Titles Of Nobility And Aristocracy


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
So could someone of Royal birth walk away from what they are, without having to "abdicate"
.

Interesting question. I realize that you are probably looking for answer that covers the British Royal family. But I guess the conditions for the BRF compares to those of the Danish RF. The titles of the RF are given at the dicretion of the sovereign. So I don't think a prince can give up being a prince.
The only way would be to marry without the concent of the sovereign and the state council - then he would loose his title of Prince. :)
 
On the Continent, the most common way to "stop" being royal would be to marry without permission of the monarch, or in contravention of the House's marriage laws/rules. In some cases, as in Denmark, doing so means the individual forfeits their title and place in the succession, while in others I think it just means that the children aren't in the succession and they and the wife don't get any titles. In others, it's a combination effect.

This isn't the case in Britain. Britain has never had any laws regarding dynastic marriages, and the current law regarding royal marriage in general stipulates just that those in the line of succession (other than those whose place comes from a woman who married into another royal family) have to have permission to marry for the marriage to be valid. If they don't have permission then the marriage isn't valid. This is why the long-term partners of the sons of George III were all mistresses and not wives of men who used to be Princes.

People can cease to be British Prince(sse)s though, but they always need either the monarch or parliament to help.

The monarch can issue LPs creating, or uncreating, princely titles. When the 1917 LPs were issued, George V stripped people who did not meet the requirements set out by his LPs of their titles, with the exception of those who had had LPs issued specifically granting them princely titles. If the Queen wished to, she could issue new LPs stating that the only people who have princely titles are the children of the monarch - stripping all her cousins and grandchildren of their royal titles. This would not apply to the DoE, who was created a Prince by LPs specific to him, nor do I believe it would apply to George, for similar reasons.

The monarch can also say that it is his/her will that a set group of people not use princely titles. This is what's happened with Edward's children - they're entitled to princely titles under the 1917, but don't use them by the Queen's will. It's debated whether or not they have them and chose not to use them (similar to Camilla and Princess of Wales) or if they don't have them at all, but the point remains that they don't use them and aren't ever recognized by them.

As such, it seems to be generally assumed that the Queen has the power to issue LPs that would specifically strip a group of people of their royal titles - it is assumed that the Queen could issue LPs regarding the Wessex children, but chose not to. I would think that if she does have that power, then she also has the power to issue LPs specifically stripping someone of their royal titles, provided other LPs had not been issued specifically granting them. So, she couldn't issue LPs stripping the DoE of his princely titles anymore than she could stripping him of his dukedom, but I do believe she could issue LPs stripping Edward of his princely titles.

At the same time, in as much as the monarch is the fount of all honours, Parliament has the power to take away titles granted by LPs. For example, during the First World War Parliament anyone who fought against Britain forfeited any British titles they held. It then stands to reason that they could remove princely titles from individuals or groups if Parliament so wished.

On that note, it was Parliament who had to allow Edward VIII to abdicate. Similarly, it was Parliament who decided that James II had abdicated. Later, after he claimed his father's throne, Parliament attained James Stuart, the Old Pretender, for treason, stripping him of his titles.

In a less certain route, it is possible for people to simply stop using their titles, or to renounce them. The DoE was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, but leading up to his marriage to the then Princess Elizabeth he stopped using his foreign titles. While it's debated whether or not he still holds them in any sense, he has not been recognized as a Prince of Greece and Denmark for some 60+ years. Nor have his children been recognized as such. During her reign, one of the sons of Queen Victoria became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. While he continued to hold his many British titles, including that of Prince, he didn't continue to use them. He and his nephew and eventual heir, Charles Edward, are the only examples of British princes ceasing to use their titles that I can think of. In Charles' case, he supported Germany during the War and was consequently stripped of all his British titles.
 
Just a note about George - the LPs issued by The Queen that included George weren't specific to him but simply widened those issued by George V in 1917.

Under the 1917 LPs George would have been a prince in any event as the first born son of the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales but had he been Georgina she would have been Lady Georgina Mountbatten-Windsor. Following the decision of the Commonwealth realms to allow the first born child to inherit regardless of gender so it made sense to allow a first born girl to be born as HRH Princess Georgina just as a first born boy was going to be HRH Prince George.

