The monarchical head
of state of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth
realms is Queen Elizabeth II. She is the head of the royal family. She
has four children, eight grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.
The Lord Chamberlain’s
“List of the Royal Family” mentions all of George VI’s
descendants and their spouses (including Sarah, Duchess of York, who is
divorced), along with the Queen’s cousins with royal rank and their spouses. The
Lord Chamberlain’s list applies for the purposes of regulating the use of royal
symbols and images of the family.
Meanwhile, the website of the
royal family provides a list of “Members of the Royal Family”; those
listed correspond to the royal family members mentioned and pictured below,
with the exception of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and
the Duchess of Kent.
The royal family’s guidelines
on greeting a member of the royal family say they should first be greeted with
“Your Royal Highness”. The status of Royal Highness is
restricted to children of a monarch, male-line grandchildren of a monarch, the
children of the eldest child of the Prince of Wales, and their wives.
The core of the royal family
is made up of Queen Elizabeth II; Charles, Prince of
Wales; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William, Duke of
Cambridge; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Anne, Princess
Royal; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
They carry out royal duties full-time.
Lower profile relatives who
perform some duties are Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; Princess
Alexandra; Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester; and Birgitte, Duchess
of Gloucester.
Other members of the royal
family with royal rank who do not carry out official duties are Prince
Andrew, Duke of York; Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Meghan, Duchess
of Sussex; Princess Beatrice; Princess Eugenie; Katharine,
Duchess of Kent; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
