Substantive title
Encyclopedia
A substantive title is a title
of nobility
or royalty
held by someone (normally by one person alone), which was acquired either by direct grant or inheritance
. It is to be distinguished from: a title shared among cadet
s; or borne as a courtesy title
by a peer's direct heirs; or acquired by a consort as a consequence of marriage
or grant
.
The British peerage and some continental
nobilities (e.g. in Spain and formerly in France and exceptional cases of other nobilities) confer titles only upon individuals, such as Duke of Leinster
(a substantive title). A peer's eldest living son and heir, or eldest male-line
grandson and heir eventual are, however, allowed to bear a subsidiary title
of the peer's (if he ranks as an earl or higher) as a courtesy title. Until 1999 the heir could be summoned to the House of Lords
by the Crown
in right of that subsidiary title through issuance of a writ of acceleration
, thereby transforming a courtesy titleholder into a substantive peer of the realm (e.g., Baron Cecil of Essendon
).
Among royalty and continental nobility, a title may be used by several members of a family, for example, "Prince/Princess (Prinz/Prinzessin) of Liechtenstein" borne by cadets of the dynasty of the Prince (Fürst
) of Liechtenstein; or "Duke/Duchess (Herzog/Herzogin) in Saxony", borne (but used as a subsidiary title since the eighteenth century) by cadets of the various Wettin monarchs of royal Saxony
and of ducal Saxony
; or "Grand Duke/Grand Duchess of Russia"
(Russian: Великий князь, Velikiy knyaz, German: Großfürst etc.), borne by all dynastic children and children of the sons of Russian emperors.
Although official, these titles have usually been treated as non-substantive, the Almanach de Gotha
historically recording them as prefix
es to the given name
, whereas substantive titles usually followed the titleholder's given name (and numeral
, if any). Recent examples include Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland
and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
. The Almanach de Gotha treated similarly titles used by dynasties of abolished monarchies
: the head of the house bearing a traditional title of the dynasty in lieu of or after the given name (e.g. Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza
), while cadets shared a princely title as prefix in addition to any suffix
ed substantive title accorded them as individuals by the head of the house (e.g. Infante Miguel, Duke of Viseu
and Prince Aimone, Duke of Apulia).
The titles of heirs apparent
to a monarchy are treated as substantive titles, such as the Dutch Prince of Orange
, Belgian Duke of Brabant
, Spanish Prince of Asturias
, British Prince of Wales
, Danish Crown Prince
, Luxemburgish Hereditary Grand Duke, and the Monégasque and Liechtensteiner Hereditary Princes.
Titles granted to or inherited individually by junior members of dynastic families are generally substantive, e.g., Princess Royal
(in the United Kingdom), Duke of Cádiz
(in Spain), Count of Flanders (in Belgium), Duke of Orléans (in France), Duke of Halland (in Sweden), etc.
In accordance with a tradition dating back to the reign of Napoleon I
, titles in pretense
were treated by the Almanach de Gotha as if still borne by members of reign
ing dynasties, with the exception that titles exclusively borne by monarchs (e.g. emperor, king, queen, grand duke (Grossherzog) and heirs apparent (crown prince, hereditary prince) for the duration of their lifetimes were restricted to the last dynast who held the title under the monarchy.
For the British peerage, written references to
Within the German nobility
, the difference between a holder of a substantive title and a courtesy title in any given family may not be easily determined as most families use the same titles for all members. However, the head of a comital family may be styled
The Count of X or NN, Count of X while all other members of his family are referred to as Count/Countess) NN of X. Not all families use the same title for the head and cadet members: Some mediatized
dynasties and Prussia
n noble families accord a higher title to the most senior member of the family as determined by male primogeniture
.
A similar usage developed among the Gaelic Irish nobility
. Formerly the head of either a royal or comital sept
held the very name itself as his title, being the only member who did not use his given name. An example is Aodh Mór Ó Néill, who did not become King of Tyrone/Ulster until becoming "Ó Néill", his British title (Earl of Tyrone
) being deemed subsidiary. However, the heads of a number of these families now employ the definite article. See also Chief of the Name.