The other extension under the 2012 LPs was to give HRH to all of William's children - remembering that they would automatically gain that style on her death anyway. It is the same thing as when George VI issued new LPs in 1948 to give HRH to any children of Elizabeth herself - as again on his death they would automatically be HRH Prince/Princess so he gave it to them from birth.

Regarding the removal of HRH by LPs - The Queen stripped both Diana and Sarah of their HRHs by LPs in 1996 - after Diana's divorce - so she can issue LPs to strip HRH's as she did so then. Of course these ladies weren't born with it but they gained it under the 1917 LPs as the wives of HRH Prince's of the Realm.
 
I was kind of struggling to say what I meant regarding George.

If I'm correct, when the 1917 LPs were issued they didn't strip the children of Princess Louise of their Princess titles, as they had been created Princesses by their grandfather, Edward VII. If Edward VII had the ability to grant princely status to the children of his daughter that wasn't then reversed by the 1917 LPs, then it stands to reason that if the Queen were to now issue new LPs altering princely titles, George wouldn't be affected because of the previous LPs granting princely titles to the children of the Duke of Cambridge.

That's just the conclusion I'm making on the issue, but I admit that I haven't read the actual LPs regarding the Duffs, so they could be worded in a way granting them their titles by name, instead of in a more roundabout way as the children of Louise.
 
This isn't the case in Britain. Britain has never had any laws regarding dynastic marriages, and the current law regarding royal marriage in general stipulates just that those in the line of succession (other than those whose place comes from a woman who married into another royal family) have to have permission to marry for the marriage to be valid. If they don't have permission then the marriage isn't valid. .

That will change though when the new Successiion to the Crown Act 2013 comes into force and repeals the Royal Marriages Act. The first six persons in the British line of succession will still have to seek the monarch's consent to marry, but, in contrast to the current law, if they marry without consent, their marriage will still be legally valid, The person who married without consent and the future issue of that marriage will, however, be excluded from the line of succession. Those provisions will basically draw British law regarding royal marriages closer to the corresponding law in other European monarchies (Spain, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, etc.),

In the end, it might look old-fashioned, but one might understand a royal marriage is not simply a private affair, but also a matter of state in the sense that children from those marriages may potentially become king/queen (i.e the HoS). It is reasonable then that royal marriages should be vetted by the monarch and the government and/or parliament, as is the case in all European kingdoms.
 
Last edited:
What is the oldest title of nobility in Spain?
 
I'm having trouble understanding the history and etymology of various titles, such as earl, count, duke, marquis, etc. I seem to have a jumble of English and French titles in my mind.

I'm back to 1066 and the Norman conquest, and I can't tell (yet) what titles William the Conqueror bestowed upon the Norman overlords when he carved up England. Did he import the term "duke" or was it already in use in Anglo-Saxon England? Were there dukes at that time? When I read about the 1100's and 1200's, I see mostly Earls in England (and duchies seem to be in France - Kings Richard and John are Dukes of Normandy, etc.)

I guess I'm asking several questions. When did the title "duke" (from the Latin) appear in England and which dukedoms were earliest? Where does the word "earl" come from, is it Saxon? Are there counts in England or no (ever)? I know marquis is mainly in France, but Italy and Spain have cognate terms - so I'm guessing that's from days when Latin was prevelant - and that term never made it to England.

The word that the Welsh use for their highest lords is translated into English as Prince (anyone know what the etymology of Prince is?) I think I understand why, although any illumination on that point would be welcome.

As I lay awake pondering all this, I decided that it would be silly not to avail myself of the venerable expertise that is The Royal Forums. Some of you will understand what I'm trying to get at (a history of royal terminology in England, I guess) and I just know that some of you already know this, extensively.

Thanks in advance for your help. I figure I'm not the only one who could use a refresher in these matters. I also feel like I'm leaving out some titles altogether. (Squire?) I know "knight" is at the bottom of the titles, right?


The current British peerage is comprised of an amalgamation of titles that rulers gave as awards to their supporters, which became hereditary. The hereditary principle was important because, in the wake of the fall of the (Western) Roman Empire, the family unit represented a degree of stability and continuity. The form of the title in today's peerage is mostly influenced by the culture which predominated at the time the title was introduced into the peerage.


