General Questions About Royalty and Monarchies


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I'm a Canadian monarchist. I would curtsy if I met a member of the Royal Family, but the British Royal Family (i.e. Canada's Royal Family) have made it clear that it's a matter of choice. It's not "required." As I see it, the curtsy is a recognition of the person's position and doesn't have to do with a person's feelings about the royal in question. We have the monarchy because the modern nation was settled by people from Britain and France, both of which countries had monarchies. Unlike the United States, we didn't have a revolution; and so there was no need to jettison the Head of State (George III in your case). When Canada did become independent of Britain, the monarch wasn't seen as a foreign tyrant.

Her majesty agrees. See the monarchy page on this at: http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/GreetingtheQueen/Overview.aspx
 
How long will they keep calling her Duchess Catherine Middleton? She is married now. Shouldn't she be called Duchess Catherine Windsor, or Duchess Catherine of Cambridge or just Duchess Catherine? Why do they keep using Middleton? We all know her now. Is this some royal rule?

Catherine's official title is HRH Duchess of Cambridge. Her title will not include her name in it until she is queen.

The press continue to use Middleton because they don't understand titles, or they don't respect a woman's decision to be known by her married name, or they simply don't care.
 
Yes I was talking about the TV media and newspapers and the internet. They keep using Middleton. I makes it sound like she is single. "Prince William and Catherine Middleton". The press needs to be corrected, It just sounds wrong.
 
Internet search keywords also play a part in keeping Kate as her maiden name.

Regards to titles of the children of the sovereign, only one title is automatic that is duke of Cornwall who is the eldest son and heir apparent. The prince of wales, princess royal, dukedoms have to be given.
 
Did Queen Alexandra of England attend the Chelsea Flower Show? :rose2::thistle:
 
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aj00192557 inquired if somebody has a title like count/countess, do they use it in real life?
I was able to speak to a Grof Mailath from Hungary.
He explained that when a son is born in this noble family, the boy is a grof (count). He explained that when a daughter is born in this noble family, the girl is a countess.
He explained that he does not use his title in the United States.
 
A lot of little royals have/had their own house:

Queen Elizabeth's little house is called Y Bwthyn Bach and was a gift of the Welsh people:
A Wendy house fit for a Queen: The secrets and history of the tiny Welsh cottage in the grounds of Windsor where generations of royals have played | Mail Online

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=51.438...0Bwthyn%20Bach

The swedish Haga princesses and King Carl Gustaf and now little Estelle
Playhouse for King Carl XVI Gustav and his sisters they got of Grandfather King Gustav V in late 1940´s | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Playhouse i the garden og Haga Castle | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

A little cottage at Solliden Slott (but I'm not sure wether this is a playhouse or not)
Solliden | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Princesses Margaretha, Martha (became Queen of Norway) and Astrid (became Queen of Belgium) first had a wooden yellow house and later a white plaster one at their home Villa Fridhem.
Lekstugearkivet/Archive for children's playhouses.htm
(you have to scroll down a bit)

The playhouse Queen Astrid of Belgium had built for Joséphine-Charlotte, Baudouin and Albert in the gardens of the Castle of Laeken after her own in Sweden. It was used to celebrate Princess Elisabeth's first birthday in 2002.
http://asp.gva.be/dossiers/-e/elisabeth/fotoE4.asp (scroll down a bit)

Princess Isabella of Denmark's little house at Fredensborg
Danish Royal Watchers: Isabella's new playhouse

William and Harry's (and now George and Charlotte's)playhouse at Highgrove
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/07/28/19/2AE8AAF100000578-3177606-image-a-6_1438109466220.jpg
 
Would it have been possible for Philip II to have been both King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor if his Uncle Ferdinand I had not been Holy Roman Emperor?
 
What are they called?

Just wondering. Does anyone know what the current crop of European and British royals call their parents and parents in law?
 
QMII - Mor (mother) by her sons. Daisy by other relatives. Not sure what Mary and our Marie call her.

Frederik - Far (dad) Not sure what Mary calls him.

Mary - Mor. Frederik has been heard to call her Maz. (Not sure about the spelling.)
 
Just wondering. Does anyone know what the current crop of European and British royals call their parents and parents in law?
I know that Frederik and Joachim of Denmark calls their parents "papa" and "mor" which is mum and dad in French respectively in Danish while the three children of the King and Queen of Sweden call their parents "mamma" and "pappa" which is mummy and daddy in Swedish.
In the same vein the Danish Royal grandchildren call their grandparents "grandpapa" and "farmor".
 
