What's the difference between....??

Question

...Prince, Duke & Earl. (& I assume the same would apply for the female titles??)

It's not something explained on the Official Website of the British Monarchy.

Answer 1

Prince is usually saved for someone who is in direct line to become king. Duke and Earl are smaller titles, used for nobility of varying levels. For example, the Queen's husband may be a duke but can never be a prince or king, as he has no direct claim to the throne.

Answer 2

It depends on the size/importance of their lands, and who ranks above them.

Kings/Queens are the top, of course; generally of a significant territory.

Princes/Princesses come next; either the heirs to the kingdom or the top monarchs of a smaller but still important place (Monaco has no kings; its top monarch is a prince/princess).

Next come Dukes/Duchesses, who rule Duchies, like the independent Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, or within the UK, the Duchess of York.

Next are Counts/Countesses (think "counties")

Next come Barons/Baronesses

and finally Lords/Ladies

I forget where Earls fit; but it is lower than Dukes.

Answer 3

Prince is generally a term passed on through birth to heirs to the throne, or titles bestowed upon family members by the Queen/King. The Queen's husband is Prince Philip, her daughter Princess Anne turned down Prince and Princess titles for her children.

Duke and Earl are generally inherited or bestowed titles that come with land/estates. Princes Andrew and Edward received the titles of, respectively Duke and Earl, after their marriages. so they would become HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of Wherever, etc. An inherited Duke or Earl is simply The Honorable Duke of Wherever.

Answer 4

The confusion is because royalty is a completely separate class from the nobility.

In the British system, a prince is a member of the Royal House, in other words, son or grandson of the monarch, entitled to put HRH (His or Her Royal Highness) in front of their name. The oldest son of the monarch is Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne. His younger brothers are princes, but are known by their titles as royal dukes - Duke of York etc.

The highest rank of the nobility is a duke (not a royal duke, no HRH). Then comes an earl, and so on, down to the lowest rank, a knight.

Women take their title from their husband, unless they are born a princess. In that case they keep their title, even if their husband is a lower rank - like Princess Anne. Her title is Princess Royal, the oldest daughter of the monarch. However it must be given to her by the monarch, it is not automatic.

Answer 5

Prince is highest followed by duke and then earl. Its a rank thingy.

Answer 6

Salam

There is only one King and he will have order inshAllah on that final day Al hamdoullah (Thank God!)