Prince

:For other meanings, see Prince (disambiguation).

Princes of principalities

Other princes (or the same, see below) derive their title not from their dynastic position as such (which must often be shared with brothers, etc), but from their claim to a unique title of formal princely rank, one named after a specific principality, not after the suzerain/sovereign state, even if they belong to one.

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Princes as ruling monarchs

A prince or princess who is the head of state in a monarchy is a reigning prince, which had no other specific, formal (rank) title, and their domain, typically smaller than a kingdom, is called a "principality".

Related Topics:
Monarchy - Reigning prince - Kingdom - Principality

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This can be a regular nation, even sovereign, rather than as a grand duchy.

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:Example: Prince Albert II of the principality of Monaco.

Related Topics:
Prince Albert II - Principality - Monaco

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In the same tradition/vein many micronation 'monarchs' establish themselves as (usually merely nominal) 'princes'.

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:Example: Prince Roy of Sealand

Related Topics:
Prince Roy - Sealand

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The term "prince" has also been used to describe, in languages like English that lack a specific word for this concept, the head of a feudal (vassal) state of lower rank; for example, it has been used as a synonym for duke at times.

Related Topics:
Feudal - Duke

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In German, such a prince is also called "Fürst" (capital obligatory in German grammar), and there are equivalents in most languages in the tradition of the Holy Roman Empire, where these abounded.

Related Topics:
Fürst - Holy Roman Empire

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Countries of Western Europe

In several countries of the European continent, notably in Germany and in France, a prince can be the title of someone having a high rank of nobility, but not necessarily royal, which makes comparing it with e.g. the British system of "royal" princes difficult.

Related Topics:
European continent - Germany - France - Nobility - Royal - British

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:Examples: Princess de Polignac (France); Prince Bismarck (Germany, translation of Fürst Bismarck)

Related Topics:
Princess de Polignac - Prince Bismarck

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Russia

In the Russian system, knyaz (translated as "prince"), is the highest degree of nobility, and sometimes, represents a mediatization of an older native dynasty which became subject to the Russian imperial dynasty. Rurikid branches used the knyaz title also after they were succeeded by the Romanovs as the Russian imperial dynasty.

Related Topics:
Russia - Mediatization - Dynasty - Russian imperial dynasty - Rurik - Romanov

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:Examples: Prince Potemkin

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Titular royal princedoms

One type of prince belongs in both the genealogical royalty and the territorial princely styles. A number of nobiliary territories, carrying with them the formal style of prince, are not (or no longer) actual (political, administrative, etc. principalities, but are maintained as essentially hononary titles (though some land, income etc. may be attached to them), and are awarded traditionally (or occasionally) to princes of the blood, as an appanage.

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This is done in particular for the heir to the throne (creating a de facto primogeniture), who is often awarded a particular principality in each generation, so that it becomes synonymous with the first in line for the throne, even if there is no automatic legal mechanism to do so.

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:Examples:

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:* UK (originally England) : Prince of Wales

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:* Netherlands : Prins van Oranje (Prince of Orange, once a real principality around the homonymous city in southern France)

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:* Spain : Principe de Asturias (Prince of the Asturias, once a separate kingdom)

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Some states have an analogous tradition, where they confer another princely title, such as the British 'royal duchies' (for various royal princes), and formerly the French Dauphin (again, through de facto primogeniture).

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Both systems may occur, as in Belgium, where "Prince of Liège=Luik" is one of the traditional titles for royal sons (alongside Duke of Brabant, the highest title, being handed down through primogeniture if it is not yet taken; Count of Flanders is similarly used for the second in rank).

Related Topics:
Belgium - Duke of Brabant - Count of Flanders

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