General things about Royals

[SheriBeri]

I have several questions that don't seem to fit anywhere else.

What is the difference between Her Royal Highness, Her Serene Highness and Her Highness?

Which royals still provide true dowries? What types of items go in a dowry?

If royals marry commoners, what is the highest title the commoner can attain? If a Prince marries and later becomes King, does his bride change titles as well?

Do royals always have to pass the crown to the eldest child in line or can they make a choice?

Are most royals figureheads or do they actually rule? (i.e Parliament, councils, etc).

[SheriBeri]

I just read on one of the threads that Juliana's birthday is coming up. It calls her Princess (former Queen). How do you get demoted from Queen?

[Margrethe II]

Originally Posted by SheriBeri

What is the difference between Her Royal Highness, Her Serene Highness and Her Highness?

The style His/Her Royal Highness ranks below His/Her Imperial Highness (referring to an Imperial House which is above a Royal House) but above His/Her Highness & His/Her Serene Highness (referring to Princely or Ducal Houses which are below that of a Royal House).

Order by abbreviation...

HIH
HRH
HGDH
HSH
HH


"MII"

[Margrethe II]

Originally Posted by SheriBeri

I just read on one of the threads that Juliana's birthday is coming up. It calls her Princess (former Queen). How do you get demoted from Queen?

HRH the Princess Juliana, former Queen of the Netherlands was 'demoted' of the style Her Majesty upon her abdication in 1980.

As such, she became Her Royal Highness the Princess Juliana Emma Louise Wilhelmina van Oranje-Nassau. HRH then held this title until her passing in 2004.


"MII"

[GrandDuchess]

Originally Posted by SheriBeri

Which royals still provide true dowries? What types of items go in a dowry?

I don't think this custom is practised anymore in Europe. I don't know about the rest of the world though.

Originally Posted by SheriBeri

If royals marry commoners, what is the highest title the commoner can attain? If a Prince marries and later becomes King, does his bride change titles as well?

The titles of people who marry into a Royal Family is usually decided by the monarch. But the wife of a King is generally titled Queen Consort, meaning she's not a Queen in her own right but the spouse of a monarch.

Originally Posted by SheriBeri

Do royals always have to pass the crown to the eldest child in line or can they make a choice?

In Europe this is regulated by law in all the countries, the monarch does not decide this. There are different types of laws for this, some countries still put males before females in the Line of Succession, other have totally gender neutral laws.

Originally Posted by SheriBeri

Are most royals figureheads or do they actually rule? (i.e Parliament, councils, etc).

In Europe most monarchs are today of a representative kind - they do not rule their countries - but in some countries they still have some political powers left (such as presiding a Council of State, signing laws, dismissing and accepting government ministers, calling for general elections, appointing government formers etc etc).

[liliawodna]

I have a question about (Her Highness) princess Alexandra of Denmark. Has she ever been called "Her Royal Highness"? I thought that maybe she lost that title after the divorce...

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by liliawodna

I have a question about (Her Highness) princess Alexandra of Denmark. Has she ever been called "Her Royal Highness"? I thought that maybe she lost that title after the divorce...

Yes, Alexandra become Her Royal Highness when she married Joachim (as you can see under Marital Status in this link: http://kongehuset.dk/artikel.php?dogtag=k_en_fam_ale). After the divorce she lost the 'Royal' so she's now Her Highness as you write and was also given a title of countess in her own right.

[SheriBeri]

Thank you for so many great enlightening answers. Three more.
Why is Prince Philip of England a Prince instead of King Consort?
If Queen Elizabeth steps down, what will her title and his title become? Can she pass Charles and give the throne to William?

[Warren]

Originally Posted by SheriBeri

Thank you for so many great enlightening answers. Three more.
Why is Prince Philip of England a Prince instead of King Consort?
If Queen Elizabeth steps down, what will her title and his title become? Can she pass Charles and give the throne to William?

Britain has no precedent for a "King Consort", so that title doesn't exist.
In the unlikely event of the Queen stepping down, any title apart from Duchess of Edinburgh would be between her and her successor.

The Monarch does not determine the succession; the rules are laid down in the Act of Settlement which states that the most senior Protestant descendant of the Electress Sophia of Hanover will succeed to the throne. After Elizabeth II that is the Prince of Wales, followed by William and Harry, then the Duke of York etc etc. The Act of Settlelement can only be changed by the Parliament.

