1. Who are the current Duke of Lancaster and Duke of York? And, are they still at war?
In the fifteenth century a struggle erupted between the descendants of King Edward III. Among the squabbles was whether the male-line descendants of his third son (the Duke of Lancaster) had a better right to the throne than the descendants of this fourth son (the Duke of York), who also happened to be descended in the female line from the second son (the Duke of Clarence). The first son's line having been left without descendants (and having been overthrown). Once all of that got straightened out with the rise of the Tudors, the tradition of giving the title Duke of York to the second son became firmly established. Since that time, several Dukes of York have inherited the throne and the titled has returned to the crown. Those who did not become king also did not have sons to inherit the title. The second son of the Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew, is the current Duke of York--and he also does not have sons.
Back in 1399, Henry IV gave the title Duke of Lancaster to his eldest son, who subsequently became king and merged the title with the crown. The estate of the Duke of Lancaster (the Duchy of Lancaster) is still held by the Sovereign with honorary use of the title. Interestingly the title, which is restricted to male heirs, maintains the male form even the current holder is a woman, Queen Elizabeth II.
Favorite exam response: "As for the Duke of Lancaster and the Duke of york still at war - depends if mom is pissed at her son."
2. In both England and France, the eldest daughter of the king was often given a special title. What was the title in each country?
The eldest unmarried daughter of the French king was usually styled as "Madame Royale." After she married, the style could be passed to her next oldest unmarried sister. Initiated by King Henry IV for his eldest daughter Elisabeth, it passed to his second daughter Christine and then to his third Henriette Marie, who married the English King Charles I. Not to be outdone by his French in-laws, he gave his oldest daughter Mary the style "Princess Royal." The English style is not given automatically and remains the sole use of that princess until her death. So, if one Princess Royal is still living, another Princess Royal is not created. No Madame Royale or Princess Royal ever inherited a throne although several became royal consorts. The current Princess Royal is Princess Anne; she was given this honor in 1987.
3. What is a "dauphin" and where would you find one?
"Dauphin" or more specifically "The Dauphin of Viennois" was the title reserved for the heir apparent of the French throne. When the Counts of Vienne sold the estate to the King of France in the fourteenth century, one of the conditions was that the title "Dauphin" would be used by the heir. The word actually means "dolphin" and derives from the arms of the Count of Vienne.
Commonly repeated exam response to "where would you find one": "I'd look in the ocean. :)"
4. A male heir to a throne is often given a special title. What is the title in each of the following monarchies:
a. United Kingdom--Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. Rothesay has been given to the Scottish heir-apparent since the fifteenth century; the tradition continued to be observed when Scottish and English thrones were united under King James VI and I. Cornwall has been given to the eldest living son of the English king since 1337. As for Prince of Wales, the legend goes that after King Edward III defeated the last of the native Welsh princes, the people of Wales asked him to appoint a new Prince who spoke neither English nor French. Complying with their request, he cleverly presented them his newborn son, who eventually became Edward II. None of these title was ever given to a female heir, although some people did refer to Henry VIII's eldest daughter Mary as "Princess of Wales," but that was before he divorced her mother and declared her illegimate.
b. The Netherlands--Prince of Orange. Originally holders of an estate called "Orange" in southern France, the owners eventually became sovereign princes through their allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire. Then, the title was passed to a cousin, who also happened to be the Dutch stadtholder, later King of the Netherlands. For three generations, the Netherlands had female heirs, none of whom received the title.
c. Spain--Prince of the Asturias. The title was originally used for the heir to the Kingdom of Castile and later continued to be used when the Spanish kingdoms were united. Unlike in other nations, this title actually was given to a few female heirs, including most recently Infanta Mercedes, who was the heiress presumptive her entire life, first as the daughter of Alfonso XII and then as sister of Alfonso XIII, who inherited the throne upon his birth. Since her brother was unborn at the time of their father's death, it was unclear whether Mercedes would inherit the throne. Had little Alfonso been a girl, Mercedes would have been queen.
d. Russia--While English speakers may be more used to seeing the word "tsarevich" to refer to the heir of the imperial Russian throne. This is actually an older term meaning "son of the tsar" and could refer to any sons of the tsar. The correct term for the heir is "tsesarevich," meaning roughly "heir of Caesar." It was coined by Emperor Paul I when he established new rules regarding the imperial house, which included banning women from ascending the throne--he had issues with his mama Catherine the Great. The tsesarevich did not have to be the tsar's son, just his heir. For instance, upon his accession, the unmarried Nicholas II named his brother George the tsesarevich. Additionally, the title was never used alone, but always as "nasliednik tsesarevich" in which "nasliednik" actually means "heir." In Russia, the heir was more commonly referred to as "Nasliednik" rather than "Tsesarevich."
5. How many people are currently allowed to use the style "Royal Highness" in the United Kingdom?
This list is longer than you might realize. Therefore, we gave full credit to anyone who came close to the actual number. The style is allowed to any legitimate children and male-line grandchildren of the sovereign AND their wives. However, King George VI specifically denied the style to his abdicated brother's wife, the Duchess of Windsor. He also granted the style to his daughter and heir's husband, Philip, who had renounced his Greek royal titles before marrying the future Queen. Finally, in 1996, Letters Patent clarified that divorced female spouses lose their royal titles. So, the list of current royal highnesses numbers 20:
HRH The Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh (granted HRH style by King George VI)
HRH The Prince of Wales (son of a queen)
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall (wife of The Prince of Wales)
HRH Prince William of Wales (grandson of a queen)
HRH Prince Henry of Wales (grandson of a queen)
HRH The Prince Andrew The Duke of York (son of a queen)
HRH Princess Beatrice of York (granddaughter of a queen)
HRH Princess Eugenie of York (granddaughter of a queen)
HRH The Prince Edward The Earl of Wessex (son of a queen)
HRH The Countess of Wessex (wife of a prince)
Viscount Severn (As a grandson of the queen, he is entitled to be styled HRH Prince James Viscount Severn, but his parents have asked that he not be.)
Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (As a granddaughter of the queen, he is entitled to be styled HRH Princess Louise of Wessex, but his parents have asked that he not be.)
HRH The Princess Anne The Princess Royal (daughter of a queen)
HRH Prince Richard Duke of Gloucester (grandson of King George V)
HRH the Duchess of Gloucester (wife of a prince)
HRH Prince Edward Duke of Kent (grandson of King George V)
HRH the Duchess of Kent (wife of a prince--she is said to prefer not to use the style or title)
HRH Prince Michael of Kent (grandson of King George V)
HRH Princess Michael of Kent (wife of a prince)
HRH Princess Alexandra Lady Ogilvy (granddaughter of King George V)
Sarah Duchess of York is no longer an HRH because she is divorced from The Duke of York. She is able to use "Duchess of York" like a surname, but if her ex were to remarry, his new wife would be HRH The Duchess of York, even if Sarah were still living and calling herself Sarah Duchess of York.
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