in England, so neither of them received peerage dignities. Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Anne (later Queen Anne), was created Duke of Cumberland in 1683. Victoria's husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was given the style Royal Highness before his marriage. In 1857, Queen Victoria granted him title of Prince Consort; however, Prince Albert was not made a British peer. Prince Philip, husband of the present Queen, was created Duke of Edinburgh and granted the style Royal Highness the day before his wedding (which occurred prior to her accession).

Related Topics:
1532 - Henry VIII - Anne Boleyn - Mary I - Mary II - Prince George of Denmark - Anne - 1683 - Victoria - Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha - 1857 - Prince Consort

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Generally, the sons of the Sovereign are awarded peerage dignities to mark either adulthood or marriage. Originally, younger sons of the Sovereign were not styled Princes (except the Prince of Wales); thus, in order to indicate their exalted rank, peerage dignities were conferred upon them. From the time of Edward III, nearly every son of a Sovereign surviving into adulthood became a Duke. Certain dukedoms were granted more often than others, including the Dukedoms of York, Albany and Clarence. Normally, a dukedom once awarded to a member of the Royal Family is not thereafter granted to any person outside the Royal Family.

Related Topics:
Edward III - Dukedoms of York - Albany - Clarence

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Dukedom of York is generally created for the second son of the Sovereign. The first creation was in 1384; the dukedom merged in the Crown in 1483. Every Duke thereafter has either died without heirs or succeeded to the Crown, and so has not been able to leave the Royal Family. The pattern of awarding the dukedom to the second-eldest son of the Sovereign was upset by George I, who gave the Dukedom of York and Albany to his younger brother. The Dukedom of York and Albany was next granted by George II to the second son of his son, who had predeceased him. York and Albany featured one last time as a dukedom in 1784, when George III granted it to his second son. Thereafter, the dukedom has always borne the designation York, rather than York and Albany. The current duke is The Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II.

Related Topics:
1384 - 1483 - George I - George II - 1784 - George III

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Dukedom of Albany served a function similar to the Dukedom of York in Scotland. The dukedom was created in 1398 for Robert Stewart, brother of King Robert III. It was at the time the only dukedom other than the Dukedom of Rothesay. It was created thrice more in Scotland: twice for the second son of a Sovereign, and once for a brother of a Sovereign. It was last created in 1881 for the fourth son of Victoria; the dukedom was then suspended under the Titles Deprivation Act after its holder fought on the side of Germany during World War I.

Related Topics:
1398 - Robert Stewart - Robert III - 1881 - Victoria - Germany - World War I

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are several other dukedoms that have been used for members of the Royal Family. Clarence was first used as a dukedom in 1362, most of the time being granted to the third son of the Sovereign. Among the dukedoms granted to still younger sons of the Sovereign are Aumale, Cambridge, Connaught, Cumberland, Edinburgh, Gloucester, Kent and Sussex. Some of those dukedoms were used for younger brothers, nephews and other kinsmen of Sovereigns. The dukedom of Windsor was also a Royal dukedom, being granted to Edward VIII after he abdicated so that he could marry against the tenets of the Church of England.

Related Topics:
1362 - Edward VIII - Church of England

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Often, sons of the Sovereign were granted titles associated with England and Scotland, later with Ireland, and most recently with Wales. Thus, the Dukedom of Strathearn (named after a place in Scotland) has been held with the Dukedoms of Connaught (named after an Irish province), Kent and Cumberland (both named after English places). This pattern continues in the present Royal Family. The current Duke of York, for example, is also Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh; the subsidiary titles are associated with Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively.

Related Topics:
Inverness - Killyleagh

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The convention of granting dukedoms to senior members of the Royal Family was broken most recently in 1999, when The Prince Edward was created Earl of Wessex. The Earldom of Wessex had never been created earlier by an English or British Sovereign. It has been suggested that the Dukedom of Edinburgh will eventually be granted to the Earl of Wessex. The dukedom will descend to Charles, Prince of Wales, however, and not to the Earl of Wessex. When The Prince of Wales becomes Sovereign, or if he is already Sovereign when the dukedom passes to him, the dukedom will merge in the Crown and then only become available for a regnant.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The highest peerage dignity belonging to a Prince may be used as a part of the title of that Prince's children. Thus, the sons of The Prince of Wales are Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales; the daughters of the Duke of York are Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York; the daughter of the Earl of Wessex is Princess Louise of Wessex. (In the last case, the Princess is normally referred to as Lady Louise Windsor at the wishes of her parents, but officially remains a Princess.)

Related Topics:
Prince William of Wales - Prince Henry of Wales - Princess Beatrice of York - Princess Eugenie of York - Princess Louise of Wessex

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sovereigns, especially Charles II, have sometimes granted peerage dignities to illegitimate children. James Scott became Duke of Monmouth in 1663. Many more creations, mostly earldoms, followed in the 1670s: Charles FitzCharles became Earl of Plymouth, Charles FitzRoy Duke of Southampton, Henry FitzRoy Earl of Euston, George FitzRoy Earl of Northumberland, Charles Beauclerk Earl of Burford and Charles Lennox Duke of Richmond and Lennox. Many of the earls who were sons of Charles later became Dukes. Of the current Dukes, four are descendants of Charles in the illegitimate line: the Duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon, the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, the Duke of Grafton and the Duke of St Albans.

Related Topics:
James Scott - 1663 - 1670 - Charles FitzCharles - Charles FitzRoy - Henry FitzRoy - George FitzRoy - Charles Beauclerk - Charles Lennox

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~