[SheriBeri]

Wow Warren, now I know why you are called Super Moderator. Where do you find all that info??:p

[justi]

Originally Posted by SheriBeri

Wow Warren, now I know why you are called Super Moderator. Where do you find all that info??:p

Warren knows all, and I do mean all

Originally Posted by Warren

Britain has no precedent for a "King Consort", so that title doesn't exist.
In the unlikely event of the Queen stepping down, any title apart from Duchess of Edinburgh would be between her and her successor.

I've always thought it was as the titles King was ranked higher than Queen a spouse could not outrank the 'blood royal' (if you follow me)

Please correct my ignorance if applicable

And sorry absolutely had to get rid of the suggestion to post :p

[Furienna]

It's silly really. Why should a queen be outranked by a king? Because that's how it has to be, since a king's wife becomes queen but a queen's husband can't become a king. The husband of the legendary queen Victoria of England was known as prince Albert, not king Albert. And the current English queen Elizabeth's husband is known as prince Philip, not as king Philip. And it's the same thing in Denmark. Queen Margarethe's husband is known as prince Henry, not as king Henry. And when/if our Swedish crown princess Victoria gets married, her husband will not be king either, right? But why can't the titles of queen and king be equal, so that the monarch couple always are king and queen, no matter who was the one to inherit the crown?

[SheriBeri]

Furienna, sounds like a good plan. I wonder why K&Q can't be called same even if only one is in power. Anybody got the answer?

[Furienna]

It's probably an old-fashioned thing. Back in the day, a man always had higher rank than a woman, so a king always had higher rank than a queen. So to emphasize, that a queen was the monarch, her husband had to remain a prince, so that she could keep her high rank. It shouldn't have to be so today though. I hope future ruling queens can call their husbands kings, not princes.

[justi]

Originally Posted by Furienna

It's probably an old-fashioned thing. Back in the day, a man always had higher rank than a woman, so a king always had higher rank than a queen. So to emphasize, that a queen was the monarch, her husband had to remain a prince, so that she could keep her high rank. It shouldn't have to be so today though. I hope future ruling queens can call their husbands kings, not princes.

Perhaps when succession throughout all monarchies is determined by absolute Primogeniture and the titles of nobility can pass through daughters as well as sons?
Until then what is the need to change something which only affects individuals titles as opposed to their lives (ie. when a younger brother ascends to the throne over an older sister)?

EDIT: Although maybe someday in the near future? Re-reading info on the Belgium Royal Family Prince Lorenz was created a Prince of Belgium in 1995, a first step?

[Warren]

Originally Posted by justi

... Re-reading info on the Belgium Royal Family Prince Lorenz was created a Prince of Belgium in 1995, a first step?

This was the second stage of dynastic future-proofing. When the law of succession was changed under King Baudouin in 1991 Princess Astrid became third in line to the throne after her father and unmarried brother Prince Philippe. In the event that Philippe or Prince Laurent never married (or married and had no surviving children) provision had to be made to secure the dynasty. When Astrid was given succession rights her children (then Amedeo, Maria Laura and Joachim) became Princes and Princess of Belgium. Prior to 1991 they were Habsburg Archdukes and Archduchess. Their full titles became 'Prince or Princess of Belgium, Prince or Princess Imperial and Archduke or Archduchess of Austria-Este, Prince or Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia', with the formal style of Imperial and Royal Highness (unlikely to be used in Belgium!).

Archduke Lorenz, whether because he had earned his stripes or to tidy things up, was made a Prince of Belgium by King Albert four years later.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by justi

Perhaps when succession throughout all monarchies is determined by absolute Primogeniture and the titles of nobility can pass through daughters as well as sons?
Until then what is the need to change something which only affects individuals titles as opposed to their lives (ie. when a younger brother ascends to the throne over an older sister)?

Because it's stupid. I don't think it makes sense, that a queen's husband should only be a prince. The queen's sons should be princes, not her husband.

[JessRulz]

I have a question about Prince Philip that I've been wanting to find the answer out for a while: how is he related to the Greek royal family???
Thanks to anyone who can explain!