More information on My Royal Title as Prince Royal, noble and chivalric ranks Coronet of mediatised prince of the HRE Emperor King Archduke Grand Duke Grand Prince Prince / Infante Duke Sovereign Prince / Fürst Marquess / Marquis / Margrave / Landgrave Count / Earl Viscount / Vidame Baron Baronet Hereditary Knight Knight Esquire Gentleman v· t· e A prince is a male ruler, monarch, or member of a monarchs or former monarchs family. Prince is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess. The English word derives, via the French word prince, from the Latin noun princeps, from primus (first) + capio (to seize), meaning the chief, most distinguished, ruler, prince.[1] Contents [hide] 1 Historical background 2 Prince as generic for ruler 3 Prince of the blood 3.1 Specific titles 4 Prince as a substantive title 4.1 Prince as a reigning monarch 4.1.1 Nominal principalities 4.1.2 Micronations 4.1.3 Princes as representants of a reigning monarch 4.1.4 Non-dynastic princes 5 The title of prince in various Western traditions and languages 5.1 Romance languages 5.2 Celtic languages 5.3 Germanic languages 5.4 Slavic and Baltic languages 5.5 Other languages 6 The title of prince in other traditions and languages 6.1 Islamic traditions 6.2 East Asian traditions 6.2.1 China 6.2.2 Japan 6.2.3 Korea 6.2.4 Sri Lanka 6.2.5 India 6.2.6 Indochina 6.2.7 Philippines 6.2.8 Thailand 6.3 African traditions 7 The title of prince in religion 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Historical background[edit] Cicero attacks Catiline in the Senate of the Roman Republic. The Latin word prīnceps (older Latin *prīsmo-kaps, literally the one who takes the first [place/position]), became the usual title of the informal leader of the Roman senate some centuries before the transition to empire, the princeps senatus. Emperor Augustus established the formal position of monarch on the basis of principate, not dominion. He also tasked his grandsons as summer rulers of the city when most of the government were on holiday in the country or attending religious rituals, and, for that task, granted them the title of princeps. The title has generic and substantive meanings: generically, prince refers to members of a family that ruled by hereditary right, the title being used to refer either to sovereigns or to cadets of a sovereigns family. The term may be broadly used of persons in various cultures, continents or eras. In Europe, it is the title legally borne by dynastic cadets in monarchies, and borne by courtesy by members of formerly reigning dynasties. as a substantive title, a prince was a monarch of the lowest rank in post-Napoleonic Europe, e.g. Princes of, respectively, Andorra, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Mingrelia, Monaco, Waldeck and Pyrmont, Wallachia, etc. also substantively, the title was granted by popes and secular monarchs to specific individuals and to the heads of some high-ranking European families who, however, never exercised dynastic sovereignty and whose cadets are not entitled to share the princely title, e.g. de Beauvau-Craon, Colonna, von Bismarck, von Dohna-Schlobitten, von Eulenburg, de Faucigny-Lucinge, von Lichnowsky, von Pless, Ruffo di Calabria, (de Talleyrand) von Sagan, van Ursel, etc. generically, cadets of some non-sovereign families whose head bears the non-dynastic title of prince (or, less commonly, duke) were sometimes also authorized to use the princely title, e.g. von Carolath-Beuthen, de Broglie, Demidoff di San Donato, Lieven, de Mérode, Pignatelli, Radziwill, von Wrede, Yussopov, etc. substantively, the heirs apparent in some monarchies use a specific princely title associated with a territory within the monarchs realm, e.g. the Princes of, respectively, Asturias (Spain), Grão Pará (Brazil, formerly), Orange (Netherlands), Viana (Navarre, formerly), Wales (UK), etc. substantively, it became the fashion from the 17th century for the heirs apparent of the leading ducal families to assume a princely title, associated with a seigneurie in the familys possession. These titles were borne by courtesy and preserved by tradition, not law, e.g. the princes de, respectively, Bidache (Gramont), Marcillac (La Rochefoucauld), Tonnay-Charente (Mortemart), Poix (Noailles), Léon (Rohan-Chabot), Prince as generic for ruler[edit] The original, but now less common use of the word, originated in the application of the Latin word princeps, from late Roman law, and the classical system of government that was the European feudal society. In this sense, a prince is a ruler of a territory which is sovereign, or quasi-sovereign, i.e., exercising substantial (though not all) prerogatives associated with monarchs of independent nations, as was common, for instance, within the historical boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, there were as many as two hundred such territories, especially in Italy, Germany, and Gaelic Ireland. In this sense, prince is used of any and all rulers, regardless of actual title or precise rank. This is the Renaissance use of the term found in Niccolò Machiavellis famous work, Il Principe.