Four-Year-Old Charlotte Is A Princess, But Her Kids Won't Be Officially Considered Royalty

Apr 02, 2020 by apost team

Even for those of us who follow the British royals, the royalty rulebook can be dizzyingly confusing, especially now that Prince Harry has renounced his royal title. As it turns out, royal titles are only inherited through sons, meaning that Princess Charlotte’s kids will not be royals whereas Prince George’s children will.

There are, as it currently stands, two ways to qualify as a princess, according to Vogue. Either you are the daughter of a prince — not a princess — or you marry into the royal family. That’s why Kate Middleton, who was a non-royal before her marriage to Prince William, is now a princess through marriage. Moreover, Charlotte is Prince William’s daughter, and thus she also inherits the royal title. But what about Charlotte’s kids? Well, remember that royal titles are inherited through sons and not daughters, meaning that despite her title, her children will not be royalty in the official sense.

Since the 20th century, this gendered rule has sparked controversy, and it continues provoke criticism. But the royal title inheritance rule isn’t set in stone. In fact, according to Daily Mail, as recently as 2013, the royal family has changed some of its standards, including a law that stipulates that male members of the royal family are not given preference in the line of succession.

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It gets more complicated, however. Another hot, touchy subject for the media is Kate’s royal status. While Kate Middleton is undoubtedly a princess due to her marriage, the royal family does not call her Princess Kate, according to Vogue. However, Prince George’s birth cleared up some of the ambiguity given the fact that his birth certificate confirmed Kate’s occupation as “Princess of the United Kingdom.”

According to Mental Floss, this headache of a system is a relic of the peerage system, an old hierarchy that determined one’s position in British society. In the heyday of the monarchy, peers were the king and queen’s vassals, meaning they swore loyalty to the monarchs in exchange for land, money and power. And for centuries, peers were also part of British Parliament in which they held considerable political power. Sadly for the royals, a bill in 1999 weakened their power, though a significant number of peers continue to legislate in British Parliament.

If you’ve ever wanted to be a part of this old and complicated system — despite the arcane rules — there are ways to become a peer that don’t include marrying into the royal family, though that always is an option for all the seductresses and cassanovas out there. According to Mental Floss, the British legislature passed a law in 1958 introducing the so-called “life peer” role, which isn’t inherited or acquired through marriage. If you somehow manage to become a prominent doctor, professor, business owner, etc. in British society, the Crown and the Prime Minister can award this life peer status, making you a part of this old, prestigious and altogether complicated system. So unless you plan to marry anytime soon, you’ll need to get to work to polish your credentials if you want to impress the British Crown.

What do you think about the rules to become a royal? Are they too strict? Unfair? Let us know and pass these interesting facts on to your friends and family.