Does anyone know what those who have married into Royal families call their in-laws? Are they invited to call them something familiar, or do they have to remain respectful and formal?
 
What is the convention for addressing parents and parents-in-law in the above-mentioned countries, i.e., are the forms of address used by the royals in keeping with the normal practices of their culture?


Belgium became a monarchy of its own when the heir to the throne of the Netherlands was a female, as far as I understand it. The line to the throne back then in Belgium could only come to a male.

No, that was Luxembourg when Wilhelmina became the Dutch Queen.

Belgium became independent from The Netherlands in 1830 after the Belgian Revolution.

The throne of Luxembourg could come to a female at the time, but Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was not first in line to the throne of Luxembourg. A fuller explanation: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f195/the-house-of-nassau-weilburg-18361.html#post2063732
 
What is the convention for addressing parents and parents-in-law in the above-mentioned countries, i.e., are the forms of address used by the royals in keeping with the normal practices of their culture? [/url]

In DK and Sweden?

In DK there are no conventions in regards to parents-in-law, it's first name and sometimes (at least with me) svigerfar/svigermor = mother-in-law/father-in-law, but that's more teasingly and lovingly.
I would never call my parents-in-law far or mor, that's something I would only call my parents - but I do often call my wife or speak of her as "mor", just as she sometimes call me "far" ?

As for parents that's almost universally "far" or "mor."
 
Suppose that....., how to act?

Maybe this is a weird question, but suppose you are a Royal and you have (severe) fear of heights.
You are invited to open a 40-storey building and it appears to be done by surprise on the roof terrace.
What now? How do you solve that?:ohmy:

I come to this because I saw a photo with Princess Beatrix on the viewing terrace of our Euromast in Rotterdam.
I am afraid of heights myself and they don't get me up at that height for gold.;)
 
Those things don't happen by surprise for royals :)

A member of staff would have checked beforehand what would happen and have nudged the organizers to a different way of opening the building. That is to say, royal activities are build around the specifics of a royal. If they can send Alexandra with her father for a state visit to Japan - so her mother doesn't have to go, I am sure, it's easy to avoid these kind of situations.
 
H.R.H. Princess Anne sing national anthem at sporting events?

Watching the RBS game with Scotland v England, H.R.H. The Princess Royal, Princess Anne was in attendance.

The camera did not show her when the anthems were played, but is Princess Anne obliged to sing the national anthem, or does she not have to?

It might seem strange as she would have to change the words to God Save My Mother.
 
Watching the RBS game with Scotland v England, H.R.H. The Princess Royal, Princess Anne was in attendance.

The camera did not show her when the anthems were played, but is Princess Anne obliged to sing the national anthem, or does she not have to?

It might seem strange as she would have to change the words to God Save My Mother.

Yes, most royals sing. Only exception: the Queen.

One can see that at the end of the annual Festival of Remembrance in the Royal Albert Hall. All royals singing God Save The Queen. Except the Queen, she then graciously listens.

Also for Anne her mother is The Queen. Like it is for a Betsy from Bracknell or for a Brian from Harrow singing in that same Hall.
 
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Hello Hector, they're both the same thing. In a more traditional form of Monarchy, complete authority and power is exclusively retained in the Crown and whoever wears it. He or she is not restricted by any and all laws and is free to propose laws in his or her accord.

I don't really know much about Monarchies in Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa or the America's so I am speaking on European Monarchies.
 
The British monarchy is traditonal, in that it still holds to a lot of ceremonial which other monarchies have jettisoned.. and in many ways to old fashioned social tradtions. However it is very far from an absolute monarchy. I dont think there are any absolute monarchies in europe other than Monaco...
 
The British monarchy is traditonal, in that it still holds to a lot of ceremonial which other monarchies have jettisoned.. and in many ways to old fashioned social tradtions. However it is very far from an absolute monarchy. I dont think there are any absolute monarchies in europe other than Monaco...

Monaco's monarchy is not absolute, nor is Liechtenstein's. They may have more powers than others, but they are not absolute.
 
I'm not sure I get it.

Dear Hector Fenwick,
Could you be looking for the difference between an absolute monarchy and a constitutional monarchy?
In an absolute monarchy, the King has absolute power and is not bound by any laws.
In a constitutional monarchy, the power of the King is bound by the constitution.
As far as I know, all monarchies in Europe are constitutional monarchies. (Except maybe the Vatican).
 
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - would you say those of absolute monarchies?
 
well there are many countries they rule in past but now they are dont give a daam about there countries
 
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