Why are royal titles given according to cities in England?
Most of the time, the members of the British Royal Family are not called by their last name (Mountbatten-Windsor), but by their title: "prince" or "princess", or alternatively "His Royal Highness the prince or the princess "followed by the first name. Discover the origins of these appellations.
If William is regularly called "Prince William", he is also "Duke of Cambridge" since his marriage to Kate Middleton (who became Duchess of Cambridge) in April 2011. William was therefore born with the title of prince, and received the additional title of Duke of Cambridge by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II on their wedding day. The same goes for Harry, born a prince, who has just received the title of Duke of Sussex.
The origins of royal titles
And why "Cambridge" or "Sussex"? The origin of royal titles given in reference to places can be traced back to the history of the United Kingdom, although the meaning of these titles has changed over time and is no longer very important.
Everything resides in a very old system that has its origins in the Middle Ages, when titles mattered to identify nobles and classify them according to 5 titles. According to experts, the nobles who were granted land or money swore loyalty to the monarch. Among the classification, there is the title of duke and duchess, the title of marquis and marquise, the title of count and countess, the title of viscount and viscountess, and the title of baron and baroness.
Why was Prince William given the title of Duke of Cambridge?
When Prince William received the title of Duke of Cambridge in 2011, it means he inherited the land of Cambridge, but this title does not have the same significance as in the past. As for the choice of this land and not another chosen by Queen Elizabeth at the time of the marriage - usually the event in which the title is awarded - there would be no real explanation, except that the land was available.
However, some argue that if the Queen chose to give her grandson William the title of Duke of Cambridge, it would have to do with the previous title holder who, too, had married a commoner. But this hypothesis has not been confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
Harry becomes Duke of Sussex
Like his brother William, Prince Harry received a currently unused title, Duke of Sussex, ahead of his wedding in Windsor. The Queen made this choice among three "free" titles: Duke of Windsor, Duke of Sussex or Duke of Clarence. Namely, it is up to the Queen to decide. Meghan Markle thus becomes Duchess of Sussex.
In the end, these places-related titles do not prove to be as useful as they were back then, they are just an additional title for members of the British Royal Family which allows them to remain linked to the history of their country.
