Why are royal titles different?

Question

Ok, this might be a dumb question but I was just wondering... why is it that Prince Phillip(Elizabeth II's husband) isn't name King Phillip? and why is it that if Prince Charles becomes King, Camilla won't be called Queen Camilla, she is the Princess consert. I'm confused, I like the history of the kings and queens of england but I not sure why there are different things for different people. thanks, whomever gives me the right answer and the be the first one to do so gets the 10 pts.

Answer 1

Prince Phillip is not, and never will be, king, because he was not the scion of a king. When a male is called king, it means he rules the country. The husband of a queen is called the prince consort.

Camilla will be called Queen Camilla, because she will be the consort of King Charles, assuming Charles makes it to the throne. At present, Camilla is playing Miss Goody Two Shoes and saying she will never be called Queen, but she will and there is nothing she can do about it because that is the precedent.

At present she is called the Princess Consort because she is the consort (wife) of a Prince. When Prince Charles becomes King Charles, she will become Queen Camilla.

Diana would have been Queen, had she lived and had she remained married to Prince Charles. But that had nothing to do with being Princess of Wales. Check back in British history and you will find many, many queens that were not the princess of wales.

Answer 2

This one gets asked, like, every other day!

PRINCE Phillip is the Prince consort.  Can't be king, because HE is not descended from the previous king.  He IS, however, royalty (in his own right) as he was born a prince of Greece.  The King must descend directly from the previous king.  A commoner (or lesser royal) can only become king by marrying the daughter of a king in fairy tales.

Camilla is an ugly situation.  She is not liked at all by the general public.  She is divorced, was having an affair with the Prince of Wales for fifteen years of his marriage, and she is seen, by many, as the cause of so much strife in the royal household.  For the Queen to allow her to believe she will be a Queen Consort would cause terrible feelings in the masses, and the royal family has enough trouble as it is.  The official reason, I believe, is tied to her divorce from the Catholic guy.  

PS...Whom cannot be the subject of a sentence, only an object, so you can't say "whomever gives..."  (just a little note from the grammar police.  I'm ignoring your spelling errors)

PPS  The subject is fascinating...anything Rachelle puts up is likely to be very informative.  I didn't read before posting...she's probably already beaten me to the punch with something much better written and more knowlegeable.

Answer 3

Prince Philip is not titled king because the general convention is that a wife is entitled to the rank of her husband, but not always the other way around. This is why the wives of kings are queens but also why the husbands of queens are not always kings.

There exists, however, the title of king consort and it has been used in England, Scotland and Ireland before. Philip of Spain, husband of Mary I of England, was titled king consort of England and Ireland. Lord Darnley and Francis II of France were both kings consort of Scotland as husbands of Mary Queen of Scots.

The title of king consort is not automatic in the United Kingdom and it is rarely given out. Queen Victoria wanted her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to be named king consort but he received the official title of Prince Consort later on. It depends on a number of factors, Prince Albert for a long time was not favourable as a "foreign prince" and he wasn't wanted as king. Earlier times allowed for different things.

The title was more common in countries like Spain and Portugal however, which had kings consort.

It should be noted that a king consort never outranks his wife, who is a queen regnant (in her own right). Kings and queens in their own right ALWAYS outrank kings and queens consort.

It was announced that Camilla would be styled Princess Consort because some people thought it would be inappropriate for her to become queen given the past history of her relationship with the Prince of Wales. However, it's too bad for all of those naysayers, legally she will become queen consort when Charles becomes king. It would take an act of parliament to prevent it most likely.

Answer 4

The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, therefore, her husband Prince Philip is her "Prince Consort." A prince consort, generally speaking, is a common term for the husband of a Queen Regnant, unless he himself also is a king in his own right.

The Queen may also bestow upon him the title "King Consort", which is entirely at the will of the Queen. King consort is a title given in some monarchies to the husband of a queen regnant. Nowadays, it is a symbolic title only, the sole constitutional function of the holder being similar to a queen consort, namely to produce an heir to the throne.

