British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is a group of people closely related to the British monarch. There is no strict legal definition of who is or is not a member of the royal family[1], and different lists will include different people.The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Their children are the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, and the Earl of Wessex.
A list of members of the royal family taken from an overview on the family's official website is as follows, the names being given here as on the page itself[1]:-
- HM The Queen
- HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- HRH The Prince of Wales
- HRH The Duke of York
- TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex
- HRH The Princess Royal
- HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
- TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
- TRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent
- TRH Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
- HRH Princess Alexandra, the Honorable Lady Oglivy
A list of extended relations of the British Royal Family might include:
- Commodore Timothy Laurence (the second husband of the Princess Royal);
- Peter Philips and Zara Philips (the children of the Princess Royal);
- Viscount Linley (the son of the late Princess Margaret), his wife, and their children;
- The Lady Sarah Chatto (the daughter of the late Princess Margaret), her husband, and children;
- The Earl and Countess of Ulster (the son and daughter-in-law of the Duke of Gloucester),
- The Lady Davina Windsor and the Lady Rose Windsor (the daughters of the Duke of Gloucester);
- The Earl and Countess of St. Andrews (the son and daughter-in-law of the Duke of Kent) and their children;
- The Lady Helen Taylor (the daughter of the Duke of Kent), her husband and children;
- The Lord Nicholas Windsor (younger son of the Duke of Kent);
- The Lord Frederick Windsor and the Lady Gabriella Windsor (the children of Prince Michael of Kent);
- The Honorable Sir Angus Ogilvy (the husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent);
- Mr. and Mrs. James Oglivy (the son and daughter-in-law of Princess Alexandra) and their children;
- Mrs. Marina Mowatt (the daughter of Princess Alexandra) and her children;
- The Earl of Harewood (a grandson of King George V through his daughter Mary, Princess Royal), his second wife, and their children;
- The widow and children of the late Honorable Gerald Lascelles (the Earl of Harewood's younger brother);
- The Duke of Fife (a female-line great grandson of King Edward VI), his wife, and their children;
- The Lady Soulton (widow of Alexander Ramsay of Mar, a female-line grandson of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, the third son of Queen Victoria);
- and The Countess Mountbatten of Burma (the elder daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and a first cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh), her husband, and children.
There are three living former spouses of members of the British Royal Family: Sarah, Duchess of York (the former wife of the Duke of York), Captain Mark Philips (the former husband of the Princess Royal), and the Earl of Snowdon (the former husband of the late Princess Margaret).
The Burrell affair recently occupied much press coverage about the British royal family.
Naming Conventions
Use of the style His Royal Highness or Her Royal Highness (HRH) and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess is governed by an Order in Council laid down by King George V in 1917. Among its provisions was stated that only the children of the Sovereign, the children of the sons of the Sovereign, and the eldest son of the eldest son of The Prince of Wales could receive these distinctions. Thus, The Queen's children are labeled 'HRH', 'Prince' or 'Princess', and the offspring of The Prince of Wales and The Duke of York carry the title. The children of The Princess Royal however, do not. Likewise, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael of Kent are also entitled to use the title as grandchildren of King George V through the male line, but none of their children are. For example, the children of HRH Prince Michael of Kent are known as Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Windsor, instead of HRH Prince Frederick and HRH Princess Gabriella, respectively.
Women marrying a holder of these distinctions would be known as Her Royal Highness but men marrying a holder of the title would not. The only exception to that is Prince Philip, who in 1947 was created HRH The Duke of Edinburgh by King George VI.
As grandchildren of the Sovereign through the female line, the children of Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh would not have been entitled to use HRH or Prince or Princess until their mother became Queen, had those titles and styles not been granted in Letters Patent of 22 October 1948.
Finally, on the wedding day of HRH The Earl of Wessex to then-then Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones, Buckingham Palace announced that, with the couple's agreement, any children they have should not be given the style His or Her Royal Highness, but would have courtesy titles as sons or daughters of an earl. This announcement has created considerable confusion. Since 1714, all legitimate children and legitimate male-line grandchildren of the British Sovereign have been titled Prince or Princess and styled Royal Highness. To date, the Queen has not issued Letters Patent that supersede George V's Letters Patent of 20 November 1917. Nor has the Queen issued a Royal Warrant specifically allowing the children of the Earl and Countess of Wessex (or the Earl and Countess on their behalf) to relinquish the titular dignity of Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the style Royal Highness and assume the courstey titles of an earl's children. HRH The Countess of Wessex gave birth to a daughter on 8 November 2003. The press secretary to the Queen announced that the infant would be styled the Lady Louise Windsor. Legally, however, child is HRH Princess Louise of Wessex until a Royal Warrant or Letters Patent to the contrary appear.
See also: House of Windsor, Kings of England family tree
