The British Royal Family

The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also
commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in his or her role as sovereign of any of the
other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with official national terms for the family.[1] Members of the
royal family belong to (are born into), or are married into, the House of Windsor, since 1917, when George V changed the
name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Although in the United Kingdom there is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the
Royal Family,[2] and different lists will include different people, those carrying the style His or Her Majesty (HM), or His
or Her Royal Highness (HRH) are always considered members, which usually results in the application of the term to the
monarch, the consort of the monarch, the widowed consorts of previous monarchs, the children of the monarch, the male-
line grandchildren of the monarch, and the spouses and the widowed spouses of a monarch's son and male-line grandsons.

Members and relatives of the British Royal Family historically represented the monarch in various places
throughout the British Empire, sometimes for extended periods as viceroys, or for specific ceremonies or events. Today,
they often perform ceremonial and social duties throughout the United Kingdom and abroad on behalf of the UK, but, aside
from the monarch, have no constitutional role in the affairs of government. This is the same for the other realms of the
Commonwealth though the family there acts on behalf of, is funded by, and represents the sovereign of that particular state,
and not the United Kingdom.

Public role and image

Members of the Royal Family participate in hundreds of public engagements yearly throughout the United
Kingdom, as formally recorded in the Court Circular, to honour, encourage and learn about the achievements or
endeavours of individuals, institutions and enterprises in a variety of areas of life. As representatives of the Queen, they
often also join the nation in commemorating historical events, holidays, celebratory and tragic occurrences, and may also
sponsor or participate in numerous charitable, cultural and social activities. Their travels abroad on behalf of the UK
(called State Visits when the sovereign officially meets with other heads of state) draw public attention to amicable
relations within and between the Commonwealth and other nations, to British goods and trade, and to Britain as a
historical, vacation, and tourist destination. Their presence, activities and traditional roles constitute the apex of a modern
"royal court," and provide a distinctly British and historical pageantry to ceremonies (e.g. Trooping the Colour) and flavour
to public events (e.g. Garden Parties, Ascot). Throughout their lives they draw enormous media coverage in the form of
photographic, written and televised commentary on their activities, family relationships, rites of passage, personalities,
attire, behaviour, and public roles. Senior members of the royal family often drive themselves instead of having a driver.[3]

In a lengthy interview conducted by PBS prior to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997, Max
Hastings, editor of the Daily Telegraph between 1986 and 1995, discussed the impact of Andrew Morton's and Jonathan
Dimbleby's biographies of, respectively, the Princess and Charles, Prince of Wales on subsequent news coverage of the
Royal Family in the UK:

Funding

Money to support the Queen in the exercise of her duties as head of state of the United Kingdom (the Head of State
Expenditure) come from the Civil List. This is a return of a small portion of the revenue from the Crown Lands that are
surrendered by the monarch to parliament at the beginning of each reign; all Crown Land being administered by The
Crown Estates, an institution that is answerable to parliament. In the 2003-04 fiscal year, the amount surrendered was
£176.9 million, where the Head of State Expenditure was £36 million. The Head of State Expenditure does not include the
cost of security.
 Only the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh receive funding from the Civil List. The Duke receives £359,000 per year.

Only some members of the Royal Family carry out public duties; these individuals receive an annual payment
known as a Parliamentary Annuity, the funds being supplied to cover office costs.

• The Duke of York: £249,000 per annum

• The Earl and Countess of Wessex: £141,000 per annum
• The Princess Royal: £228,000 per annum
• The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester: £175,000 per annum
• The Duke and Duchess of Kent: £236,000 per annum
• Princess Alexandra £225,000 per annum

These amounts are repaid by The Queen from her private funds.

Though always voluntarily subject to the Value Added Tax and other indirect taxes, the Queen agreed to pay taxes
on income and capital gains from 1992, although the details of this arrangement are both voluntary and secret. At the same
time it was announced that only the Queen and Prince Philip would receive civil list payments. Since 1993 the Queen's
personal income has been taxed as any other Briton. The Queen's private estate (e.g. shareholdings, personal jewellery,
Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle) will be subject to Inheritance Tax, however bequests from Sovereign to
Sovereign are exempt.

