princess charlotte and kate middleton

When will Princess Charlotte be given the title Princess Royal?

The Queen's daughter Princess Anne currently holds the title

Content Managing Editor
August 13, 2018

Princess Charlotte is currently styled as Her Royal Highness, but her title will likely change in the future if she marries. She is also entitled to be the Princess Royal when her father Prince William becomes King – it's a title that is traditionally given to the eldest daughter of the monarch. But, there is no guarantee that this will happen as soon as William takes the throne. His aunt Princess Anne, 67, currently holds the title.

"William will need to be king and Princess Anne dead for Charlotte to be named Princess Royal," Marlene Koenig, royal historian and founder of Royal Musings, told HELLO!. "So yes, it is possible in the future."

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Marlene added: "But now with gender equal succession, I think it would be more possible to grant a peerage to Charlotte. Prince Louis will get one when he marries, so it would only be fair if Charlotte was named a Duchess on her wedding day. She and her children will be ahead of Louis' line in the succession."

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Princess Anne, who was previously married to Mark Phillips, accepted the title of Princess Royal in June 1987, when she was 36 years old. "There is a lot to be said for the timing," said Marlene. "The Phillips marriage was already in trouble. They separated two years later, but in 1985, Mark became a father of Felicity Tonkin, born in New Zealand. This story broke in 1991, but there is no doubt that Anne already knew as Heather Tonkin had called Gatcombe to tell Mark that she was pregnant. Accepting the title of Princess Royal allowed Anne to stop being styled as HRH The Princess Anne, Mrs. Mark Phillips."

© Photo: Getty Images

Charlotte will have to wait until her father Prince William is King

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While Anne was in her thirties when she accepted the title, Queen Victoria chose to give her eldest daughter Victoria the title when she was only two months old. It's not known when Princess Charlotte will eventually be given the title, but it will have to be when her father is King. Because the title does not have the same status as a royal dukedom, it's also highly likely that William and Kate's daughter will also be given a peerage like her big brother Prince George and her little brother Prince Louis.

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