[2] As a title, by the end of the medieval era, prince was borne by rulers of territories that were either substantially smaller than or exercised fewer of the rights of sovereignty than did emperors and kings. A lord of even a quite small territory might come to be referred to as a prince before the 13th century, either from translations of a native title into the Latin princeps (as for the hereditary ruler of Wales), or when the lords territory was allodial. The lord of an allodium owned his lands and exercised prerogatives over the subjects in his territory absolutely, owing no feudal homage or duty as a vassal to a liege lord, nor being subject to any higher jurisdiction. Most small territories designated as principalities during feudal eras were allodial, e.g. the Princedom of Dombes. Lords who exercised lawful authority over territories and people within a feudal hierarchy were also sometimes regarded as princes in the general sense, especially if they held the rank of count or higher. This is attested in some surviving styles for e.g., British earls, marquesses, and dukes are still addressed by the Crown on ceremonial occasions as high and noble princes (cf. Royal and noble styles). In parts of the Holy Roman Empire in which primogeniture did not prevail (i.e. Germany), all legitimate agnates had an equal right to the familys hereditary titles. While this meant that offices, such as emperor, king, and elector could only be legally occupied by one dynast at a time, holders of such other titles as duke, margrave, landgrave, count palatine, and prince could only differentiate themselves by adding the name of their appanage to the familys original title. Not only did this tend to proliferate unwieldy titles (e.g. Princess Katherine of Anhalt-Zerbst and Karl, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Neukastell-Kleeburg and Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg), but as agnatic primogeniture gradually became the norm in the Holy Roman Empire by the end of the 18th century, another means of distinguishing the monarch from other members of his dynasty became necessary. Gradual substitution of the title of Prinz for the monarchs title of Fürst occurred, and became customary in all German dynasties except in the grand duchies of Mecklenburg and Oldenburg.[3] Both Prinz and Fürst are translated into English as prince, but they reflect not only different but mutually exclusive terms. This distinction had evolved before the 18th century (in most families: Liechtenstein long remained an exception, cadets and females using Fürst/Fürstin into the 19th century) for dynasties headed by a Fürst in Germany. The custom spread through the Continent to such an extent that a renowned imperial general who belonged to a cadet branch of a reigning ducal family, remains best known to history by the generic dynastic title, Prince Eugene of Savoy. Note that the princely title was used as a prefix to his Christian name, which also became customary. Cadets of Frances princes étrangers began to affect similar usage but when, for example, the House of La Tour dAuvergnes ruling dukes of Bouillon, attempted to use the same style, it was initially resisted by historians such as Père Anselme – who, however, willingly recognized use of territorial titles, i.e. he accepts that the ducal heir apparent is known as prince de Bouillon, but would record in 1728 only that the heirs cousin, the comte dOliergues was known as the Prince Frederick (dit le prince Frédéric).[4] The post-medieval rank of gefürsteter Graf (princely count) embraced but elevated the German equivalent of the intermediate French, English and Spanish nobles. In Germany, these nobles rose to dynastic status by preserving from the Imperial crown (de jure after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648) the exercise of such sovereign prerogatives as the minting of money; the muster of military troops and the right to wage war and contract treaties; local judicial authority and constabular enforcement; and the habit of inter-marrying with sovereign dynasties. Eventually, these titles came to be more highly valued than that of Fürst itself, and by the 19th century, their cadets would become known as Prinzen. Prince