⚡ Quick summary. A prince is typically the son or grandson of a monarch. The title duke is typically bestowed to a male member of the monarchy, often identifying him as a ruler of a territory known as a duchy. In some cases, a prince can also hold the title of duke, but prince is usually the higher-ranking position.
The term 'duke' derives from the Latin word 'dux', which means military commander. In Europe, smaller nation-states could be ruled by a grand duke or archduke, and in some cases would outrank a prince.
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked below princes and grand dukes.
Harry remained a Prince, and the couple kept their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles, but are no longer addressed as His/Her Royal Highness (HRH).
Royal Inheritance
Representatives told Forbes in 2021 that Harry was not a beneficiary of any of the $100 million left to the royal family by his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother.
In 2018, the dukedom of Sussex was recreated and granted to Prince Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and great-great-great-great-great grandnephew of the previous duke, to mark the occasion of his wedding to Meghan Markle, who thereby became the first ever duchess of Sussex.
These nobles were given titles such as Baron, Earl, and Duke, which were passed down through the male line of the family. Barons were the lowest rank of nobility and were granted small parcels of land. Earls were the next highest rank and were responsible for larger territories.
The duke's son would be a marquess and the grandson would be an earl. Only eldest sons or their eldest sons could bear courtesy titles.
The daughters of a duke, marquess or earl have the courtesy title of "Lady" before their forename and surname.
The title of Duke of Cambridge, first created in 1660, superseded an earlier title of Earl of Cambridge. The title became extinct several times before being revived in 2011, when Queen Elizabeth II bestowed it on her grandson Prince William on 29 April 2011 upon his marriage to Catherine Middleton.
The Mirror added that although Harry's prince title is a birthright that cannot be taken away, the Duke of Sussex title (a wedding gift from the late Queen Elizabeth) doesn't have the same restrictions.
It turns out, there are two ways to become a British princess: to be born the daughter of a prince, or to marry one. On top of that, only those born into the royal family can use the title princess (or prince, for that matter) before their name.
If the daughter of a duke marries a peer, she takes his title. If she marries the eldest son of a peer, she takes his title, but in the case of the heir of an earl or lesser peer, she may choose to keep her own title until her husband inherits.
Whereas (generally) the title of “Prince” requires royal blood, the title of “Duke” does not. While dukedoms can be inherited directly from a parent, they can also be bestowed by the reigning king or queen. Most British princes are given the title of “Duke” at the time of his marriage.
The five titles of the peerage, in descending order of precedence, or rank, are: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron.
After the duke's son died, the patent for the dukedom was amended by parliament to allow his daughters and their sons to inherit the dukedom successively.
For male members of the Royal Family the same rules apply, with the title used in the first instance being 'Your Royal Highness' and subsequently 'Sir'. For other female members of the Royal Family the first address is conventionally 'Your Royal Highness' and subsequently 'Ma'am'.
The highest and most important nobility rank in all four peerages of the British Isles is Duke, the name of which comes from the Latin dux, meaning leader. The female equivalent is Duchess, a title bestowed on a woman who holds the title in her own right, as well as one who is the wife of a Duke.
In the context of royalty, the word duke most commonly refers to the sovereign ruler of a small state in Continental Europe called a duchy. In the British monarchy, duke is the highest hereditary title outside of prince, princess, king, or queen. The female equivalent of duke is duchess.
At the top of the hierarchy of noble titles is the monarch, also known as the king or Queen. The monarch is the highest-ranking individual in a monarchy and holds ultimate authority over the kingdom. Below the monarch are the various nobles, including dukes, earls, viscounts, barons, and knights.
The poll, conducted on 31 March and 1 April, found Prince Andrew was by far the least popular, with a rating of -55%. He stepped down from public duties in 2020 following a TV interview over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
These titles were given to them by the Queen on their wedding day, and she's not going to take them away: it would require an Act of Parliament, with a statute passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Princess Diana Left Him an Inheritance
According to Forbes, Princess Diana reportedly left both Prince William and Prince Harry $10 million after taxes, and they started receiving annual dividends at age 25 to the tune of $450,000 a year. That's a lot to live on—even for a fancy royal.
When Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties in early 2020, they were not stripped of their duke and duchess titles, and the royal family's website still refers to the couple as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.