King / Earl

Following the withdrawal of Rome from Britain and the subsequent migrations, colonization and conquest by Anglo-Saxons, forming Englaland; the title Cyning (from proto-Germanic kuningaz, "tribal leader") emerged as the primary ruler of the various petty kingdoms which emerged during the Early Middle Ages. Cyning emerged as King in early English.

Following Norse / Viking cultural and political influence over the British and Irish Isles during the Early Middle Ages, the title jarll (Old Norse for "leader") emerged as the most prestigious title a king bestowed on a follower. In the Welsh language, the title earl was adopted and rendered as iarll (fem: iarlles).

There is no title "count" in the English, Scottish, Irish, or British peerages. The title earl is of comital, that is equal to, count rank. The wife of an earl is known as a countess. The first recorded viscount was in the 15th century.

The Welsh were influenced from a revival in Gaelic and Norse Gaelic with many place-names originating from a Gaelic origin for tribal settlements within what would become Wales. This influence extended into language, as the Welsh adopted and adapted titles originating in Gaelic and Norse. Welsh for king is brenin (queen: brenhines), originating from rí, both cognate with Latin rex and Sanskrit raja. The many earliest Welsh petty kinglets of Wales coalesced around four primary leaders just before the Norman Conquest. During this period, ardalydd emerged as the primary title for the king's supporter. In Welsh, the Norse jarl was adapted and adopted as iarll.

In the Welsh context, an ardalydd would emerge as more powerful then a iarll, and later ardalydd would be the Welsh translation for marquess. Ardalydd initially had the meaning of 'lord'.

Duke / Marquess

The Norman Conquest and subsequent Norman and Angevin monarchy reintroduced continental titles into the peerages. In France, count was the title for a feudal lord, but the nobility began to differentiate between "greater counts" and "lesser counts"

The greater counts began to adopt the more lofty title 'duc', itself rooted in the Latin military office of dux, of their own accord and independently from the French monarchy, claiming a degree of regional autonomy by the implication, as early as the 12th century. It would become a hallmark of the French monarchy to marry into these self-proclaimed dukedoms and unite them into the French monarchy.

Edward III created the first English ducal title, the Duke of Lancaster, in 1351. The first marquess title was the Marquess of Dublin (recognizing the frontier nature the English view of Ireland at the time.) But the title was recalled a year. The second title didnt fair better, Marquess of Dorset, recalled in 1399. It wasn't until 1442 that the title was more fully accepted.

As the title duke was introduced in England in the latter High Middle Ages, within an English context the title does not connote the authority that ducal counterparts on the continent did. That is to say the Duke of Lancaster or York never conveyed the strong sence of local particularism and native independence from the French crown, that the Dukes of Brittany or Aquitaine did.

Volatile frontiers were known as 'the march', and powerful counts there became known as marqius in French (and marquess in the emerging English language).

In the British and Irish Isles in the early High Middle Ages, the absence of a duke and marquess title left a void for those nearly autonomous communities which were more or less independent, but lacked a title to reflect their position. Scotland claimed a kingship title, yet the King of England demanded that Scotland was a vassal and a petty kingship. Welsh rulers claimed the same degree of independence, yet their territorial claims were not as extensive and was more complicated then their Scottish counterparts, and chose the title prince for their rulers. In the context of the High Middle Ages and from an English or Angivin perspective, both the native Welsh, Scottish, and Irish rulers owed fealty to the English crown.

In Wales, the four primary petty kinglets coalesced around one or two ruling families, the Aberffraw for Gwynedd and their dynastically junior agnate Dinefwr for Deheubarth. With the reorientation of the British and Irish isles towards France and the Carolinian feudal model, Welsh (and Irish and Scottish) rulers re-evaluated their own rankings as it became clear among the Welsh rulers that their brenin (king), within a Welsh context, was not as powerful as a king. France or king of England, for instance. This goes far to explain why the title of prince ranks higher in Britain, but on the continent the title of duke often ranks higher then prince.

