The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge‘s only daughter is currently styled as
Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, but the six-year-old
could be given another title in the future.
When Prince William becomes King,
Charlotte could be named Princess Royal, but that depends on a number of
factors.
The royal family shared facts on their social media accounts about Princess Anne‘s life in the lead-up to her 70th birthday on 15
August 2020. They tweeted at the time: “HRH Princess Anne was named Princess Royal, a title traditionally bestowed upon
the eldest daughter of The Sovereign, in 1987. HRH is the seventh Princess
Royal, following Princess Mary, the only daughter of King George V.”
Despite being the eldest daughter of the sovereign George VI at the
time, Princess Elizabeth was never known as Princess Royal because her aunt
Princess Mary was in possession of the title. Similarly, if Princess Anne is
still using the title when her nephew William ascends the throne, he will not
be able to bestow it upon his daughter Charlotte.
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Princess Anne is the current Princess Royal
Even then, the Princess Royal title is not automatically awarded to the
eldest daughter of the sovereign. The Queen only bestowed the title of Princess
Royal on Princess Anne in June 1987 even though it had been vacant since 1965,
after the death of Princess Mary.
The title was first used in 1642 when Princess Mary, Daughter of King
Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, was made Princess Royal. Queen Henrietta
Maria, who was the daughter of King Henry IV of France, is said to have wanted
to imitate the way the eldest daughter of the French King was styled as
“Madame Royale”.
