The Royal Family

See also Royal Dates.

The Order of Succession

1	21 Jun 1982	Son		Prince William, Duke of Cambridge		William Arthur Philip Louis
2	22 Jul 2013	Grandson		Prince George of Cambridge		George Alexander Louis
3	2 May 2015	Granddaughter		Princess Charlotte of Cambridge		Charlotte Elizabeth Diana
4	23 Apr 2018	Grandson		Prince Louis of Cambridge		Louis Arthur Charles
5	15 Sep 1984	Son		Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex		Henry Charles Albert David
6	6 May 2019	Grandson		Archie Mountbatten–Windsor		Archie Harrison
7	4 Jun 2021	Granddaughter		Lilibet Mountbatten–Windsor		Lilibet Diana

8

19 Feb 1960

Brother

Prince Andrew, Duke of York

Andrew Albert Christian Edward

9	8 Aug 1988	Niece		Princess Beatrice		Beatrice Elizabeth Mary
10	18 Sep 2021	Great–neice		Sienna Mapelli Mozzi		Sienna Elizabeth
11	23 Mar 1990	Niece		Princess Eugenie		Eugenie Victoria Helena
12	9 Feb 2021	Great–nephew		August Brooksbank		August Philip Hawke

13

10 Mar 1964

Brother

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex

Edward Antony Richard Louis

14	17 Dec 2007	Nephew		James M-W, Viscount Severn		James Alexander Philip Theo
15	8 Nov 2003	Niece		Lady Louise Mountbatten–Windsor		Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary

16

15 Aug 1950

Sister

Princess Anne, Princess Royal

Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise

17	15 Nov 1977	Nephew		Peter Phillips		Peter Mark Andrew
18	29 Dec 2010	Great–niece		Savannah Phillips		Savannah Anne Kathleen
19	29 Mar 2012	Great–niece		Isla Phillips		Isla Elizabeth
20	15 May 1981	Niece		Zara Tindall		Zara Anne Elizabeth
21	17 Jan 2014	Great–niece		Mia Tindall		Mia Grace
22	18 Jun 2018	Great–niece		Lena Tindall		Lena Elizabeth
23	21 Mar 2021	Great-nephew		Lucas Tindall		Lucas Philip

Descendants of Princess Margaret, who died on 9 February 2002 (all cousins to Charles, some of them one or twice removed):

24	3 Nov 1961	Son		David (Albert Charles) Armstrong–Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon
25	1 Jul 1999	Grandson		Charles (Patrick Inigo) Armstrong–Jones, Viscount Linley
26	14 May 2002	Granddaughter		Lady Margarita (Elizabeth Rose Alleyne) Armstrong–Jones
27	1 May 1964	Daughter		Lady Sarah (Frances Elizabeth) Chatto
28	28 Jul 1996	Grandson		Samuel (David Benedict) Chatto
29	5 Feb 1999	Grandson		Arthur (Robert Nathaniel) Chatto

Other grandchildren of King George V, all of whom were first cousins to Elizabeth II and are first cousins once rmoved upwards to Charles:

30	26 Aug 1944	Second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, who was George V's third son		Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
40	9 Oct 1935	Eldest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, who was George V's fourth son		Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
51	4 Jul 1942	Second son of Prince George, Duke of Kent		Prince Michael of Kent
56	25 Dec 1936	Daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent		Princess Alexandra, Lady Ogilvy

Other places in the range 31 to 55 are occupied by descendants of the first three of these; Princess Alexandra's descendants are numbered 57 to 62. Note that positions numbered more than 42 are in doubt as there is uncertainty whether the three children of Lord Nicholas Windsor are eligible. Lord Nicholas, who is the second son of the current Duke of Kent, converted to Catholicism in 2001, and in doing so he forfeited his right to succession. Depending on whether or not his children remain eligible, the last two people in the above table may thus be 48th and 53rd respectively.

