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Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a royal title normally granted to sons and grandsons of reigning and past British monarchs, plus consorts of female monarchs (by letters patent). The title is granted by the reigning monarch, who is the fount of all honours, through the issuing of letters patent as an expression of the royal will.
Individuals holding the title of prince will usually also be granted the style of His Royal Highness (HRH).
When a British prince marries, his wife becomes a British princess; however, she is addressed by the feminine version of the husband's senior title on his behalf, either a princely title or a peerage. Traditionally, all wives of male members of the British royal family, the aristocracy, and members of the public take the style and title of their husbands. An example of this case is Princess Michael of Kent, the wife of King Charles III's first cousin once removed Prince Michael of Kent. [1]
There is also the case when a princess of 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 mother's cousin, Prince Arthur of Connaught, she became Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife.
If a British prince has a peerage, then the princess is addressed by the feminine version of her husband's peer title; an example of this case is the wife of Prince William, who was (briefly) officially styled His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge while his wife Catherine became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, omitting both the 'prince' and 'princess' titles and their first names. When William was then created Prince of Wales, that became the senior title held in his own right, and he and Catherine are styled His/Her Royal Highness The Prince/Princess of Wales. [2]
Before 1714, the title of prince and the style of HRH was not customary in usage. Sons and daughters of the sovereign were not automatically or traditionally called a prince or princess. An exception was the Prince of Wales, a title conferred on the eldest son of the sovereign since the reign of King Edward I of England. [3] In the Kingdom of Scotland, even though an honorific principality was created by King James VI, the heir-apparent was only referred to as Duke of Rothesay. Some others include John, brother of King Richard I and later King John, who is sometimes called Prince John.
After the accession of King George I of Great Britain (the first monarch from the House of Hanover), it became customary for the sons of the sovereign and grandsons of the sovereign in the male line to be titled 'Prince' and styled His Royal Highness (abbreviated HRH). Great-grandsons of the sovereign were princes styled His Highness (abbreviated HH).
Just three weeks after the birth of her fourth grandchild but first male-line grandson, Victoria issued letters patent in 1864 [4] which formally confirmed the practice of calling children and male-line grandchildren His Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names. The letters patent did not address the styling of great-grandchildren or further descendants as His/Her Highness or Prince or Princess.
Subsequent to 1864 some amendments regarding princes were made, with the issuance of specific letters patent changing the title and style of the following groups:
The male-line descendants of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, head of the House of Hanover bear the title Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom with the style of Royal Highness as a secondary title of pretence.
Of the 58 British princes listed here, two are spouses of a reigning queen, and eight lost their title after World War I.
† – In letters patent dated 20 November 1917, King George V restricted the title of Prince to the children of the sovereign, the children of the sovereign's sons, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.
‡ – By an Order in Council dated 28 March 1919, as authorised by the Titles Deprivation Act 1917, King George V suspended the British peerage titles and honours of those who sided with Germany in World War I.