The spouse of a monarch, heir apparent or titleholder may or may not share usage of the substantive title, but when this is the case the spouse holds the title by courtesy and/or derivative
ly. In all of Europe's monarchies (with the possible exception of The Netherlands) the dynastic wife of a male monarch shares her husband's rank
and bears the female equivalent of his title (i.e., empress, queen, grand duchess, duchess or princess). The husband of a female monarch, however, does not acquire the crown matrimonial
automatically. Only in Monaco has the male equivalent (prince) of the monarch's title been conferred upon the husband of an heiress presumptive since the nineteenth century. In the medieval era, the husband of a female sovereign in Europe usually took the title, rank and authority of his wife jure uxoris
. Later, the husbands of queens regnant were usually, but not automatically, elevated to the wife's royal status, sometimes as Co-king and sometimes merely as king consort
(e.g. John III of Navarre
, Philip II of Spain
, Francis II of France
, Henry, Lord Darnley, William III
, Pedro III of Portugal
, Ferdinand II of Portugal
, Francis II of Spain),
Title
A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
of nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
or royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
held by someone (normally by one person alone), which was acquired either by direct grant or inheritance
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
. It is to be distinguished from: a title shared among cadet
Cadet (genealogy)
In genealogy, a cadet is a younger son, as opposed to the firstborn heir. Compare puisne.- Etymology :The word is recorded in English since 1634, originally for a young son, identical to the French, which is itself derived from the gascon Occitan capdet "captain, chief", in turn from the Late...
s; or borne as a courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
by a peer's direct heirs; or acquired by a consort as a consequence of marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
or grant
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
.
The British peerage and some continental
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
nobilities (e.g. in Spain and formerly in France and exceptional cases of other nobilities) confer titles only upon individuals, such as Duke of Leinster
Duke of Leinster
Duke of Leinster is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The title refers to Leinster, but unlike the province the title is pronounced "Lin-ster"...
(a substantive title). A peer's eldest living son and heir, or eldest male-line
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
grandson and heir eventual are, however, allowed to bear a subsidiary title
Subsidiary title
A subsidiary title is an hereditary title held by a royal or a noble but which is not regularly used to identify that person.For example, the Duke of Norfolk is also the Earl of Arundel, the Earl of Surrey, the Earl of Norfolk, the Baron Beaumont, the Baron Maltravers, the Baron FitzAlan, the Baron...
of the peer's (if he ranks as an earl or higher) as a courtesy title. Until 1999 the heir could be summoned to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
by the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
in right of that subsidiary title through issuance of a writ of acceleration
Writ of acceleration
A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, was a type of writ of summons to the British House of Lords that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with multiple peerage titles to attend the British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father's...
, thereby transforming a courtesy titleholder into a substantive peer of the realm (e.g., Baron Cecil of Essendon
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, PC, DL , is a British Conservative politician. During the 1990s, he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne...
).
Among royalty and continental nobility, a title may be used by several members of a family, for example, "Prince/Princess (Prinz/Prinzessin) of Liechtenstein" borne by cadets of the dynasty of the Prince (Fürst
Fürst
Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
) of Liechtenstein; or "Duke/Duchess (Herzog/Herzogin) in Saxony", borne (but used as a subsidiary title since the eighteenth century) by cadets of the various Wettin monarchs of royal Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
and of ducal Saxony
Ernestine duchies
The Ernestine duchies, also called the Saxon duchies , were a changing number of small states largely located in the present German state of Thuringia, governed by dukes of the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin.-Overview:The...
; or "Grand Duke/Grand Duchess of Russia"
Grand Prince
The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince .Grand duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in English and Romance languages, which do not normally use separate words for a "prince" who reigns...
(Russian: Великий князь, Velikiy knyaz, German: Großfürst etc.), borne by all dynastic children and children of the sons of Russian emperors.