Elizabeth II's oldest grandchild (born 15 November 1977)		Peter Phillips
Elizabeth II's youngest grandchild (born 17 December 2007)		Prince James of Wessex
Elizabeth II's first great–grandchild (born 29 December 2010)		Savannah Phillips
24th in line, and the first not descended from Elizabeth II		David Armstrong–Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon

Christmas Broadcasts

The first Christmas broadcast (George V – radio only)		1932
Broadcast on television (sound only) for the first time – Elizabeth II		1952
Televised (with pictures) for the first time		1957
Pre-recorded for the first time		1959

Other

Elizabeth II's private birthday		21 April (1926)
Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten		20 November 1947
Elizabeth II came to the throne (on the death of her father George VI)		6 February 1952
Elizabeth II's coronation		2 June 1953
Elizabeth II died		8 September 2022
Elizabeth II's age at death		96 years, 140 days
Elizabeth II reigned for		70 years, 215 days

Elizabeth II's Official Birthday was celebrated on the first, second or (occasionally) third Saturday in June. This tradition goes back to Edward VII; he chose this time in the hope of decent weather and the actual date has no significance. Charles III has followed the tradition in the early years of his reign, but favoured the third Saturday in June: 17 June in 2023 and 15 June in 2024.

London (Mayfair) home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, parents of the Queen Mother – who gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth II there on 21 April 1926 (demolished in the 1930s)		17 Bruton Street
Elizabeth II's "annus horribilis"		1992
The Queen Mother's age at death (30 March 2002)		101 years, 238 days
Elizabeth II's middle names		Alexandra Mary
The Queen Mother's middle names		Angela Marguerite
Prince Edward's TV production company (1993–2002; liquidated 2009)		Ardent Productions
Prince William's middle names		Arthur Philip Louis
Duke of Windsor's role in World War II: Governor of		The Bahamas
Family name, changed by British–based members to Mountbatten in 1917 (to hide its German origins – it's a direct translation into English)		Battenberg
Independent boarding school for girls, in Kent, attended by Princess Anne from 1963 to 1968 (she left, aged 17, with six O–Levels and two A–Levels)		Benenden
Before his accession to the throne, King George VI was known to his family and friends as		Bertie
Colour of Elizabeth II's blotting paper		Black
Regiment that Prince Harry joined, 2006		Blues and Royals
Family name (maiden surname) of the Queen Mother		Bowes–Lyon
Prince Charles's first Navy command (minesweeper – Feb to Nov 1976)		HMS Bronnington
16th–century castle (completed 1508) near Tours, in central France, where the Duke and Duchess of Windsor married in 1937 – lent to them by its owner, Charles Bedaux – a French–born American businessman and Nazi sympathiser		Chateau de Candé
Annual allowance to the sovereign to cover expenses associated with his or her state duties		Civil List
The Queen Mother's official London residence, from 1953 until her death in 2002; then occupied by Charles and Camilla – also William until 2011 and Harry until 2012; following Charles's accession to the throne, he and Queen Camilla chose to stay there until at least 2027, during the renovation of Buckingham Palace		Clarence House
Birthplace of Princess Anne (Charles, Andrew and Edward were all born at Buckingham Palace)
Elizabeth II's bank		Coutts'
What Elizabeth II did for the last time at her father's funeral		Curtsey
Duchess of Gloucester: nationality before marriage		Danish
Family's name for Edward VIII, when Prince of Wales		David
Two titles that are customarily granted to the Prince of Wales, if the son of the monarch – thus held in turn by Prince Charles and Prince William		Duke of Cornwall
		Earl of Chester
Third son of George V and Queen Mary: succeeded in 1974 by his second son Richard (his elder son William predeceased him by two years) who was Elizabeth II's first cousin		(Prince Henry,) Duke of Gloucester
Elder brother of Princess Alexandra; grandson of George V and first cousin to the Queen; married Katharine Worsley, 1961		(Edward,) Duke of Kent
Title by which Elizabeth II was informally known in the Channel Islands		Duke of Normandy
Title formerly held by the heirs to the Scottish throne, now mandated for use by the heir apparent when in Scotland in preference to Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall; the incumbent also holds other Scottish titles, including Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland		Duke of Rothesay
