It's well known that Princess Anne decided against giving her children a royal title. But back in March 2023, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex surprised royal watchers when they opted to use their children Archie and Lilibet's royal titles – Prince and Princess of Sussex.
The rules set out by King George V in 1917 mean Archie and Lili, as the children of a son of a sovereign, are automatically a prince and a princess. This became the case when King Charles ascended the throne last September. However, the Sussexes' decision has raised questions about other members of the family's titles, namely the Princess Royal's children, Peter Phillips, 46, and Zara Tindall, 42.
Peter and Zara do not have titles, and this is due to a centuries-old family tradition. Unlike her cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Zara is not a princess – and likewise, Peter is not a prince.
This is because when a member of the royal family has a child, the rules say that only the father may pass on his title, and the only princes and princesses in the family have fathers in the direct line of succession.
Zara and Peter's father Captain Mark Phillips is not a member of the royal family, and he declined the offer of an earldom, so the children were not given titles from birth.
This is the reason why the late Queen's two oldest sons, King Charles III and Prince Andrew, have been able to grant their children the titles of prince and princesses, while Princess Anne's children – despite being in line to the throne – did not inherit royal rankings.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2020, Princess Anne reflected upon the decision not to grant her children titles: "I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles… So I think that was probably the right thing to do."
Anne declined to give Zara and Peter titles when offered
Back in December, Zara publicly thanked her for not giving her a royal title. Speaking on Seven: Rob Burrow, The Total Sport Podcast, she said: "From my point of view, I was obviously very lucky that my mother didn't give us any titles so I really commend her on that. We were very lucky that we got to do it a bit our own way."
She continued: "My family has a great work ethic as well which I'm hoping they instilled in me and is still going to this day.
"Hopefully, we can pass it onto our kids. Now, my brother and my cousins love to go back and do the same things and I hope that our children have the same experiences that we did when we were growing up. You don't really appreciate that until you're older and you've got kids."
Living without royal titles may have been a blessing in disguise for Peter and Zara who have been offered more freedom to dictate their careers. For example, Zara pursued a career as a professional British equestrian and Olympian.
Who is Zara's brother Peter Phillips?
Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips welcomed their eldest son Peter in November 1977 at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, making him the Queen's first grandchild. Peter is currently 17th in line to the throne behind his mother. Peter ended up working for Jaguar Racing before becoming the director of a sports management company.
All about Peter's family life
Peter married Canadian-born Autumn Kelly at St George's Chapel in May 2008 and the pair share two daughters Savannah and Isla Phillips. The couple confirmed their decision to divorce in February 2020, after separating in late 2019. In a statement, Peter and Autumn said they will share custody of Savannah and Isla and will continue to live on their Gloucestershire estate to bring up their daughters. Over the past two years, Peter has been in a relationship with Lindsay Steven.
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