The Reasoning Behind Charlotte Being Called Princess But Her Kids Likely Not

Jul 05, 2021 by apost team

The 6-year-old daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton is adorable and very confident for a middle child. In fact, her mother says she is "the one in charge" of their household. Her big personality is complemented by her sweet older brother, Prince George, and her darling younger brother, Prince Louis. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge couldn't be more proud of their delightful daughter and speak highly of her every chance they get. Like most little girls her age, Charlotte loves unicorns and all things adorable. On her first day of school, Princess Charlotte was even spotted with a unicorn keyring attached to her backpack. 

Princess Charlotte stays busy with several hobbies and activities she enjoys. The precious princess regularly impresses the public with her stylish outfits in photos on her family's Instagram page and she appears to be following in the footsteps of her style-icon mother. As she continues to get older, fans also can't help but notice the similarities she shares with her great-grandmother. From Charlotte's little smirks to her serious eyes that resemble Queen Elizabeth's pensive face, she's inherited more than royal blood from Her Majesty.

Although Princess Charlotte is surely taking wonderful qualities from both of her parents and their families, she is developing her own unique spirit. However, despite her royal lineage and the fact that she is a princess and will most likely be the sister of the future king of Great Britain, it is extremely unlikely Charlotte's children will ever hold royal titles of their own. Read on to find out why.

The British family still adheres to many traditions that hark back to hundreds of years ago, when royalty was still important all over Europe. Sometimes, some of these traditions can seem strange or perplexing to onlookers, especially when they incorporate rules or norms that modern society has already changed.

According to an article by Town & Country magazine, there are only two known ways to become a British Princess officially. Your first option is to be born the daughter of a British prince (or the British sovereign themselves); the other option is to marry one.

On the day of her wedding, Kate Middleton not only took on her new husband Prince William's name, as many women who marry a man do, but also his title. She effectively became Princess William of Wales as well as Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Cambridge.

Her princess status was also officially confirmed with the birth of her son, Prince George. His legal birth certificate revealed that Kate's official occupation is nothing less than Princess of the United Kingdom. There are certainly worse jobs out there!

Following along those lines, grandchildren who are born to the sons of the monarch may hold the title of Prince or Princess, but those who are born to the daughters of the monarch may not. This means that Prince George's children will automatically be granted the title of prince or princess; Princess Charlotte's children will not (baring, of course, a tragedy changing the British line to the throne, which we all hope will not happen).

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Lucy Hume, associate director of Debrett's, a coaching company, publisher and leading authority on modern manners as well as the royals, told Town & Country:

"Royal titles are inherited through sons, so if Princess Charlotte has children they would not automatically inherit the titles 'HRH,' 'Prince,' or 'Princess.'"

This is the reason why the daughters of Prince Andrew are called princesses, whereas Zara Philips, who is the daughter of Princess Anne, the queen's daughter, is not.

Of course, it is always possible to opt-out of the whole royal shebang. Prince Edward's daughter Louise is only titled as a Lady and not a princess because of a peerage decision that he made for his then yet unborn children back when he got married to his wife, Sophie Rhys-Jones. According to the BBC, the decision made due to, "the clear personal wish of Prince Edward and Miss Rhys-Jones as being appropriate to the likely future circumstances of their children."

What a modern and forward-thinking decision of the queen's youngest son and his wife.

However, that doesn't mean Louise and Zara are spared from the royal pomp. "The monarch may offer to bestow a royal title upon his or her daughter's children," Hume told Town & Country magazine. "For Peter and Zara Phillips, the Queen offered to give them a royal title when they were born, but Princess Anne and Captain Phillips opted to decline this offer."

The fact that male and female children are unequal when it comes to inheriting royal titles has only really turned into a concern during the 20th century. For most of Britain's long history, marriage was a transactional event used to fortify alliances between nations and noble houses, which resulted in princesses marrying princes or nobles of similar rank. Their children assumed the titles of their father's country or standing. Now that love matches have become common, the title question suddenly becomes important.

What do you think about the line of title succession in the royal family? Do you think it's a good thing that not everybody gets called a prince or princess or do you think it should be more equal? Tell us what you think and pass this on!