British royal family

The British royal family consists of the Queen or King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and their closest relatives.

Membership criteria

Although there is no strict legal definition of who is and who is not a member of the royal family, it usually includes those who have either the title "His Majesty" or "Her Majesty" ( His Majesty or Her Majesty , HM) or else the title of "His Royal Highness" or "Her Royal Highness" ( His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness , HRH wear). According to these conditions, the following people belong to the royal family :

the British monarch
the Royal Consort
the widowed spouses of previous monarchs
the children of a monarch
the spouses and widowed spouses of the sons of a monarch
the grandchildren of a monarch in the male line (and their spouses and widowed spouses)
all children of the eldest son of the " Prince of Wales "

Until 1917, all great-grandchildren in the male line belonged to the royal family. Since 1996, members of the royal family by marriage have lost their status if they divorce or remarry after their spouse's death.

Closer family circle

The following people are currently counted among the inner circle of the British royal family:

Queen Elizabeth II.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Queen's husband)
- Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (Queen's eldest son and second wife)
  - Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (elder son of the Prince of Wales and his wife)
    - Prince George of Cambridge (son of the Duke of Cambridge)
    - Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (daughter of the Duke of Cambridge)
    - Prince Louis of Cambridge (son of the Duke of Cambridge)
  - Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (younger son of the Prince of Wales and his wife)
- Prince Andrew, Duke of York (second son of the Queen)
  - Princess Beatrice of York (elder daughter of the Duke of York)
  - Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Brooksbank (younger daughter of the Duke of York)
- Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie, Countess of Wessex (the Queen's youngest son and his wife)
  - James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn (son of the Earl of Wessex)
  - Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (daughter of the Earl of Wessex)
- Anne, Princess Royal (daughter of the queen)
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester (Queen's cousin and wife)
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Katharine, Duchess of Kent (Queen's cousin and wife)
Prince Michael of Kent and Marie Christine von Reibnitz (Queen's cousin and wife)
Princess Alexandra, Lady Ogilvy (Queen's cousin)

Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, as the great-grandson of the monarch, currently does not belong to the royal family according to the above criteria, he will only receive this status as His Royal Highness when his grandfather Charles, Prince of Wales becomes king.

Former members of the royal family

Members of the royal family who have died in recent years:

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (daughter-in-law of King George V )
Queen Elisabeth , "Queen Mum", the queen mother (widow of King George VI. )
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon , sister of the Queen (daughter of King George VI)
Diana, Princess of Wales , daughter-in-law of the Queen (first wife of the Prince of Wales; no longer a member of the official royal family since her divorce in 1996)

Divorced spouses of members of the royal family (not members of the official royal family):

Sarah, Duchess of York (former wife of the Duke of York)
Mark Phillips (ex-husband of the Princess Royal)
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (ex-husband of Princess Margaret), died in 2017

Web links

Commons : British Royal Family - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Official website of the British Royalty

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f The London Gazette : No. 30428, p. 13086 , December 14, 1917.
^ The London Gazette : No. 60384, p. 213 , Jan. 8, 2013.

^ The London Gazette : No. 54510, p. 1 , August 30, 1996.

[tLG-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f The London Gazette : No. 30428, p. 13086 , December 14, 1917.

[2] The London Gazette : No. 60384, p. 213 , Jan. 8, 2013.

[3] The London Gazette : No. 54510, p. 1 , August 30, 1996.