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{{Short description|Noble title customarily awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters}}
{{About|the British royal title|the current holder|Anne, Princess Royal|other uses}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{use British English|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox political post
| post = Princess Royal
| body = 
| insigniacaption = [[Anne, Princess Royal#Arms|Arms]] of [[Anne, Princess Royal]]
| nativename = 
| image = Princess Anne September 2025.jpg
| imagesize = 
| alt = HRH The Princess Anne, Princess Royal
| incumbent = [[The Princess Anne]]
| incumbentsince = 13 June 1987
| style = Her Royal Highness
| residence = [[St James's Palace]]
| appointer = [[Monarch of the United Kingdom]]
| termlength = Life tenure or until accession  to the throne
| formation = 
| inaugural = [[Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange]]
| deputy = 
| salary = 
| website = 
}}

'''Princess Royal''' is a [[substantive title|title]] customarily (but not automatically) awarded by [[British monarch]]s to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family.<ref name="Royal Titles">{{Cite web |title=Royal Titles: Style and Title of the Princess Royal |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5660.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727135946/http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5660.asp |archive-date=July 27, 2008 |website=The Royal Family}}</ref> There have been seven Princesses Royal; [[Princess Anne]] became Princess Royal in 1987.<ref name="The Princess Royal">{{Cite web |title=The Princess Royal |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/ThePrincessRoyal/ThePrincessRoyal.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307171621/http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/ThePrincessRoyal/ThePrincessRoyal.aspx |archive-date=7 March 2013 |website=The Royal Family}}</ref>

The title ''Princess Royal'' came into existence when [[Queen Henrietta Maria]] (1609–1669), daughter of [[Henry IV, King of France]], and [[queen-consort|wife]] of [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] (1600–1649), wanted to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the King of France was styled "[[Madame Royale]]".<ref name="Panton" /> Thus, [[Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange|Princess Mary]] (born 1631), the daughter of Henrietta Maria and Charles, became the first Princess Royal in 1642.

It has become established that the title belongs to no one by right, but is given entirely at the sovereign's discretion. Princess Mary (later [[Queen Mary II]]) (1662–1694), the elder daughter of [[King James II]], and [[Sophia Dorothea of Hanover|Princess Sophia Dorothea]] (1687–1757), the only daughter of [[George I of Great Britain|King George I]], were eligible for this honour but did not receive it. At the time they respectively became eligible for the style, Princess Mary was already [[Princess of Orange]], and Sophia Dorothea was already [[Queen in Prussia]].<ref name="Royal Titles" /> A Princess Royal has never acceded to the British throne; [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Princess Victoria]], the eldest daughter of [[Queen Victoria]], was the only Princess Royal to simultaneously be heiress presumptive, until she was displaced by the birth of her brother Prince Albert Edward (later [[King Edward VII]]).

[[Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart|Princess Louisa Maria]] (1692–1712), the youngest daughter of [[King James II]] (died 1701), born after he lost his crown in the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688–1689, was considered to be Princess Royal during James's exile by [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]] at [[Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] and was so called by them, even though she was not James's eldest living daughter at any time during her life.<ref name="Panton">{{Cite book |last=Panton |first=Kenneth J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BiyyueBTpaMC&pg=PA381 |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2011 |location=Lanham, MD |pages=381–382 |isbn=978-0-8108-7497-8 |access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref>

The title is held for life, even if the holder outlives her parent the monarch. On the death of a Princess Royal, the style is not inherited by any of her daughters; instead, if the monarch parent of the late Princess Royal has also died, the new monarch may bestow it upon his or her own eldest daughter. Thus, [[Louise, Princess Royal|Princess Louise]] was granted the style of ''Princess Royal'' by her father [[King Edward VII]] in 1905; she retained it until her death in 1931, more than twenty years into the reign of her brother [[King George V]]. Only upon Louise's death did the title become available for George's own daughter, [[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood|Princess Mary]], who was granted the title in 1932, retaining it until her death in 1965. Because Mary outlived not only her father but also her brother [[King George VI]], the title was never available during George VI's reign to be granted to his elder daughter [[Elizabeth II|Princess Elizabeth]] (later Queen Elizabeth II), though she would otherwise have been eligible to hold it.<ref name="Royal Titles" />

Customarily, when a princess marries, she takes on her husband's title. If her husband has a lower title or style, her style as a princess remains in use, although it may then be combined with her style by marriage, e.g. ''HRH The [[Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll]]'' or ''HRH [[Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone]]''&nbsp;– if that princess had a territorial designation, she may cease its use. Exceptionally, however, a princess who has been granted the title of ''HRH The Princess Royal'' will not customarily combine it with her style by marriage. For example, Princess Anne has been ''Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal'' since being given the title in 1987; prior to that, her formal title was ''Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne, Mrs Mark Phillips''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Nicholas |title=Elizabeth II: Behind Palace Doors |publisher=Random House |year=2013 |isbn=9781780578279 |quote=Until Elizabeth gave her the title, Anne's correct form of address had been a mouthful, 'Her Royal Highness the Princess Anne, Mrs Mark Phillips'.}}</ref>