Royal styles and titles

The style His Majesty or Her Majesty (HM) is enjoyed by a king, a queen regnant, a queen consort, and a queen
dowager. Use of the style His Royal Highness or Her Royal Highness (HRH) and the titular dignity of prince or princess
are governed by Letters Patent issued by George V on 30 November 1917 and published in the London Gazette on 11
December 1917. These Letters Patent state that henceforth only the children of the Sovereign, the children of the sons of
the Sovereign, and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales would "have and at all times hold and enjoy the
style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective
Christian names or with their other titles of honour." They further state, "the grandchildren of the sons of any such
Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have the
style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes."

Under these conventions, The Queen's children and the children of The Prince of Wales, The Duke of York and The
Earl of Wessex are titled Princes or Princesses and styled Royal Highness. However, upon Prince Edward's marriage in
1999, it was announced that his children would be styled as earl's children, but no Letters Patent were issued to deny them
their princely status or HRH. The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy and
Prince Michael of Kent enjoy the titular dignity of Prince or Princess and the style Royal Highness as male-line
grandchildren of George V. However, none of their children has a royal title. For example, the children of Prince Michael
of Kent are known as Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Windsor, the courtesy titles as children of dukes. They
are not entitled to any royal title. The children of The Princess Royal, Princess Alexandra and Princess Margaret, Countess
of Snowdon, are not entitled to any royal title since princesses do not transmit their titles to their children. An exception to
this rule was when George VI issued Letters Patent such that his heiress presumptive, Princess Elizabeth, could transmit
her title to her children. Princess Margaret's son enjoys the courtesy title Viscount Linley as the son and heir of the Earl of
Snowdon, while her daughter enjoys the courtesy title Lady. The children of the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra
have no titles, because Mark Phillips and Sir Angus Ogilvy did not accept hereditary peerages upon marriage.

Women marrying sons and male-line grandsons of a Sovereign are normally styled Her Royal Highness followed by
the feminised version of her husband's highest title. The wives of royal peers are known as "HRH The Duchess of ..." or "
HRH The Countess of ..." Thus, the wives of the Duke of Kent, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Earl of Wessex are "HRH
The Duchess of Kent," "HRH The Duchess of Gloucester," and "HRH The Countess of Wessex," respectively. Before her
divorce, Diana, Princess of Wales enjoyed the title and style of "HRH The Princess of Wales." However, when a woman
marries a prince who does not hold a peerage, she is known as HRH Princess [Her husband's Christian name], followed by
whatever territorial or titular designation. For example, the former Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz enjoys the title
and style of "HRH Princess Michael of Kent," and not "HRH Princess Marie-Christine of Kent." Similarly, the former
Birgitte Eva van Deurs was titled "HRH Princess Richard of Gloucester" from her wedding until her husband succeeded to
his father's dukedom in 1974. The widows of princes remain HRH. However, under Queen Elizabeth II's 21 August 1996
Letters Patent, a divorced wife of a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland "shall not be
entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness."

There has been one exception to the convention that wives of princes take their husband's rank. In Letters Patent
dated 28 May 1937, King George VI specifically denied the style HRH to the wife of the Duke of Windsor, the former
King Edward VIII. Therefore, the former Wallis Warfield Simpson was known as "Her Grace The Duchess of Windsor,"
not "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Windsor."

It should also be noted due a reluctance by the public to universally support the second wife of The Prince of Wales,
it has been announced by Clarence House that should The Prince of Wales become King, that his wife HRH The Duchess
of Cornwall will not be known as HM The Queen but will take the lesser title of HRH The Princess Consort. Out of respect
for Diana, Princess of Wales, it was also announced that HRH The Duchess of Cornwall would not be known as HRH The
Princess of Wales.

The daughters and male-line granddaughters of the Sovereign do not lose their royal titles upon marriage. Men who
marry the daughters and the male-line granddaughters of the Sovereign, however, do not acquire their wives' royal rank
and the style HRH.

As grandchildren of the Sovereign through the female line, the children of the then Princess Elizabeth and The Duke
of Edinburgh would not have been entitled to use HRH or Prince or Princess of the United Kingdom until their mother
became Queen, had those titles and styles not been granted in Letters Patent of 22 October 1948. They could neither be
styled as Prince or Princess of Greece and Denmark through their father, as the Duke of Edinburgh had renounced these
use of these royal titles and styles. Their highest styles would therefore have been Earl of Merioneth and Lady Anne
Mountbatten.