The rulers of Gwynedd and Deheubarth choose tywysog (leader, from 'to lead', and cognate to Gaelic taoiseach, the title of the Republic of Ireland's president). In Latin, the Welsh rulers of Gwynedd and Deheubarth rendered tywysog as princeps. Princeps is Latin for "first in line", for example the Roman Emperors were officially "First Citizens," thus prince. The implication was that the ruler of Gwynedd was the 'first citizen' and 'leader' of Gwynedd. ('Princep Norwalia for Prince of Gwynedd, and Princep Walia for Prince of Wales.) The Princes of Wales never created a duke title, rendered into Welsh as duc or dug. Although in the Jacobite peerage there is the Duke of Powis. The English title Duke of Monmouth (a place in Wales) was created for an English lord.

The English Crown only ever acknowledged the rulers of Gwynedd as equal in rank to sovereign, albeit subject, prince. Had Wales survived the Edwardian Conquest in the 13th century, no doubt that the native Welsh monarchy and peerage would adopt, adapt, and truncate, titles as society evolved. The Edwardian Conquest eliminated the native Welsh peerage, but some vestiges of native titles survived and were adopted into the English peerage, and became increasingly obscure.

Also, had the Norman Conquest failed, England would undoubtedly have maintained closer cultural and linguistic ties with Denmark and Germany, and titles may have been rendered closer to those languages then the Romance languages.


Welsh and English titles


Brenin / Brenhines King / Queen Post-Roman Empire
Tywysog / Tywysoges Prince / Princess Latin, post-Roman Empire
Duc / Duces Duke / Duchess (14th century)
Ardalydd / Ardalyddes Marquess / Marchioness (15th century)
Iarll / Iarlles Earl / Countess (8th century)
Isiarll / Isiarlles Viscount / Viscountess (15th century)
Barwn / Barwnes Baron / Baroness (c. 13th century)
Barwnig / Barwniges Baronet / Baronetess
 
Last edited:
I would think that the answer would be that at the time titles of nobility weren't restricted to those who were of that nationality. The King could give out honours to whoever he wanted, regardless of whether or not they were his subjects - of course, in giving them French titles, they then owed an allegiance to the King and could lose said titles if they went against the King - as happened with James Hamilton, who was created Duke of Chatellerault for arranging the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the French Dauphin, and lost his French titles when he turned against Mary.
 
Concerning the children of HRH the Earl of Wessex, I thought that as children of a son of the monarch they have the right to HRH Prince/ss, but that at their parents' request they are not using those titles, similar to Camilla being known as Duchess of Cornwall instead of Princess of Wales. But in the case of Prince Edward's children, were they actually stripped of their HRH and their titles of Prince/Princess, or are they just not using them?
 
There is some debate on this.


1. That without the issuing of new LPs limiting the HRHs further they are HRHs but not using them.




2. The fact that The Queen's will has been made known is enough to stop them ever having those titles.
 
I believe - although I could be wrong - that the only hereditary peers who now sit in the House of Lords are people who were created hereditary peers themselves (they didn't inherit it), and then had a life peerage bestowed upon them when the House was reformed.

Or is that completely wrong?

I can't seem to find a reply to this, so I shall take the liberty.

The House of Lords Act, that came into effect in 1999, removed the right of all but 92 hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords (based purely on their hereditary peerage). Two of that number were ex-officio (The Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain). That leaves ninety, who were elected from among the remaining hereditary peers, with proportional allocation between the political parties and cross-benchers. The term 'elected hereditary', is now in common use to refer to this group.
Along with those, there were those hereditary peers of first creation who were automatically offered life peerages and thereby remain in the House. So the grand total can be calculated by adding the 92 remaining hereditary peers and the hereditary peers of first creation (there were four, with only one still living) in addition, all former leaders of the House of Lords were offered hereditary peerages (there were six, with two still living).
So that is at present, the maximum number of hereditary peers who may sit in the House of Lords (not exactly an insignificant number).

On a related point, Her Majesty is perfectly free to create any type of peerage, at any time, without interference from the government. If she so wishes, she may create a Dukedom and seventy hereditary Baronies tomorrow. Of course, that won't happen, but it doesn't for a moment mean that it can't.
 
I’m under the understanding that Queen Elizabeth’s mother, Queen consort Elizabeth, was called Her Majesty after the death of the King and after Queen Elizebeth II ‘s coronation. If this is correct usage of the title then why is Prince Phillip not referred to as His Majesty?
 
I’m under the understanding that Queen Elizabeth’s mother, Queen consort Elizabeth, was called Her Majesty after the death of the King and after Queen Elizebeth II ‘s coronation. If this is correct usage of the title then why is Prince Phillip not referred to as His Majesty?


