Question:

Why is the current Queen of the UK husband a duke rather than a king?

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It is said that Prince Charles will be King one day....but that's because he's a prince....wheras I suppose the Queen's husband was never a prince? Can someone clarify further?

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The Queen's husband was a Prince of Greece.  He renounced his Greek title when he became a British citizen.

When he married Princess Elizabeth, her father conferred upon him the style HRH (His Royal Highness) and gave him the duchy of Edinburgh, the earldom of Merioneth, and and barony of Greenwich.  At this point, he still wasn't a Prince again...just HRH the Duke, etc.

About 10 years later, Queen Elizabeth conferred upon the Duke a princely title.  Now he is HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, etc.

Kings outrank Queens.  He can't be King because he would take precedence over the sovereign.
Report (0) (0) |   earlier
The Queen's husband is NOT English therefore he is not a Prince and can not be King. Charles is English and can become King but I was under the impression due to his divorce that he would not be King and his eldest son would become King instead.
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Because if he was King - then HE would be the Monarch, instead of her. And he is a Prince - he is Prince Philip.

Charles will be a king because he is heir to the throne.

Someone asked this exact question today - can you not do a search before posting?
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Because the queen carries the royal bloodline or lineage. Their bloodline can be traced all the way back to King David of the Old Testament.
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The wife of a king is always a queen. When Charles becomes king, Camilla will be queen. The wife of George VI was Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), George V's wife was Queen Mary and Edward VII's wife was Queen Alexandra and so it goes back for more than a thousand years.

England has had only six ruling Queens (it should have been seven or eight but Matilda was never offered the throne and Jane Grey is not usually counted). The husbands of Mary I and Mary II were both called "King". Whether Philip of Spain was King Regnant or Consort has never been determined as it was never tested. William of Orange was co-regnant with Mary II as William III. Of the other four Queens, Elizabeth I never married. Anne, the sister of Mary II, was Queen but her husband was not offered a kingship. Victoria wanted Albert to be King but Parliament refused. Eizabeth II never asked, respecting Victoria's wishes.

Prince Philip was always a prince but he was given the title Duke of Edinburgh on his marriage.
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The queen inherited the throne whereas her husband is just her consort.
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I think that she married ssomeone outside of England, and therefore cannot claim the throne
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Queen Elizabeth's husband, Philip, was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark.  Officially, he renounced those titles when he became a British citizen and married the then-Princess Elizabeth.  Several years later, after Elizabeth had become Queen, he was given the title of Prince of the United Kingdom.

He is not a King because the Royal Family never asked for him to be given that title.  Unlike the title of Queen Consort for wives of a reigning King, husbands of a reigning Queen are not automatically granted any title in the U.K.  There is also no tradition of husbands of a Queen being given the title of King Consort in any European royal family.
Report (0) (0) |   earlier
Titles have ranks. King is the highest title. Queen is second highest. Prince third. Princess forth. If the Queens husband was given the title of king he would out rank the queen and have the powers she now has. But the Queen is from the royal line and not her husband so that can not happen. So he is given the title of prince.
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Basically because Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll was the legal heir to the throne and if Prince Phillip had been made a King that would have made him a higher rank than the Queen so he was made a Duke instead.

Lots of interesting info about Prince Phillip here...

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page5551....

Prince Charles will be our next Sovereign because he is the legal heir (first born) to Queen Elizabeth ll
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