Titles of the Royal Family


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another question.. Is Filipe also an Infante of Spain, or is that included in his title of Prince of Asturias, and if he is an Infante, does that mean that Letizia is an Infanta of Spain??

Letizia will never be an Infanta of Spain since the title Infante/a is being used by the children of the King and the children of the Crown Couple thus we have Infantas Leonor and Sofia. I asked my Spanish teacher regarding this because when I looked at the dictionary Infanta/e means son/daughter but he said that these were only used by the Familia Real. I guess this was used to consider them as ROYAL SON/DAUGHTER. I have one question though -- I looked up in Wikipedia and it says that the children of Infantas Elena and Cristina are called Grandees of Spain. What does that mean? It says -- HE Irene de Urdangarin y Borbon, Grandee of Spain. I don't know what this mean? Is it an aristocratic title like dukes/count, etc.:)
 
Letizia will never be an Infanta of Spain since the title Infante/a is being used by the children of the King and the children of the Crown Couple thus we have Infantas Leonor and Sofia. I asked my Spanish teacher regarding this because when I looked at the dictionary Infanta/e means son/daughter but he said that these were only used by the Familia Real. I guess this was used to consider them as ROYAL SON/DAUGHTER. I have one question though -- I looked up in Wikipedia and it says that the children of Infantas Elena and Cristina are called Grandees of Spain. What does that mean? It says -- HE Irene de Urdangarin y Borbon, Grandee of Spain. I don't know what this mean? Is it an aristocratic title like dukes/count, etc.:)

Is a distinction link to the title, you can be counte, duke, etc... and in adittion "grande de España" if your title have this consideration. For example, Duquesa de Alba is "grande de España" is a class into a class, the aristocracy. In Spain aristocrats don't have privilegies, on the contrary, they can pay extra taxes for their titles and if they are "grandes de España", more.

For the Infantas' children, they aren't a tittle by birth but they have the distinction, utility?... who know!
 
Is a distinction link to the title, you can be counte, duke, etc... and in adittion "grande de España" if your title have this consideration. For example, Duquesa de Alba is "grande de España" is a class into a class, the aristocracy. In Spain aristocrats don't have privilegies, on the contrary, they can pay extra taxes for their titles and if they are "grandes de España", more.

For the Infantas' children, they aren't a tittle by birth but they have the distinction, utility?... who know!

Thanks, so the title of Grande is being used by mostly member of the RF? I'm not familiar with this title since this is the first time I've heard of it. Is this title higher than Duke/Duchess?:);)
 
"Grandeza de España" is the highest dignity nobility in Spain, and may or may not be associated with a noble title. In the case of the grandchildren of the Kings are "Grandes de España" but does not have a title of dukes, counts or Marquis. Today is an honorary and ceremonial dignity, without any privilege.
 
I would like to make to clear east subject: only the heir of the King of Spain, has the prince title... the other children are infants or infants who are a Spanish particular form to denominate to their princess or principes... the being infant are only one Spanish particular denomination who becomes to his principes or princess. When king Juan Carlos dies or abdicates, his son Felipe will be king Felipe I SAW and Leonor will happen to be called princess Leonor. Sofía will be infant, unless her sister resigned to the rights to the crown or died... If the constitution reforms, if a son were born, this one would be infant.
 
Letizia's title

Many people appear to refer Doña Letizia as "Princess" Letizia but her official titles are Her Royal Highness Doña Letizia, Princess of Asturias", Princess of Gerona, Princess of Viana, Duchess of Montblanc, Countess ofCervera and Lady of Balaguer.
 
I would know it clearly: are they her titles which she take automaticly after said yes/si during wedding ceremony or are they her courtsey titles?
 
I would know it clearly: are they her titles which she take automaticly after said yes/si during wedding ceremony or are they her courtsey titles?

I am not quite sure how these things are treated in Spain. All the legitimate children of the king are infante/infanta but the women who are married to the infantes are styled as Doña. Even Queen Sofia is refered as Doña Sofia, unless addressed as La Reina speciafically, in Spain. I suppose, for it is not a custom of the royal house of Spain to style the members of the king's family as princes/princesses, they automatically employ the commonly used style of Doña to the wives of the king's sons. Letizia may have automatically become the Princess (consort) of Asturias upon her marriage to the Prince of Asturias but I am not quite sure that the king granted the style of HRH or SAR to his son's wife.

In Spain, women do not change their surnames after their marriage anyway that she is not addressed as Princess Felipe, perhaps ? Had she married to a member of the British royal family who is styled as HRH Prince so & so, then, she would have been styled as Letizia, the Princess so & so with her husband's title, I suppose, but in Spain, there is no need because their customs are different from those of ours.
 
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Anout Inaki: I can't find o SRF web that he's Duke of Palam de Mallorca. He is styled as HE the Duke of PdM. (wikipedia)
Boletín Oficial del Estado. Texto del Documento

I understand that Iñaki Urdangarín is styled as His Excellency the Duke of Palma de Mallorca because he is married to HRH Infanta Cristina the Duchess of Parma de Mallorca. In Spain, they seem to do these things differently. Infanta Cristina's elder sister Infanta Elena was created as the Duchess of Lugo upon her marriage to Don Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada who is now styled as HE the Duke (consort) of Lugo.
 
:previous: you got their styles quite right. those titles were given to them upon their marriage by the King. so, collectively, Infanta Elena and Jaime are known as the Duke and Duchess of Lugo while Iñaki and Infanta Cristina are known as the Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca.
 
does the title of Asturias with any special duty, i know there is an award what more?
 
does the title of Asturias with any special duty, i know there is an award what more?
The title doesn't come with any special duty, I think. besides those of the crown prince, which aren't fixed. The Prince of Asturias Awards(and the Prince of Asturias Foundation) are a recent creation:

"The Prince of Asturias Foundation was founded in the city of Oviedo on 24th September 1980 at a formal ceremony presided over by His Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias, heir to the throne of Spain, who was accompanied by his parents, their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain.