Full name | Arms | Lifespan | Royal lineage | Right | Notes |
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George Augustus later, King George II | 1683–1760 | Only son of King George I | Created Prince by the sovereign |
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Frederick Louis | 1707–1751 | 1st son of King George II | Created Prince by the sovereign |
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George William | 1717–1718 | 2nd son of King George II | Prince from birth |
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William Augustus | ![]() | 1721–1765 | 3rd son of King George II |
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George William Frederick later, King George III | ![]() | 1738–1820 |
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Edward Augustus | ![]() | 1739–1767 |
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William Henry | ![]() | 1743–1805 |
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Henry Frederick | ![]() | 1745–1790 |
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Frederick William | 1750–1765 |
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George Augustus Frederick later, King George IV | ![]() | 1762–1830 | 1st son of King George III |
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Frederick Augustus | ![]() | 1763–1827 | 2nd son of King George III |
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William Henry later, King William IV | ![]() | 1765–1837 | 3rd son of King George III |
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Edward Augustus | ![]() | 1767–1820 | 4th son of King George III |
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Ernest Augustus Later, Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover | ![]() | 1771–1851 | 5th son of King George III |
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Augustus Frederick | ![]() | 1773–1843 | 6th son of King George III |
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Adolphus Frederick | ![]() | 1774–1850 | 7th son of King George III |
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Octavius | 1779–1783 | 8th son of George III |
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Alfred | 1780–1782 | 9th son of King George III |
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William Frederick | ![]() | 1776–1834 |
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George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus Later, George V, King of Hanover | ![]() | 1819–1878 |
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George William Frederick Charles | ![]() | 1819–1904 |
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Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel | ![]() | 1819–1861 | Husband of Queen Victoria | Created Prince by the sovereign |
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Albert Edward Later, King Edward VII | ![]() | 1841–1910 | 1st son of Queen Victoria | Prince from birth |
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Alfred Ernest Albert | ![]() | 1844–1900 | 2nd son of Queen Victoria |
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Arthur William Patrick Albert | ![]() | 1850–1942 | 3rd son of Queen Victoria |
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Leopold George Duncan Albert | ![]() | 1853–1884 | 4th son of Queen Victoria |
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Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick | 1845–1923 |
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Albert Victor Christian Edward | ![]() | 1864–1892 | 1st son of King Edward VII |
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George Frederick Ernest Albert Later, King George V | ![]() | 1865–1936 | 2nd son of King Edward VII |
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Alexander John Charles Albert [14] | 1871–1871 | 3rd son of King Edward VII |
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Alfred Alexander William Ernest Albert | ![]() | 1874–1899 |
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Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert | ![]() | 1883–1938 |
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Carl Eduard Georg Albert Leopold | ![]() | 1884–1954 |
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Georg Wilhelm Christian Albert Edward Alexander Friedrich Waldemar Ernst Adolf | 1880–1912 |
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Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Peter Waldemar | 1885–1901 |
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Ernst August Christian Georg | 1887–1953 |
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Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David later, King Edward VIII | ![]() | 1894–1972 | 1st son of King George V |
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Albert Frederick Arthur George later, King George VI | ![]() | 1895–1952 | 2nd son of King George V |
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Henry William Frederick Albert | ![]() | 1900–1974 | 3rd son of King George V |
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George Edward Alexander Edmund | ![]() | 1902–1942 | 4th son of King George V |
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John Charles Francis | 1905–1919 | 5th son of King George V |
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Alastair Arthur | ![]() | 1914–1943 |
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Johann Leopold William Albert Ferdinand Victor | 1906–1972 |
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Dietmar Hubertus Friedrich Wilhelm Philipp | 1909–1943 |
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Ernst August Georg Wilhelm Christian Ludwig Franz Joseph Nikolaus Oskar | 1914–1987 |
| Created Prince by the sovereign |
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George Wilhelm Ernst August Friedrich Axel | 1915–2006 |
| Prince from birth |
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Philip | ![]() | 1921–2021 | Husband of Queen Elizabeth II | Created Prince by the sovereign |
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William Henry Andrew Frederick | ![]() | 1941–1972 |
| Prince from birth | |
Richard Alexander Walter George | ![]() | 1944–present |
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Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick | ![]() | 1935–present |
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Michael George Charles Franklin | ![]() | 1942–present |
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Charles Philip Arthur George later, King Charles III | ![]() | 1948–present | 1st son of Queen Elizabeth II |
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Andrew Albert Christian Edward | ![]() | 1960–present | 2nd son of Queen Elizabeth II |
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Edward Antony Richard Louis | ![]() | 1964–present | 3rd son of Queen Elizabeth II |
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William Arthur Philip Louis | ![]() | 1982–present |
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Henry Charles Albert David | ![]() | 1984–present |
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James Alexander Philip Theo | 2007–present |
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George Alexander Louis | 2013–present |
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Louis Arthur Charles | 2018–present |
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Archie Harrison | 2019–present |
| Prince since the accession of his grandfather |
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