of the blood[edit] This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. (June 2012) Main article: Prince du Sang Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, was the premier prince du sang during his lifetime (painted by Joost van Egmont). Currently, the husband of a queen regnant is usually titled prince or prince consort, whereas the wives of male monarchs take the female equivalent of their husbands title—the same as is used when a female mounts the throne in her own right, such as empress or queen. In Brazil, Spain and Portugal, however, the husband of a female monarch was accorded the masculine equivalent of her title—at least after she bore him a child. In previous epochs, husbands of queens regnant often shared their consorts regnal title and rank[clarification needed]. But in cultures which allow the ruler to have several wives (e.g. four in Islam) and/or official concubines, for these women sometimes collectively referred to as a harem there are often specific rules determining their hierarchy and a variety of titles, which may distinguish between those whose offspring can be in line for the succession or not, or specifically who is mother to the heir to the throne. To complicate matters, the style His Royal Highness, a prefix often accompanying the title of a dynastic prince, of royal rank, can be awarded separately (as a compromise or consolation prize, in some sense). Although the arrangement set out above is the one that is most commonly understood, there are also different systems. Depending on country, epoch, and translation, other meanings of prince are possible. Foreign-language titles such as Italian principe, French prince, German Fürst and Prinz (non-reigning descendants of a reigning sovereign Fürst or monarch),[5][6] Russian kniaz, etc., are usually translated as prince in English. Some princely titles are derived from those of national rulers, such as tsarevich from tsar. Other examples are (e)mirza(da), khanzada, nawabzada, sahibzada, shahzada, sultanzada (all using the Persian patronymic suffix -zada, meaning son, descendant). However, some princely titles develop in unusual ways, such as adoption of a style for dynasts which is not pegged to the rulers title, but rather continues an old tradition (e.g. grand duke in Romanov Russia), claims dynastic succession to a lost monarchy (e.g. prince de Tarente for the La Trémoïlle heirs to the Neapolitan throne, or is simply assumed by fiat (e.g. prince Français by the House of Bonaparte). Specific titles[edit] José, Prince of Brazil, Duke of Braganza, died before he could ascend to the throne of Portugal. In some dynasties, a specific style other than prince has become customary for dynasts, such as fils de France in the House of Capet, and Infante. Infante was borne by children of the monarch other than the heir apparent in all of the Iberian monarchies. Some monarchies used a specific princely title for their heirs, such as Prince of Asturias in Spain and Prince of Brazil in Portugal. Sometimes a specific title is commonly used by various dynasties in a region, e.g. Mian in various of the Punjabi princely Hill States (lower Himalayan region in British India). European dynasties usually awarded apanages (also spelt appanages) to princes of the blood, typically attached to a feudal noble title, such as Britains royal dukes, the Dauphin in France, the Count of Flanders in Belgium, and the Count of Syracuse in Sicily. Sometimes apanage titles were princely, e.g. Prince of Achaia (Courtenay), prince de Condé (Bourbon), Prince of Carignan (Savoy), but it was the fact that their owners were of princely rank rather than that they held a princely title which ensured their prominence. For the often specific terminology concerning an heir apparent, see Crown Prince. Prince as a substantive title[edit] Other princes derive their title not from dynastic membership as such, but from inheritance of a title named for a specific and historical territory, although the familys possession of prerogatives or properties in that territory may be long past. Such are most of the princedoms of Frances ancien régime so resented for their pretentiousness[citation needed] by St-Simon. These include the princedoms of Arches-Charleville, Boisbelle-Henrichemont, Chalais, Château-Regnault, Guéméné, Martigues, Mercœur, Sedan, Talmond, Tingrey, and the kingship of Yvetot,[7] among others. Prince as a reigning monarch[edit] A prince or princess who is the head of state of a territory that has a monarchy as a form of government is a reigning prince.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 09:46:38 +0000
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