Titles and Styles of Leonor & Sofia's future husbands

[Somebody]

Being Dutch, I am very well aware of how the Dutch titles work; including that neither Claus nor Máxima was ever addressed as ‘the prince(ss) of the Netherlands’ but always including their first name… Just like their children who are (or were) also prince(sse)s of the Netherlands.

However, the point I was making is that even when someone is supposed to be addressed as one thing, i.e. ‘the queen’ instead of ‘the queen of Spain’, in practice this distinction doesn’t work as it too subtle for the large majority, including the media. You are either considered a queen (or king) or not - whether ‘the’ is used or not or whether the title is used with or without territorial designation is only for those paying very close attention, so, this supposed distinction is not relevant in practice.

 

[meeralakshmi]

Being Dutch, I am very well aware of how the Dutch titles work; including that neither Claus nor Máxima was ever addressed as ‘the prince(ss) of the Netherlands’ but always including their first name… Just like their children who are (or were) also prince(sse)s of the Netherlands.

However, the point I was making is that even when someone is supposed to be addressed as one thing, i.e. ‘the queen’ instead of ‘the queen of Spain’, in practice this distinction doesn’t work as it too subtle for the large majority, including the media. You are either considered a queen (or king) or not - whether ‘the’ is used or not or whether the title is used with or without territorial designation is only for those paying very close attention, so, this supposed distinction is not relevant in practice.

Claus chose to not use his legal title of HRH The Prince of the Netherlands out of respect for his FIL and Máxima’s official title of HRH The Princess of the Netherlands is overshadowed by her courtesy title of HM Queen Máxima. She is therefore incorrectly referred to as the queen of the Netherlands as you’ve said. Prior to Willem-Alexander becoming king she was simply HRH Princess Máxima of the Netherlands. However even if Leonor’s husband was referred to as the king of Spain it would be clear he was a consort as it was for Francisco de Asís.

 

[Toledo]

Claus chose to not use his legal title of HRH The Prince of the Netherlands out of respect for his FIL and Máxima’s official title of HRH The Princess of the Netherlands is overshadowed by her courtesy title of HM Queen Máxima. She is therefore incorrectly referred to as the queen of the Netherlands as you’ve said. Prior to Willem-Alexander becoming king she was simply HRH Princess Máxima of the Netherlands. However even if Leonor’s husband was referred to as the king of Spain it would be clear he was a consort as it was for Francisco de Asís.

Not sure if this is used in other countries but I recall in Spain, as well as other Spanish speaking nations, history books or articles always use the word 'consort' to refer to the spouse of a monarch. As in Letizia, reina consorte (de Espana) / Letizia, queen consort (of Spain). I know I've seen consorte/consort always followed by the title in my language and not just for Spain but in reference to other nations, like queen Victoria's Alberto, principe consorte del Reino Unido / Albert, prince consort of the UK.

I assume Leonor's husband will carry in Spanish the 'consorte' after the title of prince as if it was part of the naming.

 

[meeralakshmi]

Not sure if this is used in other countries but I recall in Spain, as well as other Spanish speaking nations, history books or articles always use the word 'consort' to refer to the spouse of a monarch. As in Letizia, reina consorte (de Espana) / Letizia, queen consort (of Spain). I know I've seen consorte/consort always followed by the title in my language and not just for Spain but in reference to other nations, like queen Victoria's Alberto, principe consorte del Reino Unido / Albert, prince consort of the UK.

I assume Leonor's husband will carry in Spanish the 'consorte' after the title of prince as if it was part of the naming.

Then if he were given the title of king it would be obvious that he was a consort because he would be referred to as el rey consorte. Juan Carlos made the decision he did not to avoid confusion but to conform with other monarchies.

 

[Alondra]

I assume Leonor's husband will carry in Spanish the 'consorte' after the title of prince as if it was part of the naming.

Not necessarily, there is no need to add consort to the title. Being a prince is not the same as being titled a king when the monarch is a regnant queen. Consorte or consort is a way to establish differences when the titles of queen/king are given to spouses without direct line to the throne.

Leonor's future husband having the title of Prince of Spain, deals very effectively with the issue without needing the word consort attached to it.

 

[meeralakshmi]

Not necessarily, there is no need to add consort to the title. Being a prince is not the same as being titled a king when the monarch is a regnant queen. Consorte or consort is a way to establish differences when the titles of queen/king are given to spouses without direct line to the throne.

Leonor's future husband having the title of Prince of Spain, deals very effectively with the issue without needing the word consort attached to it.

Prince of Spain was the title Franco gave Juan Carlos as his heir. According to the decree Leonor’s husband will simply be HRH The Prince. He will therefore need to be referred to as el principe consorte to distinguish his title from that of Prince of Asturias which will be his title between his wedding and his wife’s ascension and the title of his potential son/son-in-law after his wife’s ascension. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Leonor decides to go against the decree and make her husband king consort like every other male consort of Spain excluding the one of Aragon, otherwise the female head of state will be the only person in the entire country banned from sharing their title with their spouse which makes little sense.

 

[Somebody]

Closed for mod review