The last Empress of India		Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother)
Title created for Anthony Armstrong–Jones, in 1961 – the year after his marriage to Princess Margaret; passed to his son David following his death in 2017		Earl of Snowdon
Princess Anne's middle names		Elizabeth Alice Louise
Known in Private Eye as Brenda, and allegedly to her spouse as 'sausage'		Elizabeth II
Viscount Linley's relationship to Prince Charles, Princess Anne, etc.		First cousin
Residence of Edward VIII, when Prince of Wales, in Windsor Great Park		Fort Belvedere
Mother of Diana, Princess of Wales		Frances Shand–Kydd
Grammar school in Victoria, Australia, at whose Timbertop campus Prince Charles spent two terms in 1966		Geelong
Fourth son of George V and Queen Mary: married Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark; father of Princess Alexandra (first cousin to Elizabeth II); killed in a plane crash while serving with the RAF, 1942		Prince George, Duke of Kent
Changed the name of Britain's Royal Family from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor		George V
School near Elgin, Scotland, attended by Prince Philip and Prince Charles		Gordonstoun
Taught Prince Andrew to drive a racing car		Graham Hill
Relationship of Queen Victoria to Elizabeth II (and to Prince Philip)		Great–great–grandmother
Charles III's country home, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire: bought by the Duchy of Cornwall in 1980 from Maurice Macmillan, only son of former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan; since Charles succeeded to the throne, he has rented it from the Duchy		Highgrove
The three official royal residences: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and		Holyrood Palace
Elizabeth II's youngest grandchild (second child and only son of Prince Edward) – born 17 December 2007		James, Viscount Severn
Princess Margaret's official London residence		Kensington Palace
George, Earl of St, Andrews (born 1961) is heir to the Duke of		Kent
Fleet of aircraft at the disposal of the monarch		King's/Queen's Flight
Princess Anne's second husband (married in 1992, when he was a Commander in the Royal Navy; in 2007 he was promoted to Vice Admiral and in 2011 he was knighted)		Timothy Laurence
Title of Patrick Anson – Elizabeth II's cousin (once removed), famous for his photography (died in 2005, aged 66)		Lord Lichfield
Baronet and horticulturalist who had a widely–publicised affair with Princess Margaret (18 years his senior) in the 1970s – a factor in the break–up of her marriage		Roddy Llewellyn
Youngest daughter of Edward VII (younger sister of George V); married her first cousin Prince Carl of Denmark (her mother, Queen Alexandra, was the daughter of King Christian IX), and became Queen of Denmark when he succeeded as King Haakon VII; mother of King Olav V, who died in 1991		Maud of Wales
Family name of Prince Philip (before his marriage)		Mountbatten
Maternal uncle of Prince Philip, and a second cousin once removed of Elizabeth II: the last Viceroy of India (February to August, 1947) and the first Governor–General after independence; assassinated by the IRA in 1979, while sailing off Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo		Lord (Earl Louis) Mountbatten (of Burma)
Caribbean island on which Princess Margaret had a home		Mustique
Birthplace of Princess Diana: built by Edward VII, and let to Earl Spencer (Diana's father) at the time of her birth in 1961; later run as a hotel by the Leonard Cheshire charity, which sought to exit the lease following the COVID–19 pandemic		Park House, Sandringham
Charles III's middle names		Philip Arthur George
Princess Anne's first husband (1973–92), and father of Elizabeth II's first grandchild; nicknamed Fog (by Prince Charles) because he was "thick and wet"		Mark Phillips
Elizabeth II's first grandchild (born 1977); married Autumn Kelly in 2008 (they divorced in 2021); father of Elizabeth II's first great–grandchild		Peter Phillips
Created a stir by revealing a tongue piercing, in 1998 (aged 17); married former England rugby union international Mike Tindall in 2011		Zara Phillips
Prince Charles's wedding to Camilla Parker–Bowles (April 2005) was postponed for one day to avoid clashing with the funeral of		Pope John Paul II
