By HRH Princess Eugene Majuru, Princess of Harare
The exception to the great-grandchild rule for titles. This is a crucial element of the modern Royal Family structure, specifically concerning the children of the current Prince of Wales.
The Royal Title Exception: How the Prince of Wales’s Children Became Princes and Princesses
The rule concerning the children of the Prince of Wales is the single biggest exception to the traditional restriction of titles for great-grandchildren of the Sovereign.
The Original 1917 Rule and Its Flaw
The 1917 Letters Patent by King George V established the general framework for titles. The key line concerning great-grandchildren was that only “the eldest living son of the eldest son of The Prince of Wales” would automatically receive the HRH style and Prince title from birth.
Before the change: When Prince William’s first child, Prince George, was born in 2013, he qualified under this original clause as the “eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (Charles).”
The Flaw: If William’s second child, Prince Louis, had been born first, he would not have qualified and would have been styled as a son of a Duke (Lord Louis Mountbatten-Windsor). Even more significantly, if the first child, say, Princess Charlotte, had been a girl, she would have been styled Lady Charlotte Mountbatten-Windsor, while the subsequent son (Prince George) would have been HRH Prince George, despite the daughter being older and higher in the line of succession.
The 2012 Intervention: Queen Elizabeth II’s Letters Patent
To correct this imbalance and ensure fairness, especially with the imminent Succession to the Crown Act 2013 (which ended male-preference primogeniture), Queen Elizabeth II issued a new set of Letters Patent on December 31, 2012.
This decree explicitly stated:
“The QUEEN has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 31 December 2012 to declare that all the children of the eldest son of The Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess…”
Beneficiary Before 2012 Letters Patent After 2012 Letters Patent
Prince George HRH Prince (Qualified under the original 1917 rule) HRH Prince (Reaffirmed under the new rule)
Princess Charlotte Lady Charlotte Mountbatten-Windsor (As a daughter of a Duke) HRH Princess (Granted by the new rule)
Prince Louis Lord Louis Mountbatten-Windsor (As a younger son of a Duke) HRH Prince (Granted by the new rule)
The 2012 Letters Patent was a proactive measure by the late Queen to align the titles of her great-grandchildren with their positions as the direct heirs in line to the throne (after their father), preventing a situation where the future monarch’s children would hold lesser titles than their immediate cousins (Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie).
Key Distinction: How the Monarch Acts
This entire situation illustrates the difference between two key constitutional powers of the Monarch:
Act of Parliament: Changes to the line of succession (like the Succession to the Crown Act 2013) require an Act passed by Parliament.
Letters Patent: Changes to the titles and styles of the Royal Family are made unilaterally by the Sovereign using Letters Patent under the Royal Prerogative.
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