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]:-

Recently deceased members of the family include Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowden and Diana, Princess of Wales.

A list of extended relations of the British Royal Family might include:

None of these persons hold royal titles, carry out official duties on behalf of the Queen, or receive any monies from the Privy Purse. However, the Queen does invite them to private family functions and to participate in official royal occassions, such as the Trooping of the Colour, the Golden Jubilee celebrations, and ceremonial or state funerals.

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.

Table of contents
1 Parliamentary Annuities
2 Titles and Style Conventions
3 External link

Parliamentary Annuities

Only some members of the Royal Family carry out public duties; these indivdiuals receive an annual payment known as a Parliamentary Annuity.

The Queen repays to the Treasury all of the sums except for that paid to the Duke of Edinburgh.

Titles and Style Conventions

The style His Majesty or Her Majesty (HM) is enjoyed by a King, a Queen (regnant), a Queen consort, and a former Queen consort (a Queen Dowager or a Queen Mother).

Use of the style His Royal Highness or Her Royal Highness (HRH) and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess is governed by Letters Patent issued by King George V on 30 November1917 (published in the London Gazette on 11 December 1917). These Letters Patent state that henceforth, 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 would "have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour." They further state, "the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes."

Under these conventions, The Queen's children and the children of The Prince of Wales and The Duke of York are titled Princes or Princesses and styled Royal Highness. Likewise, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Oglivy, and Prince Michael of Kent enjoy the titular dignity of Prince or Princess and the style Royal Highness as male-line grandchildren of King George V. However, none of their children have royal titles. For example, the children of Prince Michael of Kent are known as Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Windsor (the courtesy titles as children of dukes), instead of HRH Prince Frederick and HRH Princess Gabriella, respectively. The children of The Princess Royal, Princess Alexandra, and the late Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowden, are not Royal Highnesses, since princesses do not normally trasmit their titles to their children. Princess Margaret's son enjoys the courtesy title Viscount Linley as the son and heir of the Earl of Snowden, while her daughter enjoys the courtsey title Lady. The children of the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra have no titles, because Captain Mark Philips and Sir Angus Oglivy do not hold hereditary peerages.

Women marrying sons and male-line grandsons of a Sovereign are normally styled Her Royal Highness followed by the feminized version of her husband's highest title. The wives of royal peers are known as "HRH The Duchess of ..." or " HRH The Countess of ..." Thus, the wives of the Duke of Kent, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Earl of Wessex are "HRH The Duchess of Kent," "HRH The Duchess of Gloucester," and "HRH The Countess of Wessex," respectively. Before her divorce, the late Diana, Princess of Wales enjoyed the title and style of "HRH The Princess of Wales." However, when a women marries a prince who does not hold a peerage, she is known as HRH Princess [Her husband's Christian name], followed by whatever territorial or titular designation. For example, the former Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz enjoys the title and style of "HRH Princess Michael of Kent," instead of "HRH Princess Marie-Christine of Kent." Similarly, the former Birgitte Eva Van Duers was titled "HRH Princess Richard of Gloucester" from her wedding day until her husband succeede