One of the most fascinating things about the Royal Family is how they simplify certain things while making other things way too complicated. For example, many royals go by a single name, such as Elizabeth, Charles, Harry, or William, which is nice and simple. But such royals are typically born with one title, and they gain more titles over time, and the whole thing is way more complicated than it needs to be.
But does Princess Charlotte agree? This daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton has had the “princess” title from the moment she was born, and she has the opportunity to pick up several more over time. But one royal expert thinks she might forgo the titles altogether and forge an entirely different path.
What is the significance of Charlotte’s current and future titles? Why would she forsake them, and what does this mean for the Royal Family? Keep reading to learn the answers!
Queen Elizabeth made history over Charlotte’s titles
As royal experts already know, it wasn’t that long ago that Charlotte would have been born without any kind of royal title at all. Previously, the royal rules established by King George V stipulated that only Prince William’s eldest son would be eligible for any kind of royal title. However, George’s granddaughter Queen Elizabeth changed these rules in 2012, which allowed all of William and Kate’s children to have honors.
This was part of modernizing the rules governing royal, a modernization effort that included changing the rules of succession so that female descendants could become Queen (provided they are either the oldest children or if others in the line of succession had died). Once, this would have been controversial, but after the long and successful reign of Queen Elizabeth, it would be difficult for anyone to argue that women couldn’t lead the country just as effectively as men.
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How Charlotte got a leg up on her American cousins
It’s an open secret that there has been bad blood between Prince Harry and Prince William for a long time, and “Megxit” (in which Harry and Meghan fled England and eventually settled in America) was inspired by this rift and eventually further soured the relationship between the two families. And one of the things we imagine was a sore spot for Harry and Meghan is that William and Kate’s children effectively got preferential treatment when it came to titles.
As we noted before, Queen Elizabeth personally changed the existing Letters Patent to ensure that all of William and Kate’s children got titles, and this meant that Charlotte received her princess title right away. Conversely, as People reports, Harry and Meghan’s children didn’t receive titles until earlier this year after Charles assumed the throne. And the two had previously revealed in their bombshell Oprah interview that a title was initially forbidden from their son Archie before he was even born.
Charlotte will likely gain more titles over time
Remember when we said that royals just keep getting titles over time? Charlotte is not an exception to this rule. So in addition to having the title of “princess,” she may pick up some extra titles in the coming years.
For example, it’s possible that Charlotte will become the Duchess of Edinburgh. Right now, that title belongs to Sophie, wife of the current Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward. But their children won’t be receiving these titles, so after Edward dies, the titles can be given to whoever the reigning monarch wants to give them to. Since King Charles absolutely adores Charlotte, we wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up giving this fancy title to her.
Meanwhile, she’s a shoo-in to receive the title “Princess Royal” once William becomes king. This title goes to the monarch’s oldest daughter, and since we doubt William and Kate will be having more children, Charlotte will become the monarch’s only daughter and automatically receive this title.
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One expert thinks that Charlotte may forgo her titles altogether
As you can see, Charlotte potentially has a lifetime of fancy titles ahead of her. And while many (both royals and non-royals) would kill for such titles, at least one expert thinks that this young princess may end up ditching the titles altogether.
According to Express, former royal correspondent for the BBC Jennie Bond shared some very surprising thoughts concerning Charlotte’s future and her titles (or lack thereof). Specifically, Bond thinks it’s possible that Charlotte could drop her titles altogether in part due to the relatively casual personality of her parents. “We’ve got William and Catherine who quite often tell the public to call them by their first names, so maybe their daughter will follow suit,” she said.
Another reason Bond thinks Charlotte might not prioritize royal titles is that she is a lot like her great-aunt Princess Anne. That older princess has a well-deserved reputation as the hardest-working royal because she appears at more engagements even than King Charles. Moreover, Anne declined to give her children any fancy titles. According to Bond, Charlotte is likely to take after her aunt and focus more on work and less on pageantry, meaning she may very well leave her titles behind altogether as she grows older.