Elizabeth is Queen Why is not Phillp King?

[Yuki Sohma]

I've always thought that if you married the Queen that you are the King? So I have always wondered why Phillip is not the "King of England?"

Then again if Queen Elizabeth's mother is the "Queen Mother" why is not Phillip the "Queen Husband?"

They say that Phillip is just a little old "Prince of England."

Kind of a bit confusing

 

[AlexanderValentine]

In Britain, you marry a King you become the Queen, you don't if you marry the Queen.

 

[fewbar]

Because ... as royal titles go, King is higher than Queen. So if a person married a Queen Regnant and he gets the title King, he then gets a higher rank without the necessary pedigree. Which is why Prince Philip is only Prince Consort and not King.

The only times a man married to a Queen (in the UK) was called king was when Philip of Spain married Queen Mary and when William and Mary II ruled. Philip of Spain was already King of Spain so calling him king in England wasn't a huge leap. William and Mary II were co-monarchs, so the title king really did apply.

P.S.
He is not a prince of England. He is a prince of the United Kingdom.

 

[tavares]

Who cares? Aren't they ruled by a Prime Minister, anyway? This crap is all for show.

 

[johncakecream]

IF george Vl had a son he would be king, however he had only two daughters, Elizabeth the elder and Margaret.

 

[dscottsw]

I've always thought that if you married the Queen that you are the King? So I have always wondered why Phillip is not the "King of England?"

Then again if Queen Elizabeth's mother is the "Queen Mother" why is not Phillip the "Queen Husband?"

They say that Phillip is just a little old "Prince of England."

Kind of a bit confusing

The succession of the British crown is regulated by the Act of Settlement (1701) and Royal Marriages Act (1772). Elizabeth's father was the last king, George VI. A person is always immediately followed in the succession by his or her own legitimate descendants. Birth order and gender matter. (Older sons before younger sons) Sons (and their sons) come before daughters and their children.

When George VI died in 1952 - he only had two daughters (Elizabeth and Margaret), so, because Elizabeth was the oldest, she became Queen (good thing too considering Princess Margaret's lifestyle!). Because Prince Phillip was not the son of George VI, he was not eligible in THAT particular line of succession - however, he is a distant cousin of the Queen's through their common ancestor - Queen Victoria - and so is 495th in the line of Succession, through his mother Princess Alice of Battenburg. The current line of Succession is calculated out 1786 places.

The Late Queen Mother, was the Queen Mother because she was the legitimate wife of the former King, George VI - and had been crowed Queen at the time of his coronation.

And, as for Phillip being "just a little old 'Prince of England' - being a "Royal Duke", an HRH and a "Prince of the United Kingdom" is one of the smallest, rarest clubs in the world. There are currently only six members. Eight if you count Harry and Will, who are not Royal Dukes - (nor technically is Prince Andrew, who is an Earl)

The photo I've attached is from the funeral of George VI - and shows, possibly the only time in history - where there were three legitimate Queens of England - although only Elizabeth II is the Sovereign - and outranks both the others.

 

[AlexanderValentine]

Who cares? Aren't they ruled by a Prime Minister, anyway? This crap is all for show.

No, we're ruled by a monarchy... Thank you!

 

[dscottsw]

Who cares? Aren't they ruled by a Prime Minister, anyway? This crap is all for show.

An amazingly large number of people care - and, the British People aren't "ruled" they're governed - by a Constitutional Monarchy - the Queen in cooperation with Parliament and "organized" by the PM.

 

[dscottsw]

their are 2 types of widowed Queen Consorts- the Queen mother- mother of the reigning sovreign, and the Queen Dowager- a woman who has no child by the King...Catherine Parr was the Queen Dowager after Henry VIII's death- because Edward VI was another woman's son (Jane Seymour), Queen Adelaide- consort of William IV was also Queen Dowager when her neice, Victoria took the throne as she and William had no children, and Victoria's mother- having never been Queen, remained the Duchess of Kent.

Brilliant explanation - jolly well done! So in the photo I posted below, left to right -

Queen Elizabeth (The Queen), Queen Elizabeth, (The Queen Mother), and Queen Mary (The Dowager Queen).

Just a quick aside, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) was well known for having a largely gay household - and there is the delightful story of her calling "downstairs" one say to the effect, "I don't know about the queens downstairs, but the Queen upstairs is hungry!" I've always loved that story. We were much amused.

 

[EasyRory]

" I've always loved that story. We were much amused.

I've always liked the line attributed to Princess Margaret, when someone maladroitly asked her "How is the Queen?"

"Do you mean my sister, my mother, or my husband?"

 

[soccerboy029]

He is king consort of the United Kingdom, but titled "Prince" for political reasons.

Prince Philip is also a descendant of Queen Victoria, so himself an heir to the throne of the UK but only after a considerable number of people.

That's right, Elizabeth and her husband are cousins.





Just for some little history:

In the Middle Ages, women rarely ruled but where they did their husbands gained rights in the marriage through a legal mechanism called jure uxoris.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why England did not have a queen until Mary I in 1553. Some would say Matilda was the first Queen of England, but she was never crowned.

It'd be hard for any current royal of most European countries to not marry someone that's related to them since Victoria's lot married into so many different countries.

