Princess Royal

This article is about British Royal title. For the current holder, see Anne, Princess Royal.

HRH The Princess Royal

Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter. The style is held for life, so a princess cannot be given the style during the lifetime of another Princess Royal. In particular, Queen Elizabeth II never held the title as her aunt, Princess Mary, was in possession of the title.

There have been seven Princesses Royal.Princess Anne is the current Princess Royal.

The title Princess Royal came into existence when Queen Henrietta Maria (1609–1669), daughter of Henry IV, King of France, and wife of King Charles I (1600–1649), wanted to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the King of France was styled "Madame Royale". The style is granted by Royal Warrant.

Princess Mary (later Queen Mary II of England and Scotland) (1662–1694), eldest daughter of King James II & VII, and Princess Sophia Dorothea (1687–1757), only daughter of King George I, were eligible for this honour but did not receive it. At the time she became eligible for the title, Princess Mary was already Princess of Orange, while Sophia Dorothea was already Queen in Prussia when she became eligible for the title.

List of Princesses Royal

The following is a complete list of women formally styled Princess Royal:

Order	Name dates	Princess Royal from (date) to (date)	Parent	Date married	Husband dates	Notes
1	Mary, Princess Royal 1631–1660	1642–1660	Charles I 1600–1649	1641	William II, Prince of Orange 1626–1650
2	Anne, Princess Royal 1709–1759	1727–1759	George II 1683–1760	1734	William IV, Prince of Orange 1711–1751
3	Charlotte, Princess Royal 1766–1828	1789–1828	George III 1738–1820	1797	King Frederick I of Württemberg 1754–1816
4	Victoria, Princess Royal 1840–1901	1841–1901	Victoria 1819–1901	1858	Frederick III, German Emperor 1831–1888	Heiress presumptive 1840–1841
5	Louise, Princess Royal 1867–1931	1905–1931	Edward VII 1841–1910	1889	Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife 1849–1912
6	Mary, Princess Royal 1897–1965	1932–1965	George V 1865–1936	1922	Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood 1882–1947
7	Anne, Princess Royal 1950–	1987–present	Elizabeth II 1926–	1973–1992	Mark Phillips 1948-
				1992	Sir Timothy Laurence 1955–

Princess Louisa Maria (1692–1712), the last daughter of King James II (d. 1701), born after he lost his crown in the Glorious Revolution, was given the title of Princess Royal during James's exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and was so called by Jacobites, even though she was not James's eldest living daughter at any time during her life.

Eldest daughter of the King

England

Even before the title of Princess Royal came into use in England, the eldest daughter of the King of England had a special status in law. For instance, according to Magna Carta, aids were due from the barons of the realm to finance the first wedding of the king's eldest daughter; and by a statute of the 25th year of King Edward III, sleeping with the king's eldest daughter before her marriage constitutes an act of high treason punishable by death.

The eldest daughters of the reigning monarchs of England were:

Name dates	Eldest daughter from (date) to (date)	Father	Date married	Husband dates	Notes
Adela of Normandy 1062/7–1137?	1066/1067–1087	William I	1083?	Stephen II of Blois 1045–1102	Mother of Stephen.
Empress Matilda 1102–1167	1102–1135	Henry I	1114	Emperor Henry V 1086–1125	Named as her father's heir 1127–1135, briefly (1141) ruler of England; mother of Henry II.
			1128	Geoffrey V of Anjou 1113–1151
Marie of Boulogne 1136–1182	1136–1154	Stephen	1160–1170	Matthew of Boulogne c.1130–1173
Matilda of Saxony 1156–1189	1156–1189	Henry II	1168	Henry the Lion 1129–1195
Joan of England 1210–1238	1210–1216	John	1221	Alexander II of Scotland 1198–1249
Margaret of England 1240-1275	1240–1272	Henry III	1251	Alexander III of Scotland 1241–1286
Eleanor of England 1269–1298	1272–1298	Edward I	1293	Henry III of Bar 1259–1302
Joan of Acre 1272–1307	1298–1307	Edward I	1290	Gilbert de Clare 1243–1295	Became eldest daughter of the king then living when her sister died.
			1297	Ralph de Monthermer c. 1270–1325
Margaret Plantagenet 1275–1333?	Apr.–Jul. 1307	Edward I	1290	John II of Brabant 1275–1312	Very briefly eldest living daughter of the king between her sister's and her father's deaths.
Eleanor of Woodstock 1318–1355	1318–1327	Edward II	1332	Reginald II of Guelders 1295–1343
Isabella de Coucy 1332–1379/82	1332–1377	Edward III	1365	Enguerrand VII de Coucy 1340–1397
Blanche of England 1392–1409	1399–1409	Henry IV	1402	Louis III of Germany (son of King Rupert) 1378–1436
Philippa of England 1394–1430	1409–1413	Henry IV	1406	Eric of Pomerania King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden 1382–1459	Eldest living daughter of the king after her sister's death.
Elizabeth of York 1466–1503	1466–1483	Edward IV	1486	Henry VII of England 1457–1509	Heiress presumptive 1466–1470/Mother of Henry VIII
Margaret Tudor 1489–1541	1489–1509	Henry VII	1503	James IV of Scotland 1473–1513	Heiress presumptive 1509–1511, 1511–1516. Great-grandmother of James I.
Mary I of England 1516–1558	1516–1547 declared illegitimate 1533	Henry VIII	1554	Philip II of Spain 1527–1598	Heiress presumptive 1516–1534 and 1547–1553; Queen of England and Ireland 1553–1558.
Elizabeth of Bohemia 1596–1662	1603–1625	James I	1613	Frederick V, Elector Palatine 1596–1632	Heiress presumptive 1625–1630. Maternal grandmother of George I of Great Britain.
Mary, Princess Royal	1631–1649	See above.
Mary II of England 1662–1694	1685–1689	James II	1677	William III of England 1650–1702	Heiress presumptive 1685–88, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland 1689–1694.