The essential aims of the Foundation are to consolidate links between the Principality and the Prince of Asturias, and to contribute to encouraging and promoting scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of mankind's universal heritage."
Quote from the Prince of Asturias Foundation webpage( Introduction - The Prince of Asturias Foundation )

They have also created a Prince of Girona Foundation
Prince of Girona Foundation
and the International Prince of Viana-Navarra Prize:
:: International Prince of Viana ::

But everything is new, so until now wasn't passed with the title.
 
Alexia, Pavlos, Nikolaos, Theodoran and Phillipos didn't inherited the title prince(ss) of Denmark from there mother. 'HM (elected) King George I of Greece (Hellenes)' was born 'HRH Prince George of Denmark', the second son of 'HM King Christian IX of Denmark', making his male line descendents prince(ss) of Denmark

If you consider this, I don't think that the Children of 'HM Queen Sofia of Spain, Princess Of Greece and Denmark' bear the title: Prince(ss) of Greece and Denmark

If I'm correct, the first king of Greece (George I) was elected to throne. Prior to that, he was simply His Royal Highness Prince William of Denmark. He didn't adopt the name "George" until he ascended the Greek (or more formally, Hellenic) throne. As he was a prince of Denmark, his descent in the male line carry the title Prince(ss) of Greece and Denmark.
 
A question about the King's titles

Why does the King of Spain use the titles of Archduke of Austria and Count of Habsburg? He is not a member of the House of Habsburg-Lothringen...
 
They are probably titles associated to the King of Spain thanks to Charles I of Spain, Charles V Holy Roman Emperor and head of the Habsburg house then.
 
Yes, but in what way Juan Carlos could claim the titles of Habsburgs, as he is not descended from them in male-line and the house of Habsburg is extant.
 
I'm not totally sure, but it comes from the marriage of Queen Juana "la Loca" of Castile to Archduke Philip of Austria; in this way the title became one of the titles of the King of Spain, and thus has been inherited by King Felipe V (although he was a Bourbon) and therefore now it is one of the titles of the present King.
 
I'm not totally sure, but it comes from the marriage of Queen Juana "la Loca" of Castile to Archduke Philip of Austria; in this way the title became one of the titles of the King of Spain, and thus has been inherited by King Felipe V (although he was a Bourbon) and therefore now it is one of the titles of the present King.
Felipe V was a Bourbon, but his grandmother the Queen of France was a Hasburg and was born a Spanish Infanta. She was half-sister of the last Hasburg Spanish King Carlos II. Maybe they used that angle to inherit all the titles associated to the King of Spain?
 
I don't think, for a simple reason: the title is indeed associated to the Crown of Spain since the time of the Habsburgs reign (before 1700), and this is the reason because Juan Carlos still bears it; but that title can't be transmitted from a woman to her children, it can be transmitted only from an Archduke to his children, with the due exceptions (in the case of a total extinction of male Archdukes, and in this case the closest Archduchess by birth to the last male becomes Head of the Austrian Imperial and Archducal Family and thus can transmit her titles to her children; i.e. Maria Theresia, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI's daughter).
Maria Teresa (Louis XIV's wife and grandmother of Felipe V) didn't lose her rights to the Spanish Throne, as her dowry wasn't fully paid to the French King, but this doesn't imply that she could transmit her Austrian titles to her offspring.
 
I'm just grasping at straws here;) but the Spanish male branch was finished, and María Teresa was the late Carlos II closest female relation.
 
I believe when the claims for these titles were first made (when ever that was for that particular title) there was merit under whatever succession law the king claimed them under. Since then, other legal processes and conventions have since rendered many of the titles 'in pretense'.

In English common law there is a saying... 'possession is nine-tenths of of the law.'
 
I understand that Iñaki Urdangarín is styled as His Excellency the Duke of Palma de Mallorca because he is married to HRH Infanta Cristina the Duchess of Parma de Mallorca. In Spain, they seem to do these things differently. Infanta Cristina's elder sister Infanta Elena was created as the Duchess of Lugo upon her marriage to Don Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada who is now styled as HE the Duke (consort) of Lugo.

Exactly. In Spain titles are shared by the other spouse. Because the Infantas Elena and Cristina were created Duchess of X and Y, her husbands are(or were, in the case of Jaime de Marichalar) known as Duke of X and Y, but they are only the consorts.
 
I wonder what would have happened if the Infantas had decided against marriage, eg like their aunt Irene. Both sisters only got their titles upon marriage, not earlier, they probably would have remained Infantas of Spain (not bad either).
 
Who knows, maybe the King would had granted them a dukedom when they reached a certain age. In any case, unlike Britain for example, where a prince or a princess can legally be a commoner when they are not peers, the infanta title is much more important than the dukedom, maybe only granted so that the consort enjoys a title. When Infanta Cristina signs the Christmas cards, she always signs as Infanta of Spain, never as Duchess of Palma de Mallorca (Iñaki Urdangarín signs as Duke of Palma de Mallorca).
 
the infanta title is much more important than the dukedom, maybe only granted so that the consort enjoys a title.

I think you are right, JC only created the dukedom for the sake of the husbands and an unmarried Infanta would have simply remained Infanta of Spain that goes with the HRH.
 
infanta?

I know the Spanish royals use the title of Princess so it is not a replacement for that title so what is a Infanta.
 
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