 

[DanJFOx]

The succession of the British crown is regulated by the Act of Settlement (1701) and Royal Marriages Act (1772). Elizabeth's father was the last king, George VI. A person is always immediately followed in the succession by his or her own legitimate descendants. Birth order and gender matter. (Older sons before younger sons) Sons (and their sons) come before daughters and their children.

When George VI died in 1952 - he only had two daughters (Elizabeth and Margaret), so, because Elizabeth was the oldest, she became Queen (good thing too considering Princess Margaret's lifestyle!). Because Prince Phillip was not the son of George VI, he was not eligible in THAT particular line of succession - however, he is a distant cousin of the Queen's through their common ancestor - Queen Victoria - and so is 495th in the line of Succession, through his mother Princess Alice of Battenburg. The current line of Succession is calculated out 1786 places.

The Late Queen Mother, was the Queen Mother because she was the legitimate wife of the former King, George VI - and had been crowed Queen at the time of his coronation.

And, as for Phillip being "just a little old 'Prince of England' - being a "Royal Duke", an HRH and a "Prince of the United Kingdom" is one of the smallest, rarest clubs in the world. There are currently only six members. Eight if you count Harry and Will, who are not Royal Dukes - (nor technically is Prince Andrew, who is an Earl)

The photo I've attached is from the funeral of George VI - and shows, possibly the only time in history - where there were three legitimate Queens of England - although only Elizabeth II is the Sovereign - and outranks both the others.

Andrew's full title is: His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh, Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Canadian Forces Decoration, Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty

So, he IS a duke

Theorectically, of course, Philip could be either a Duchess or a Lady as the Queen is the Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Normandy (for the Channel Islands) and Lord of Mann (for the Isle of Man) - on the basis that the spouse of a Duke is called a Duchess etc

 

[MTLDude]

^I think dscottsw meant prince Edward is "just" an Earl, although the Queen has decreted that he will be heir to the Dukedom of Edinburgh...

And, since we are going "for the record" Elizabeth II correct title, when in UK, is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great-Britain and Northern Ireland and her other realms... Technically, no one was King of Queen of england since the Act of Union of 1707 between England and Scotland...

 

[unloadonme]

Brilliant explanation - jolly well done!

Brilliant, but wrong!

The late Queen Mother was also Queen Dowager. A dowager is simply the widow of a king, whether she's the mother of the next sovereign or not. It's explained here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_dowager

 

[unloadonme]

I've always thought that if you married the Queen that you are the King? So I have always wondered why Phillip is not the "King of England?"

It's one of the principles of British royalty and aristocracy that if a woman marries a titled man she becomes titled too, but that if a man marries a titled woman his title remains what it was.

For instance, a woman who marries a Duke becomes a Duchess. A previously untitled man who marries say a Countess in her own right remains plain old Mister.

And so it was for Prince Philip. He gained no title from marrying the then Princess Elizabeth directly, so was given titles in his own right. In return for surrendering his previous title of Prince of Greece and Denmark, he was made a Prince of the United Kingdom and Duke of Edinburgh. That means that whilst the Queen is technically Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Philip is most definitely not King.

 

[longhornsfan212]

I've always liked the line attributed to Princess Margaret, when someone maladroitly asked her "How is the Queen?"

"Do you mean my sister, my mother, or my husband?"

I'm an historian in a field other than British history but I've always found the House of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha (aka the House of Windsor) quite fascinating. I've heard tons and tons of funny stories but I had never heard that one! That's really brilliant. I can just imagine Princess Margaret scrunching up her nose, putting on her familiar "disdainful smile," and saying those words in her high, nasally voice!

 

[123kid]

ya know what..........this is a great thread and very very interesting!! Thanks so much for everyones input.

 

[palemale]

Is it still the law that a British King or Queen may not marry a Catholic?

 

[unloadonme]

It is. The Act of Settlement of 1701 forbids it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succession_to_the_British_throne

 

[philusmc]

The succession of the British crown is regulated by the Act of Settlement (1701) and Royal Marriages Act (1772). Elizabeth's father was the last king, George VI. A person is always immediately followed in the succession by his or her own legitimate descendants. Birth order and gender matter. (Older sons before younger sons) Sons (and their sons) come before daughters and their children.

When George VI died in 1952 - he only had two daughters (Elizabeth and Margaret), so, because Elizabeth was the oldest, she became Queen (good thing too considering Princess Margaret's lifestyle!). Because Prince Phillip was not the son of George VI, he was not eligible in THAT particular line of succession - however, he is a distant cousin of the Queen's through their common ancestor - Queen Victoria - and so is 495th in the line of Succession, through his mother Princess Alice of Battenburg. The current line of Succession is calculated out 1786 places.

The Late Queen Mother, was the Queen Mother because she was the legitimate wife of the former King, George VI - and had been crowed Queen at the time of his coronation.

And, as for Phillip being "just a little old 'Prince of England' - being a "Royal Duke", an HRH and a "Prince of the United Kingdom" is one of the smallest, rarest clubs in the world. There are currently only six members. Eight if you count Harry and Will, who are not Royal Dukes - (nor technically is Prince Andrew, who is an Earl)

The photo I've attached is from the funeral of George VI - and shows, possibly the only time in history - where there were three legitimate Queens of England - although only Elizabeth II is the Sovereign - and outranks both the others.

Thanks for enlightening us, very well articulated and excellent summary. This is all very interesting and intriquing for a little ol' hillbilly from the mts of NC. Sincerely, thanks.