Can someone please explain to me the differences between the royal ranks?

Question

I would like to know the roles and the differences of the following royal ranks:

King

Queen

Emperor

Empress

Duke

Duchess

Count

Countess

Prince

Princess

Answer 1

right if you are a king or an emperor you are the reigning monarch prince and princess is usually just the children of the monarch or grandchildren a duke is a lower royal and a duchess is the wife of a duke (duchess of cornwall being married to charles who is duke of cornwall) countess is again the wife of an earl or count very much the same sort of rank really i think that an empress is usually only the wife of the emperor in the case of queen victoria she was empress of india in her own right so i would imagine that you can only be emperor of a larger country hope this helps

Answer 2

A true Emperor (Empress) ruled over a conglomeration of lands, including independant kingdoms, grand duchies, principalities, dukedoms, counties, bishoprics, etc. as was the case of the "Holy Roman Empire".  The Roman Empire was such as it contained lands ruled directly as well as lands ruled by vassals, such as Herod, king of Judea.

A king (queen) rules a country.  

A king or emperor may have vassals that are merely titled or given rule over various dominions.  They are in order:

Grand-prince or Grand-duke such as the Grand-duchy of Luxenburg.  The ruler of a grandduchy in always a prince.

Prince / princess.  May rule a principality such as Monaco or Lichtenstein.

Duke / duchess.  In the middle ages these could have been independant rulers, such as many duchies in Germany as well as France.  Noted duchies include Normandy (The Queen of Great Britain is the Duchess of Normandy) and Burgandy, the latter was fairly independant.

Marquis / marquess - a step below duke.  Was the head of a "March", a border county.

Earl / countess (count)

Viscount / Vicountess - lower than an earl, like a principal and a viceprincipal.

Baron / Baroness (also Freiherr in Germany) - lowest form of nobility.  

Baronet - this is inherited but not noble.  The Baronet is a "Sir" and not "Lord"

Answer 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King , a male responsible for a Kingdom- a region defined usually of contiguous land and contiguous cultures, 2nd highest ranking title

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen , female form of King

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor , a male responsible for an Empire- a region defined usually as noncontiguous land and cultures, 1st highest ranking title

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperess , female form of  Emperor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke , a male responsible for a Duchy/Dukedom- a region defined usually as a province or region, 3rd highest ranking title

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess , a female form of Duke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count , or Earl, a male responsible for a County- a region usually defined as a large estate, Nobil title may or may not be the 4th highest ranking title

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess , a female form of Count

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince , a male responsible for a Principality OR a convienent title given to males of a highly royal family and share the title with many others no formal order of which ranking title this falls into unless speaking of a Principality in which case the Prince is the highest ranking title

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess , a female form of Prince

Answer 4

Heads of state are Emperor,King Regent and Queen Regent.They may be absolute or constitutional monarchs.The amount of power wielded depends upon the powers of rule a sovereign is given by law of the realm.

A prince and princess are heirs to the throne,sons and daughters of the king and queen or the king and queen's siblings.They do whatever the sovereign wants them to do workwise.

Kings,queens,princes and princesses are also royal dukes,duchesses,marquesses,et cetera.

Non-royal aristocracy in order of precedence follows.An aristocrat may hold a place in politics,like the House of Lords in the UK Parliament.But these titles are remnants of awards givien to those who fought in battle and helped win lands for their country and sovereign. A duke was given lands to rule for the sovereign;these lands were called duchies.There are still duchies in existence today.

duke/duchess

marquess/marchioness

earl/countess  (a count is the European version of an earl)

viscount/viscountess

baron/baroness

baronet

visit http://www.users.chinet.com/~laura/html/...

Answer 5

The titles involve "rights of ascension."  Emperor and Empress don't quite fit there.  They are titles of rule over multiple countries.

The titles are left from the feudal system of landlords.  The lords of large land holdings, with armies of their own, eventually joined to form countries for mutual protection.  I believe the titles you note recognize their position of authority, and their position in line for royal status.  The first kings were probably just the most powerful landlord when the country was formed.

Queens and Empresses usually had no right of ascension unless their sons could not rule and they had enough support from the nobles and their armies (until recently, noble lords kept their own armies, even under the rule of kings).  Elizabeth I and Victoria were rare exceptions.  They were immensely popular Queens and ruled with relatively little objection.  Elizabeth II is a modern Queen and is fortunate to reign in times more liberal toward female stewardship.

Princes are direct descendants of the king and next in line for the throne.  Dukes are after that, then marquis, then earls, then viscounts, and finally barons, under the British system.  Other nations have similar titles and ascension.

I believe the British system, and possibly all European feudal noble systems, may have been initiated by the Normans about a thousand years ago.