"Majesty" is just used in reference to kings and queens. Philip has never been a king but is titled as a prince of the UK. Princes and princesses are known as "royal highnesses" in the UK
 
So a Queen consort and a Ruling Queen are more or less equal and both can be called Her Majesty?
 
So a Queen consort and a Ruling Queen are more or less equal and both can be called Her Majesty?

They are both addressed as Your Majesty, but a Queen Regnant will always be above a Queen Consort this ----- much. :)

Male consorts of regnant queens are sensitive chicken-legged men with pursed lips who are always mad and ..... kidding. It takes a fine and confident man to marry a regnant queen. And, if the UK is any example, it guarantees a long and happy life.

Here's to you, Duke Of E.!
 
In Hungary John Hunyadi was the first to receive a hereditary title. King Ladislaus (Laszlo) V the Posthumous rewarded Hunyadi with the Saxon district of Beszterce and the title of perpetual count in 1453.

Do viscounts' sons use secondary titles as courtesy titles if their fathers have such titles available?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Do viscounts' sons use secondary titles as courtesy titles if their fathers have such titles available?

No. According to debrett's, only the children of a Duke, Marquis and earl are entitled to use the lesser title of their father. While there are viscounts with a lesser title (baron is the only lesser hereditary peer) the eldest son is simply refered to as The honorable x. The few viscounts who also have a barony, most started as barons and were elevated. So as we see something like Duke X, Earl X because the earl was elevated to duke and maintained both titles, we see Viscount X, Baron X.

https://www.debretts.com/expertise/essential-guide-to-the-peerage/courtesy-titles/
 
Last edited:
:previous:
Very thorough and enjoyable reading Ish. :flowers:

A present-day example of ennoblement (or raise in status) due to marital proximity is the family of the current Queen of the Belgians.
Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz was born into an untitled noble family of baronial descent. Her father bore the honorific of Jonkheer, which in English translates to somewhere between "The Honourable" and "Lord". Mathilde bore the honorific of Jonkvrouw.

When she married the Duke of Brabant (ie Crown Prince) in 1999, King Albert elevated the family of d'Udekem d'Acoz from the baronial to the comital rank, hereditary in the male line. Her father and brother thus gained a title, that of count, and her surviving sisters that of countess (her mother was uneffected, already being a countess in her own right).

Thus the daughter's marriage into the upper level of the Belgian Royal House directly led to her own family's rise in title, rank and status.

Mathilde herself also became a countess in her own right. Her full name and style following her husband's accession to the throne is:

Sa Majesté la Reine Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine comtesse d'Udekem d'Acoz, Princesse de Belgique

"Comtesse" and "Princesse de Belgique" are the only titles that she holds in her own right as "Reine" (i.e. Queen) is actually a courtesy title only. Note also that she is not "Reine des Belges" (Queen of the Belgians ) as that title, following the introduction of equal primogeniture, is now reserved for reigning queens only, Neverthless, she is often wrongly called Queen of the Belgians, even by the Belgian press, but not in official documents.

Philippe , her husband, is officially

Sa Majesté le Roi Philippe Léopold Louis Marie, Roi des Belges, Prince de Belgique
 
Last edited:
No. According to debrett's, only the children of a Duke, Marquis and earl are entitled to use the lesser title of their father. While there are viscounts with a lesser title (baron is the only lesser hereditary peer) the eldest son is simply refered to as The honorable x. The few viscounts who also have a baronetcy, most started as barons and were elevated. So as we see something like Duke X, Earl X because the earl was elevated to duke and maintained both titles, we see Viscount X, Baron X.

https://www.debretts.com/expertise/essential-guide-to-the-peerage/courtesy-titles/

A baronetcy isn't the same as a barony.
 
I would like to consult in particular if anyone know or know books or somewhere to consult, nobility titles that are active in countries where there are monarchy today and where they were deposed monarchys, there is some way to know that kind of information? You would be of great help to me since I am doing a job for the university, for example nobility titles in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Russia, France, also in countries from Asia, etc, nobility titles who are actives on this days, thank you so much [emoji5]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Do you mean the Almanach de Gotha, some of which is online and which has information on the aristocracy of Europe?
 
