Why isn't Zara?

Question

Why isn't Zara Phillips a princess?

Answer 1

the reining monarch and the monarch sons get the HRH

Answer 2

She isn't a princess because her father was a commoner. Mark Phillips,with the approval of then-wife,Anne,the Princess Royal,turned down all titles.He would not have been a royal any way, just a titled aristocrat like Anthony Armstrong-Jones,who became Earl Snowdon upon his marriage to Princess Margaret.

Children take on the titles of their PATERNAL parent;fathers pass titles on to children.

Answer 3

Her mother, Princess Anne, married a commoner.  Zara's father is in the British Royal Navy.  Also, it's something the Queen wanted for the family that will likely never inherit the crown to keep their family name.

Answer 4

Technically, as a grandchild to the monarch she is entited to that title and the style HRH. However, her mother and father were determined to ensure that she had as normal a childhood as possible and that she was able to make as many decisions regarding her life and chosen career as possible- thus, her parents declined the letters patent from Queen Elizabeth.

Answer 5

Princess Anne chose to eschew any titles for her children and, if I remember correctly, for Mark, as well.  In any case, she wouldn't be a princess, because of where she would be in the line of succession, if Anne hadn't removed that possibility completely upon her marriage to Mark Phillips.  She didn't want her children to live that way...She would probably be a duchess at best, maybe even lower.

Answer 6

The use of the title of Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is entirely at the will of the Sovereign. Individuals holding the title of princess are styled "Her Royal Highness" (HRH). Since King George V's Letters Patent of 30 November 1917, the title "Princess" and the use of the style "Royal Highness" has generally been restricted to the following persons:

- the legitimate daughters of a British Sovereign,

- the legitimate male line granddaughters of a British Sovereign,

- the wife of a British prince.

Therefore, Zara Philips is only related to the British royal family through her mother, The Princess Anne, Princess Royal. Both Peter and Zara remains a commoner with no titles or styles, although the Queen did offer them a peerage title, which Princess Anne denied.

As is customary, the Queen is believed to have offered Mark Phillips (Princess Anne's first husband) an earldom on his wedding day, which he turned down. This may also have been the specific wish of Princess Anne, who wanted to shield future children from the publicity that courtesy titles might bring. They thus became the first grandchildren of a sovereign to carry no title.

Note: Although both Peter and Zara are commoners with no titles, they are both currently eleventh and twelfth in the line of succession to the British Throne, respectively.