Spain, Portugal, England and Scotland have all had kings consort; however, since the rank of king normally outranks that of queen, in most monarchies the queen's husband is given the title of prince or prince consort instead.

Note: In the British monarchy, the husband of a female monarch does not have any recognized special status, rank, or privileges. In actual fact Prince Philip does play a major role in royal affairs, but this is not recognized in terms of his title. Interestingly enough, the wife of a male monarch (e.g. the Queen Mother was the wife of King George VI) takes on her husband's rank and style upon marrying, becoming Queen.

As the consort and wife of the Prince of Wales, Camilla legally holds the title of Princess of Wales. Because this style is so strongly associated with the late Diana, Princess of Wales, by authority of the Queen, Camilla is styled with the feminine form of her husband's subsidiary title, Duke of Cornwall, rather than Princess of Wales.

Clarence House has indicated that when Charles ascends the throne it is intended that she will use the title HRH The Princess Consort. Commentators have pointed out that unless a specific Act of Parliament is passed to the contrary, she will, as a King's wife, legally be Queen, regardless of whether she uses that title or not.

Answer 5

Because Prince Phillip is the husband of a monarch. When HM was born she was in direct line for the throne, if Phillip was made a King he would out-rank his wife. The same applies for HRH Prince Charles when he ascends, although, he wants Camilla to be a queen but there is the whole thing about Diana/Camilla. It's also why she is often referred to as the Duchess of Cornwall and not the princess of wales.

Answer 6

Philip was not heir to the throne of George VI. Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were the heirs to their father,George VI. Elizabeth is Queen Regent;as monarch she bears the highest title in the land. The title of king is considered higher than queen,so Philip is Prince Consort.The United Kingdom does not use a "king consort" title for spouses of reigning queens.It would take an Act of Parliament to have Philip proclaimed King.Elizabeth has never had any intentions to do so.She is quite happy being the sole regent.And,by the way, Philip is of royal birth(House of Schlessweig-Holstein-

Sonderburg-Glucksburg)

and third cousin to his wife.

Camilla will be Queen Consort;the Wales' are just playing a game of semantics with people.Camilla and Charles are quite aware of how popular Diana is,even in death.They are honoring Diana's memory by not using the title Princess of Wales,even though Camilla automatically became Princess of Wales upon her marriage to Charles.Camilla has publicized that she wants to be known as Princess Consort,but she becomes Queen Consort when Charles ascends the throne,even though she wants to be called Princess Consort.

Answer 7

simply because in the royal house rules of UK if the queen marries her beth rowed will not be called king in his own right,and he is only be called The royal consort to the Queen Prince Philip,while if the king marries his wife will be called queen,

Camilla will not be queen coz this title was for Diana only the princess of Wales, instead she will only be called as the Royal consort to the King

Answer 8

the Queen is Queen Elizabeth II and Price Philip is the prince consort and Prince Charles if he had stayed married to Princess Diana.. and she had not died.. she would have become Queen Diana..but Camilla signed a marriage arrangement that she agrees to certain things.. one of them was.. to never get the title Queen....also she is divorced...another reason why but in Sweden Norway,  if a woman is monarch in Britain .. or in most countries the man she marries will only get the title prince..  but if a King marries a commoner she will become Queen.. such as in Sweden..  Queen Silvia is a commoner by birth but Carl gustav is King.. so through marriage to a King a woman who marries a king becomes Queen..  a man who marries a Queen will only become Prince or the Queen's consort.... why this is so I don't know but that's how it is..

in the Netherlands Beatrix is and was Queen her husband was a commoner he was Prince Claus, in Norway Prince Olaf married a commoner.. Sonja.. but she became Queen Sonja of Norway because she married a king.. in Denmark.. Queen Margarethe was Queen she married a commoner Hendrik who is Prince Hendrik .. so all men who marry Queen are Princes and all women who marry kings become Queens with the exception of Camilla because she signed a prenuptual agreement to not be Queen ever..x*x