Do you mean the Almanach de Gotha, some of which is online and which has information on the aristocracy of Europe?
Ok, but there is another way to see which nobility title are per country?
 
Info on Burke's Peerage for United Kingdom.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke's_Peerage

Burke's Peerage should be in the reference section of most major libraries. You could ask there for reference books on the topic for individual countries.

Also just Google the history of peerages in individual countries, such as 'Noble titles in Russia'. 'History of Noble titles/aristocracy in France' for example.
 
Last edited:
Info on Burke's Peerage for United Kingdom.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke's_Peerage

Burke's Peerage should be in the reference section of most major libraries. You could ask there for reference books on the topic for individual countries.

Also just Google the history of peerages in individual countries, such as 'Noble titles in Russia'. 'History of Noble titles/aristocracy in Sweden' for example.
Thanks so much for the answer
 
What is higher? A Fürst (Prince) or a Herzog (Duke) ?

In 1815 the House of Nassau, once with many branches, had just two branches left:

- Nassau-Weilburg (Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst von Nassau-Weilburg)
- Nassau-Diez (Willem I King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange, Fürst von Nassau-Diez)

On May 31st 1815 King Willem I of the Netherlands (including today's Belgium) decided to hand over his German lands to Prussia: he was compensated with the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. On the same day Prussia handed over the German lands to the newly created Dukedom of Nassau. Effectively a merger of the German lands of all Nassau branches.

Now my question. The Fürst von Nassau-Weilburg became the new Duke of Nassau. Why Herzog? And not Fürst?

Does this mean that a Herzog has a higher rank than a Fürst? (In German Prince Albert is styled as Fürst von Monaco).
 
Last edited:
Does this mean that a Herzog has a higher rank than a Fürst?

Yes. An article published by the Sacramento German Genealogy Society gives the ranks of the German high nobility as:


Ranks of the High Nobility

Within this division of the nobility the highest title is Emperor, or Kaiser, deriving from Caesar in Latin.

[…]

Next we come to König and Königin, or King and Queen, which was carried by the rulers of the larger German states (Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia, Saxony, Württemberg, ).

[…]

After these came the Grossherzog, or Grand Duke, who were styled royal highness, and were rulers of somewhat smaller states, such as the two Mecklenburgs or Luxemburg (which until 1918 was considered a German state).

[…]

The next level is that of Herzog, or Duke, who was normally styled Highness.

Kurfürst, or Elector in English, ranked with a Duke.

[…]

Landgraf (Landgrave), Markgraf (Margrave), and Pfalzgraf (Palsgrave or Count Palatine) ranked somewhat with a Duke and are usually considered higher than a Fürst.

[…]

Next follows Fürst (for which there is no good translation in English, but which is confusingly called Prince).

[…]

The last category of the high nobility still in existence is that of Graf, or Count. The last sovereigns of this rank ceased ruling after the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

When the Fürstin von Hohenberg (the morganatic wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este) received the title Herzogin von Hohenberg, she was considered to have been elevated.

As a sidenote, the Dutch branch was listed as the House of Orange-Nassau in the treaty of 1815.
 
Uff, that is surprising news to me. I expected Fürst being higher ranked than Duke....
So I learned something new today, many thanks
BYe Bine
 
In 1815 the House of Nassau, once with many branches, had just two branches left:

- Nassau-Weilburg (Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst von Nassau-Weilburg)
- Nassau-Diez (Willem I King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange, Fürst von Nassau-Diez)

On May 31st 1815 King Willem I of the Netherlands (including today's Belgium) decided to hand over his German lands to Prussia: he was compensated with the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. On the same day Prussia handed over the German lands to the newly created Dukedom of Nassau. Effectively a merger of the German lands of all Nassau branches.

Now my question. The Fürst von Nassau-Weilburg became the new Duke of Nassau. Why Herzog? And not Fürst?

Does this mean that a Herzog has a higher rank than a Fürst? (In German Prince Albert is styled as Fürst von Monaco).


In the German Empire, a sovereign Herzog had the style of "Highness", whereas a Fürst had the style only of "Serene Highness". So, I think the answer is yes: a sovereign Herzog outranks a Fürst, and they are both outranked in turn by a sovereign Grand Duke (Großherzog), who is styled "Royal Highness".
 
Back
Top Bottom