Although official, these titles have usually been treated as non-substantive, the Almanach de Gotha
Almanach de Gotha
The Almanach de Gotha was a respected directory of Europe's highest nobility and royalty. First published in 1763 by C.W. Ettinger in Gotha at the ducal court of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, it was regarded as an authority in the classification of monarchies, princely and ducal...
historically recording them as prefix
Prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
es to the given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
, whereas substantive titles usually followed the titleholder's given name (and numeral
Monarchical ordinal
Ordinal numbers or regnal numbers are used to distinguish among persons with the same name who held the same office. Most importantly, they are used to distinguish monarchs...
, if any). Recent examples include Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland
Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland
Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland is the youngest child and second daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden...
and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO is the third son and fourth child of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh...
. The Almanach de Gotha treated similarly titles used by dynasties of abolished monarchies
Abolished monarchy
Throughout history, monarchies have been abolished, either through revolutions, legislative reforms, coups d'état, or wars. The twentieth century saw a major acceleration of this process, with many monarchies violently overthrown by revolution or war, or else abolished as part of the process of...
: the head of the house bearing a traditional title of the dynasty in lieu of or after the given name (e.g. Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza
Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza
Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza , is the 24th Duke of Braganza and a pretender to the throne of Portugal.-Birth and education:...
), while cadets shared a princely title as prefix in addition to any suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
ed substantive title accorded them as individuals by the head of the house (e.g. Infante Miguel, Duke of Viseu
Infante Miguel, Duke of Viseu
The Infante Miguel, Duke of Viseu is the second son of Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza and his wife Princess Maria Francisca of Orleans-Braganza...
and Prince Aimone, Duke of Apulia).
The titles of heirs apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to a monarchy are treated as substantive titles, such as the Dutch Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....
, Belgian Duke of Brabant
Duke of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...
, Spanish Prince of Asturias
Prince of Asturias
Prince of Asturias is the historical title given to the heir to the Spanish throne. It was also the title under the earlier Kingdom of Castile. The current Prince of Asturias is Felipe, son of King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sofía...
, British Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, Danish Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
, Luxemburgish Hereditary Grand Duke, and the Monégasque and Liechtensteiner Hereditary Princes.
Titles granted to or inherited individually by junior members of dynastic families are generally substantive, e.g., Princess Royal
Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily awarded by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter. The style is held for life, so a princess cannot be given the style during the lifetime of another Princess Royal...
(in the United Kingdom), Duke of Cádiz
Duke of Cádiz
The Duchy of Cádiz is Spanish nobility title. Its name refers to the Andalusian city of Cádiz.-History:After the death of the 1st Duke, the Catholic Monarchs negotiated with Francisca Ponce de León y de la Fuente, the abolition of the Marquisate and Duchy of Cádiz, reinstating the city and the...
(in Spain), Count of Flanders (in Belgium), Duke of Orléans (in France), Duke of Halland (in Sweden), etc.
In accordance with a tradition dating back to the reign of Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, titles in pretense
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
were treated by the Almanach de Gotha as if still borne by members of reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ing dynasties, with the exception that titles exclusively borne by monarchs (e.g. emperor, king, queen, grand duke (Grossherzog) and heirs apparent (crown prince, hereditary prince) for the duration of their lifetimes were restricted to the last dynast who held the title under the monarchy.
For the British peerage, written references to
- substantive peers are customarily in the form The Marquess of Winchester, The Earl of Derby, etc., including the preceding definite article (The)
- courtesy peers are named without the article, e.g. Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Sunderland, etc., excluding a preceding definite article
Within the German nobility
German nobility
The German nobility was the elite hereditary ruling class or aristocratic class from ca. 500 B.C. to the Holy Roman Empire and what is now Germany.-Principles of German nobility:...
, the difference between a holder of a substantive title and a courtesy title in any given family may not be easily determined as most families use the same titles for all members. However, the head of a comital family may be styled
Style (manner of address)
A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal...
