Prince

This article is about the royal title. For the musician, see Prince (artist). For other uses, see Prince (disambiguation).

A prince is a male member of a royal family. The female version of this title is called a princess. Different countries have different rules based on who is a prince.

Types of princes

The title of "prince" is different depending on the country. Each royal family has its own rules saying who is called a prince.

Crown Prince

Prince Charles of the United Kingdom

A crown prince (female: crown princess) is the heir apparent of a country. This means that he is the person who will become king after the current king dies.

Most of the time, the crown prince is the son of a king but can also be a close relative if the king has no children.

In some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Spain, the crown prince is given their own unique title, such as Prince of Wales and Prince of Asturias.

In addition, the siblings of a crown prince can also be called princes or princesses, even though they are not the heir to the throne. The siblings often continue to be called "prince" and "princess" even after the crown prince becomes king.

For example, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew all have the title of prince even though their brother, Charles was the crown prince (and now the king).

Prince Consort

Prince Philip (left) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II

A prince consort is the title of the husband of a Ruling Queen in many monarchies.

Unlike kings, whose wives are called queens, the husband of a ruling Queen is called a prince.

This is because historically, the title of "king" is seen as a higher rank than queen. Because the Queen Regnant is the monarch of her country, nobody can be given a "higher" title. For this reason, her husband is called a prince consort.

Some countries, however, do allow the husband of a queen to be titled "king consort". But this is very rare.

Sovereign Prince

Albert II is the ruler of Monaco

A sovereign prince (also known as a ruling prince, reigning prince or prince regnant) is the ruler of a monarchy known as a principality.

This is mainly to do with size, because principalities were considered too small to become actual kingdoms, duchies or empires.

The most famous principality is Monaco. This is because throughout Monaco's history, they were always allied with a country much larger and more powerful. For this reason, the rulers of Monaco did not call themselves kings and queens.