==List of title holders==

The following is a complete list of women formally styled ''Princess Royal'':
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Order
!Princess Royal (from [date] to [date])
!Portrait
!Coat of Arms
!Born
!Tenure
!Marriages
!Died
|-
|1
|[[Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange|Princess Mary]]<br>1642–1660{{pb}}{{small|(also: [[Princess of Orange]] and [[Count of Nassau|Countess of Nassau]] (1647))}}
|[[File:Marie Henriette Stuart.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Coat of arms of William and Mary as Prince and Princess of Orange.svg|frameless|116x116px]]
|4 November 1631, [[St. James's Palace]], [[London]]; daughter of [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] and [[Queen Henrietta Maria]]
|{{time interval|1642|1660}}
|2 May 1641{{pb}}[[William II, Prince of Orange]] ([[William III of England|1 son]])
|24 December 1660, [[Whitehall Palace]], London
|-
|2
|[[Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange|Princess Anne]]<br>1727–1759{{pb}}{{small|(also: Princess of Orange (1734))}}
|[[File:Accama Anna van Hannover.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Coat of Arms of Anne, the Princess Royal and Princess of Orange.svg|frameless|79x79px]]
|2 November 1709, [[Herrenhausen Palace]], [[Hanover]]; daughter of [[George II of Great Britain|King George II]] and [[Caroline of Ansbach|Queen Caroline]]
|{{time interval|1727|1759}}
|25 March 1734{{pb}}[[William IV of Orange]] ([[Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange#Issue|3 children]])
|12 January 1759, [[The Hague]], [[Netherlands]]
|-
|3
|[[Charlotte, Princess Royal|Princess Charlotte]]<br>1789–1828{{pb}}{{small|(also: [[Duke of Württemberg|Duchess of Württemberg]] (1797), [[Queen consort of Württemberg]] (1806))}}
|[[File:Charlotte, Princess Royal.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Coat of Arms of Charlotte Augusta Matilda, the Princess Royal.svg|frameless|81x81px]]
|29 September 1766, [[Buckingham Palace|Buckingham House]], London; daughter of [[King George III]] and [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Queen Charlotte]]
|{{time interval|1789|1828}}
|18 May 1797{{pb}}[[Frederick I of Württemberg]] ([[Charlotte, Princess Royal#Marriage|1 daughter]])
|5 October 1828, [[Ludwigsburg Palace]], [[Baden-Württemberg]]
|-
|4
|[[Victoria, Princess Royal|Princess Victoria]]<br>1841–1901{{pb}}{{small|(also: [[German Emperor|German Empress]] and [[Queen consort of Prussia]] (1888))}}
|[[File:William Corden the Younger (1819-1900) - Victoria, Princess Royal (1840-1901) - RCIN 402515 - Royal Collection.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Coat of Arms of Victoria, the Princess Royal.svg|frameless|81x81px]]
|21 November 1840, Buckingham Palace, London; daughter of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]]
|{{time interval|1841|1901}}
|[[Wedding of Victoria, Princess Royal, and Prince Frederick of Prussia|25 January 1858]] {{pb}}[[Frederick III, German Emperor]]  ([[Princess Royal#Issue|8 children]])
|5 August 1901, [[Schlosshotel Kronberg|Schloss Friedrichshof]], [[Hesse]]
|-
|5
|[[Louise, Princess Royal|Princess Louise]]<br>1905–1931{{pb}}{{small|(also: [[Duchess of Fife]] (1889))}}
|[[File:Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife2.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Marital Coat of Arms of Louise, Duchess of Fife.svg|frameless|80x80px]]
|20 February 1867, [[Marlborough House]], London; daughter of [[King Edward VII]] and [[Queen Alexandra]]
|{{time interval|1905|1931}}
|[[Wedding of Princess Louise and Alexander Duff, Earl of Fife|27 July 1889]]{{pb}}[[Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife]] ([[Louise, Princess Royal#Marriage and children|3 children]])
|4 January 1931, [[Portman Square]], London
|-
|6
|[[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood|Princess Mary]]<br>1932–1965{{pb}}{{small|(also: [[Earl of Harewood|Countess of Harewood]] (1929))}}
|[[File:Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Coat of Arms of Mary, the Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood.svg|frameless|82x82px]]
|25 April 1897, [[York Cottage]], [[Sandringham, Norfolk|Sandringham]]; daughter of [[King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]]
|{{time interval|1932|1965}}
|[[Wedding of Princess Mary and Henry Lascelles|28 February 1922]]{{pb}}[[Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood]] ([[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood#Marriage and family|2 sons]])
|28 March 1965, [[Harewood House]], [[West Yorkshire]]
|-
|- scope="row" style="background:#9F9"
| rowspan="2" |7
| rowspan="2" |[[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]]<br>1987–present{{pb}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Princess Anne October 2015.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Coat of Arms of Anne, the Princess Royal.svg|frameless|82x82px]]
| rowspan="2" |15 August 1950, [[Clarence House]], London; daughter of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip]]
|{{time interval|1987|}}
|[[Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips|14 November 1973]]{{pb}}[[Mark Phillips]] ([[Anne, Princess Royal#Issue|2 children]]){{pb}}—{{pb}}[[Wedding of Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence|12 December 1992]]{{pb}}[[Sir Timothy Laurence]]
| rowspan="2" |—{{pb}}now {{age in years and days|1950|8|15}}
|-
|}

==In fiction==
*In the [[House of M]] alternate universe of [[Marvel Comics]], [[Betsy Braddock]] is the elder twin sister of [[Captain Britain|the British King]] and bears the title ''Princess Royal''.
*The novel ''The Lady Royal'', by [[Molly Costain Haycraft]], is a fictionalized account of the life of [[Isabella de Coucy]].  According to the narrative, Isabella was titled the Princess Royal and then later given the more 'adult' title of the Lady Royal by her parents.  This is a fabrication; although Isabella, as the eldest daughter of [[Edward III]], enjoyed the special privileges that came with her rank, she could not have been titled the Princess Royal because the title was not used in England until long after her death.  The title of "the Lady Royal" has never existed.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Princess Royal}}
{{British royal titles}}

[[Category:Royal titles]]
[[Category:Princesses Royal| ]]
[[Category:Lists of princesses|Royal]]