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British Royal Family

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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] (http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/britfaq#p2-2), and different lists will include different people.

The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Their children are Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.

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[2] (http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page149.asp):-

HM The Queen
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
HRH The Prince of Wales
- HRH Prince William of Wales
- HRH Prince Harry of Wales
HRH The Duke of York
- HRH Princess Beatrice of York
- HRH Princess Eugenie of York
TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex
HRH The Princess Royal
HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
TRH The Duke[?] and Duchess of Kent
TRH Prince[?] and Princess Michael of Kent
HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent[?]

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

The Burrell affair recently occupied much press coverage about the British royal family.

Naming Conventions

Use of the titles His Royal Highness or Her Royal Highness (HRH) and Prince or Princess is governed by an Order in Council laid down by King George V in 1917. Among its provisions was stated that 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 could receive these distinctions. Thus, The Queen's children are labeled 'HRH', 'Prince' or 'Princess', and the offspring of The Prince of Wales and The Duke of York carry the title. The children of The Princess Royal however, do not. Likewise, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Michael of Kent are also entitled to use the title as grandchildren of King George V through the male line, but none of their children are. For example, the children of HRH Prince Michael of Kent are known as Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Windsor, instead of HRH Prince Frederick and HRH Princess Gabriella, respectively.

Women marrying a holder of these distinctions would be known as Her Royal Highness but men marrying a holder of the title would not. The only exception to that is Prince Philip, who in 1947 was created HRH The Duke of Edinburgh by King George VI.

As grandchildren of the Sovereign through the female line, the children of Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh would not have been entitled to use HRH or Prince or Princess until their mother became Queen, had those titles and styles not been granted in Letters Patent of 22 October 1948.