Ooh la la! Princess Charlotte has a French-y royal title waiting in the wings
Titles count when it comes to the royal family, and when Prince William eventually becomes King there’ll be a bit of a shakeup in the royal name game. Duchess Kate will become Queen Consort, Prince George will be second in line to the throne and young Princess Charlotte will see some changes too.
Title in waiting
The French-influenced Princess Royal is the title Charlotte’s in line for, but it will only be bestowed under a couple of circumstances.
Firstly, the current reigning Princess Royal needs to be dead. The title goes to the eldest daughter of the monarch, and it’s currently Princess Anne’s official title.
Secondly, the reigning monarch needs to approve the title. So, should Princess Anne pass on, Prince William would decide if his daughter becomes the Princess Royal. If it’s a yes, she’ll become – Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte, Princess Royal.
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All in good time?
The previous title holder, Mary, Princess Royal, died in 1965 meaning the title was then available. The Queen took her own sweet time to bestow it on her daughter, however, for whatever reasons.
“Princess Anne had to wait until 1987 before her mother the Queen bestowed the title of Princess Royal on her, even though the title had been vacant since 1965,” royal expert and author of Prince Harry: The Inside Story, Duncan Larcombe, told Town & Country magazine.
That would have made Princess Anne 37 when she became Princess Royal. She was married to her first husband Captain Mark Phillips at the time. It’s lucky that she was married because the title came with some pretty bonkers rules and regulations, Duncan Larcombe explained.
“Under ancient British law, any man who sleeps with the Princess Royal before they are married is guilty of high treason—punishable by execution! Perhaps Princess Charlotte’s future boyfriends had better look out. At the very least, Wills and Kate are likely to wait until after Charlotte marries before giving her the title.”
French lesson
If bestowed this title, Charlotte will be the eighth Princess Royal. The very first to take the title was Charles I daughter, Princess Mary, back in 1642.
The title came into existence when Queen Henrietta Maria (King Charles I’s wife) was keen to mimic the ‘Madame Royale’ title the King of France’s eldest daughter carried at the time.
So there you go … So Frenchy, so fancy!