Scotland

The eldest daughters of the reigning monarchs of Scotland were:

Name dates	Eldest daughter from (date) to (date)	Father	Date married	Husband dates	Notes
Edith of England 1080–1118	1080–1093	Malcolm III	1100	Henry I of England 1068/69–1135
Bethoc of Tyndale ?–?	1093–1094	Donald III	1085	Uctred, Lord of Tyndale ?–?
			?	Radulf of Nithsdale ?–?
Claricia of Scotland 1115–1130	1124–1130	David I	unmarried
Hodierna of Scotland 1117–1140	1130–1140	David I	unmarried		Eldest living daughter of the king after her sister's death
Margaret of Kent 1193–1259	1193–1214	William I	1221	Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent bef. 1180–bef. 1243	Heiress presumptive 1193–98, 1214–41, 1249–59;
Margaret of Norway 1261–1283	1261–1283	Alexander III	1281	Eric II of Norway 1268–1299	Heiress presumptive 1261–64; mother of Margaret, Maid of Norway.
Marjorie Bruce 1296–1316	1306–1316	Robert I	1315	Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland 1293–1326	Heiress presumptive 1306–16; mother of Robert II.
Margaret Bruce ?–1346/1347?	1316–1329	Robert I	1345	William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland ?–1370	Eldest living daughter of the king after her sister's death
Margaret Stewart ?–?	1371–?	Robert II	1350	John of Islay, Lord of the Isles ?–1386
Elizabeth Stewart ?–bef. 1411	1390–1406	Robert III	bef. 1387	James Douglas, 1st Baron Dalkeith 1356–bef. 1441
Margaret of France 1424–1445	1424–1437	James I	1436	Louis, Dauphin of France 1423–1483	Heiress presumptive 1437–45;
Mary of Arran 1453–1488	1453–1460	James II	1436	Thomas Boyd, 1st Earl of Arran ?–1473
			1474	James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton 1415–1479
Mary I of Scotland 1542–1587	1542	James V	1548	Francis II of France 1544–1560	Heiress presumptive 1542; Queen of Scots 1542–67.
			1565	Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley 1545–1567
			1567	James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell 1534–1578
Elizabeth of Bohemia 1596–1662	1596–1625	James VI	1613	Frederick V, Elector Palatine 1596–1632	Heiress presumptive 1625–30. Grandmother of George I.
Mary, Princess Royal	1631–1649	See above.
Mary II of Scotland 1662–1694	1685–1689	James VII	1677	William III of England and Ireland, II of Scotland 1650–1702	Heiress presumptive 1685–88, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland 1689–94.

Britain

The eldest daughters of the reigning monarch of Great Britain, or the United Kingdom were:

Name dates	Eldest daughter from (date) to (date)	Father	Date married	Husband dates	Notes
Sophia Dorothea of Hanover 1687–1757	1714–1727	George I	1706	Frederick William I of Prussia 1688–1740	Queen in Prussia prior to her father's accession as King of Great Britain.
Anne, Princess Royal	1727–1759	George II	1734	William IV, Prince of Orange 1711-1751	Became Princess Royal during the lifetime of her aunt, Sophia Dorothea of Prussia. Although the eldest daughter of a British monarch, George I, Sophia Dorothea had already married the King of Prussia eight years before her father succession.
Charlotte, Princess Royal	1766–1820	See above.
Victoria, Princess Royal	1840–1901	See above.
Louise, Princess Royal	1901–1910	See above.
Mary, Princess Royal	1910–1936	See above.
Elizabeth 1926–present	1936–1952	George VI	1947	Philip of Edinburgh 1921–present	Heiress presumptive 1936–1952; Queen of the United Kingdom 1952–present. Never titled Princess Royal because Mary, Countess of Harewood, held the title for the entire 1936–1952 period.
Anne, Princess Royal	1952–present	See above.

In fiction

• In the House of M alternate universe of Marvel Comics, Elizabeth Braddock is the elder twin sister of the British King and bears the title Princess Royal.
• The novel The Lady Royal, by Molly Costain Haycraft, is a fictionalized account of the life of Isabella de Coucy. According to the narrative, Isabella was titled the Princess Royal and then later given the more 'adult' title of the Lady Royal by her parents. This is a fabrication; although Isabella, as the eldest daughter of Edward III, enjoyed the special privileges that came with her rank, she could not have been titled the Princess Royal because the title was not used in England until long after her death. The title of "the Lady Royal" has never existed.

Other uses

Princess Royal was one of the GWR 3031 Class locomotives that were built for and run on the Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1915. The LMS Class 8P "Princess Royal" 4-6-2 was a type of express passenger locomotive built between 1933 and 1935 by the London Midland & Scottish Railway