Following the news of Prince Philip’s death yesterday, the country has been reflecting on his life and career. As the oldest male royal in history, and the longest serving royal consort to boot, there’s plenty to reckon with in Philip’s 99 years. But while he had no shortage of titles – HRH, Royal Consort, Prince, Duke of Edinburgh – why didn’t he become king when Elizabeth became queen in 1952?
Like many aspects of royalty, the reasoning dates back far beyond the 21st century. Historically, the husband of a female monarch does not take the title ‘king’ – that’s reserved only for males who inherit the throne, and Philip was never in line for the English crown (in fact, he was once Prince of Denmark and Greece). So while the Queen’s male descendants can be kings – first Charles, then William before passing the title to his eldest George – when they take over as monarch, her husband was plain old Duke of Edinburgh until she gave him the title of Prince back in 1957.
Will Kate be Queen when William becomes King?
Meanwhile, ‘queen’ is easier to come by; all you have to do is be married to a king. Simple, right? So when William becomes king, Kate will be queen – more specifically, ‘Queen Consort’ as she’s married rather than born into the royal family. Fiddly technicalities aside, Kate will be called Queen Katherine as tradition decrees; while it might seem confusing, the rules which will bump her from princess to queen are the same ones that made her grandfather-in-law prince rather than king.
Philip was actually the fifth royal consort to an English queen, a line that goes all the way back to Mary I and her Spanish husband – who just so happened to be called Philip too. Mary reigned for only five years back in the 1500s; while the world has transformed beyond recognition since then, the monarchy has held fast to many of the same rules which governed Mary's time on the throne centuries ago. From Mary to Elizabeth and from Philip to Philip, plus ca change.
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