The Count of X or NN, Count of X while all other members of his family are referred to as Count/Countess) NN of X. Not all families use the same title for the head and cadet members: Some mediatized
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
dynasties and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n noble families accord a higher title to the most senior member of the family as determined by male primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
.
A similar usage developed among the Gaelic Irish nobility
Irish nobility
This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion...
. Formerly the head of either a royal or comital sept
Sept
A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...
held the very name itself as his title, being the only member who did not use his given name. An example is Aodh Mór Ó Néill, who did not become King of Tyrone/Ulster until becoming "Ó Néill", his British title (Earl of Tyrone
Earl of Tyrone
The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland.It was first created as part of the Tudor attempt to establish a uniform social structure in Ireland by converting the Gaelic kings and chiefs into hereditary nobles of the Kingdom of Ireland...
) being deemed subsidiary. However, the heads of a number of these families now employ the definite article. See also Chief of the Name.
The spouse of a monarch, heir apparent or titleholder may or may not share usage of the substantive title, but when this is the case the spouse holds the title by courtesy and/or derivative
Derivative
In calculus, a branch of mathematics, the derivative is a measure of how a function changes as its input changes. Loosely speaking, a derivative can be thought of as how much one quantity is changing in response to changes in some other quantity; for example, the derivative of the position of a...
ly. In all of Europe's monarchies (with the possible exception of The Netherlands) the dynastic wife of a male monarch shares her husband's rank
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
and bears the female equivalent of his title (i.e., empress, queen, grand duchess, duchess or princess). The husband of a female monarch, however, does not acquire the crown matrimonial
Crown Matrimonial
The Crown Matrimonial is a legal concept used to describe a person's right to co-reign equally with his or her spouse.The Crown Matrimonial was offered to King Francis II of France, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, by the Parliament of Scotland and Mary's mother, Mary of Guise, who was regent of...
automatically. Only in Monaco has the male equivalent (prince) of the monarch's title been conferred upon the husband of an heiress presumptive since the nineteenth century. In the medieval era, the husband of a female sovereign in Europe usually took the title, rank and authority of his wife jure uxoris
Jure uxoris
Jure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....
. Later, the husbands of queens regnant were usually, but not automatically, elevated to the wife's royal status, sometimes as Co-king and sometimes merely as king consort
King consort
King consort is an alternative title to the more usual "prince consort" - which is a position given in some monarchies to the husband of a reigning queen. It is a symbolic title only, the sole constitutional function of the holder being similar to a prince consort, which is the male equivalent of a...
(e.g. John III of Navarre
John III of Navarre
John III , also known as Jean d'Albret, was jure uxoris, King consort of the Queen regnant Catherine of Navarre.He was a son of Alain I of Albret, Lord of Albret, and his wife, Frances of Châtillon-Limoges.-King of Navarre:...
, Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, Francis II of France
Francis II of France
Francis II was aged 15 when he succeeded to the throne of France after the accidental death of his father, King Henry II, in 1559. He reigned for 18 months before he died in December 1560...
, Henry, Lord Darnley, William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, Pedro III of Portugal
Peter III of Portugal
Peter III became King of the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves by the accession of his wife and niece Queen Maria I in 1777, and co-reigned alongside her until his death.-Biography:...
, Ferdinand II of Portugal
Ferdinand II of Portugal
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , named Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, was King of Portugal as husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal from the birth of their son in 1837 to her death in 1853.In keeping with Portuguese law, only after the birth of his son in...
, Francis II of Spain),
See also
- AristocracyAristocracyAristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
- Ennoblement
- Hereditary peerHereditary peerHereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
- Jure uxorisJure uxorisJure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....
- Subsidiary titleSubsidiary titleA subsidiary title is an hereditary title held by a royal or a noble but which is not regularly used to identify that person.For example, the Duke of Norfolk is also the Earl of Arundel, the Earl of Surrey, the Earl of Norfolk, the Baron Beaumont, the Baron Maltravers, the Baron FitzAlan, the Baron...