In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of earl never developed; instead, countess is used.
Basically a chieftain ruling under the king. When the Norman conquered England, they were used to Counts, (Comte in French). However, they used the Saxon title, which became Earl, for themselves, and then just borrowed Countess for their wives.
The daughters of a duke, marquess or earl have the courtesy title of "Lady" before their forename and surname.
Viscount (from the Latin vicecomes, vice-count). The wife of a viscount is a viscountess. A viscount or viscountess is addressed as 'Lord So-and-So' or 'Lady So-and-So'.
The five possible titles, ranked from highest to lowest, are: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron for men; duchess, marchioness, countess, viscountess, and baroness for women.
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.
A feminine form of earl never developed; instead, countess is used.
Lady is used when referring to women who hold certain titles: marchioness, countess, viscountess, or baroness. It can also be used of the wife of a lower-ranking noble, such as a baron, baronet, or knight. Lady is also the courtesy title for the daughters of the higher-ranking nobles duke, marquess, or earl.
Why is there no female earl? Indeed, the only female noble who had a title at all was the cyninge (queen). In fact, a female equivalent of Earl never developed in England and therefore the title of Countess was borrowed from the title Count, a title that never caught on with the English nobility.
A wife of an Earl is styled Countess. -Formally addressed as 'Lord Courtesy' and 'Lady Courtesy'.
If a royal is given a different rank (like countess), that doesn't mean she'll never become a duchess. Instead, she'll likely inherit a higher title when one becomes available. (For example, when Princess Catherine upgrades to queen, Princess Charlotte could become the Duchess of Cambridge.)
The wife of an earl, or an unmarried female earl, is countess. For most rankings in the British nobility, there is a clear feminine form associated with each title. The wife of a duke is a duchess, the wife of a marquess is a marchioness, etc.
Etiquette dictates that you would refer to a count or a countess as Your Excellency. According to the English Manner, if you're addressing a countess in a formal speech or writing, you could also refer to her by Lady Courtesy (whatever that means) or Madam.
Daughters and younger sons bear the title 'Lord' or 'Lady' with their Christian and family names. A daughter then, would be Lady Margaret Jones. In conversation, daughter and sons are addressed by 'Lord' or 'Lady' and their Christian name--never the family name.
Kings, queens, earls, dukes, barons—the titles of members of the British royal family are organized through a hierarchy, which establishes the role of each noble along with their responsibility as representatives of the crown at events.
dame, properly a name of respect or a title equivalent to lady, surviving in English as the legal designation for the wife or widow of a baronet or knight or for a dame of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; it is prefixed to the given name and surname.
Duchess. A Duchess is the highest female title within the nobility system. The title of Duchess is traditionally given to the wife of a Duke, though a Duchess may inherit or be gifted the title and rank by a monarch, or in previous centuries it may have been granted by the Pope.
lady, in the British Isles, a general title for any peeress below the rank of duchess and also for the wife of a baronet or of a knight.
The second most senior rank in the peerage, beneath duke, is marquess. The marquess stands above the ranks of earl, viscount and baron. The dignity of a marquess is referred to as a marquessate.
A woman who holds in her own right the title to such duchy or dukedom, or is married to a duke, is normally styled duchess. Queen Elizabeth II, however, was known by tradition as Duke of Normandy in the Channel Islands and Duke of Lancaster in Lancashire.
Occasionally, a peerage created by letters patent allowed a special remedy so that the peerage could pass to a brother or even a daughter if the new peer had no male heir. A famous example of this is the 1st Duke of Marlborough, whose dukedom was inherited by his eldest daughter.
The children of a viscount are known as The Honourable [Forename] [Surname], with the exception of a Scottish viscount, whose eldest child may be styled as "The Honourable Master of [X]".
Only male royalty can hand down the title of princess. One day, if Prince George and Prince Louis have daughters, they will be princesses. But if Princess Charlotte has a daughter, she will not inherit a title at all. One can only be given to her. This is exactly what happened to Zara Philips, Princess Anne's daughter.