A Guide to British Noble Titles

Many English aristocratic titles are used in governmental and social traditions, hierarchies and ceremonies, not to mention costume dramas. Polite manners allow correct headings—but they can sometimes be confusing. Here is a quick guide.

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If you haven’t already, take this time to put on your big, fancy hat.

Royal titles are simple: The reigning monarch of England, the eldest son of a previous monarch, is King Charles III, son of Queen Elizabeth and grandson of King George VI. All his immediate family can be called prince or princess. Prince comes from the Latin word literally “forerunner”, hence “first” or “leader”; it shares its final Latin root with words denoting first in one way or another, like principal And excellent And elementary school.

Traditionally, only those born into the royal family could use “prince” or “princess” in front of their name and, apart from the Prince of Wales – presumably to show their supremacy. him – they are officially known by other titles: Prince William is also known as the Duke of Cambridge, for example. Although many people refer to “Princess Diana” or “Princess Kate”, the title of princess should come after their name, since they were not born into a royal family; they are officially known as “Diana, Princess of Wales” and, for Kate, “Princess William of Wales” (after all, there is no denying the sexism inherent in a designed system. revolves around the eldest son).

The official title of Prince Philip, husband of the late Queen Elizabeth, is the Duke of Edinburgh. He is also known as the husband, that is, the husband of the current queen or the current queen. Kate Middleton will become queen when William becomes king. These distinctive titles with adjectives following the nouns are reminders of the somewhat surprising fact that most of the words we associate with most of these British institutions are of English origin. France, as they were adopted after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Even the motto on the British royal coat of arms is in French: Dieu et mon droit (“God and my right”), as the motto of the famous Knights Templar Order of the Garter: Honi soit qui mal y pense.

After the royal family came the nobility, and these titles also derive from their French forerunners. The five noble ranks, in descending order, are:

duke/duchess

Marquis/Marquis

count / countess

viscount / viscountess

baroness/baroness

William the Conqueror himself was Duke of Normandy, and he carried this title across the Channel. However, it was not until Edward III made his son Duke of Cornwall and established the Duke of Cornwall in 1337 that the title of Duke became part of the English nobility.

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ONE marquess was “a member of the English aristocracy under a duke and above an earl.” It is less known as a title Duke or Earlpossibly because there were fewer marquis than there were dukes or earls in England. marquess is an anglicization of French marquesspronounced \mahr-kee\ with a silent sound SBut marquess is pronounced the English way as \MAHR-kwus\. The feminine form of the title in French, marquessis pronounced \mahr-keez\, but the English feminine form is Marchionesspronounced \MAHR-shuh-nus\. Marchioness is of Latin rather than French origin, probably because the title is of French origin marquess sounds great marquess.

Among these titles, only Earl is an English word by etymology. Earl is an ancient title derived from Old English meaning “warrior” or “noble”. Earl is the English equivalent of a European earl; for some reason, there is no feminine form of Earlso the British aristocracy used a more continental sound Countess.

Viscount is pronounced \VYE-count\, and, in etymological parlance, is the “count of vices” or less.

Below the noble ranks, there are honorary titles including:

baron

Knight

guard

A duke or duchess is called “your favor”, as is an archbishop, with the exception of royal dukes (members of the King’s family) who are called “electrical princesses”. Summer”. The distinction of being simply called “His Majesty” could logically be considered that of the reigning king, but in England the King is referred to as “His Majesty”.

Sir used to address a man of the rank of baron or knight; the higher nobles are called Lord. Lady used when referring to women who hold several titles: marquise, countess, viscountess or baroness. It can also be used for the wife of a lower-ranking noble, such as a baron, baron, or knight.

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Lady also a polite title for the daughters of higher-ranking nobles, dukes, marquis or earls. Daughters of viscounts and barons are called “Venerable Ones” (that is, ahem, “Venerable Ones”) and daughters of barons or knights are called simply “Lady”.

Now is the time to pour yourself a cup of coffee and watch the festivities unfold on TV. After all, if you’re reading this, then like us, you weren’t invited.

MORE FROM ACROSS THE POND: The Great British Vocabulary Quiz

Categories: Usage Notes
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