As an early user of pocket watches, gave his name to a watch chain that passes from one waistcoat pocket to another or to a buttonhole, to give easier access to the watch		Prince Albert
First child born to a reigning monarch in the 20th century		Prince Andrew
Served in the Falklands campaign
Prince Philip's father – seventh child and fourth son of King George I and Queen Olga of Greece (younger brother of King Constantine I, who reigned 1913–17 and 1920–2 – abdicating in each case)		Prince Andrew
George VI's first grandchild; first member of the Royal Family to gain a university degree		Prince Charles (King Charles III)
The first royal to visit the Republic of Ireland after independence (1995)
Wrote and illustrated a children's book entitled The Old Man of Lochnagar – published in 1980 in aid of his Trust – and read it on Jackanory
Crashed an aeroplane on the Hebridean island of Islay in 1994
Author of the so–called 'black spider memos' – letters sent to ministers in seven Government departments in 2004 and 2005, released in 2015 (after a 10–year battle by The Guardian)
Sixth and youngest child of George V and Queen Mary: suffered from epilepsy and was largely kept out of the public eye; died 1919, aged 13, after a severe fit		Prince John
Given the title Earl of Forfar in 2019 (on the occasion of his 55th birthday)		Prince Edward
Younger brother of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and of Princess Alexandra; son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and thus grandson of George V and first cousin to Elizabeth II; married Marie–Christine von Reibnitz, 1978; father of Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Windsor		Prince Michael of Kent
First royal to be interviewed on TV (1961); titles include Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich (both conferred on the occasion of his marriage, and died with him)		Prince Philip
Married Angus Ogilvie, son of the 12th Earl of Airlie, in 1963		Princess Alexandra
Elizabeth II's aunt by marriage (to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester): died in 2004, aged 102 – the oldest ever member of Britain's royal family		Princess Alice
BBC Sports Personality of the Year, 1971		Princess Anne
First of Elizabeth II's four children to marry, the event itself being the first royal wedding transmitted live in colour on TV		Princess Anne (to Mark Phillips)
First female in the line of succession, from her birth in 1988 until that of Princess Charlotte in 2015		Princess Beatrice
The first Royal bride not to promise to obey her husband		Princess Diana
Married wine merchant Jack Brooksbank in 2018		Princess Eugenie
Married Anthony Armstrong–Jones on May Day, 1960 – the first royal wedding to be televised (he was created Earl of Snowdon and Viscount Linley 6 October 1961)		Princess Margaret
Known in Private Eye as Yvonne; appeared as herself in The Archers
Married the Duke of Kent, 1936; mother of Princess Alexandra, the Duke of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent		Princess Marina
Born Marie–Christine von Reibnitz in 1945 in Karlsbad, which was then in the Nazi–controlled Sudetenland but is now in the Czech Republic; first husband (1971–7) was banker Thomas Troubridge; after that marriage ended in divorce she married Prince Michael of Kent, a grandson of George V and first cousin to Elizabeth II, 1978		Princess Michael of Kent
Appointed President of the Football Association in 2006		Prince William
Sang a karaoke version of the Bon Jovi hit Livin' on a Prayer, at the wedding of his cousin Zara Phillips to Mike Tindall in 2011
Youngest daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinhourn		Queen Mother
Princess Margaret's middle name		Rose
Elizabeth II's only niece; Princess Anne's bridesmaid when she married Mark Phillips		Lady Sarah Chatto (formerly Armstrong–Jones)
Elizabeth II's first great–grandchild: born on 29 December 2010, the daughter of her first grandchild		Savannah Phillips
George V changed the family name to Windsor, in 1915, from		Saxe–Coburg & Gotha
Maiden surname of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall		Shand
Countess of Wessex: maiden name		Sophie Rhys–Jones
University at which Prince William and Catherine Middleton (later the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, then Prince and Princess of Wales) met and began dating		St. Andrews
Figurine on the Queen's Rolls–Royce (and the King's?)		St. George and the dragon
Country house near Ascot: built in 1990 for the Duke and Duchess of York (Prince Andrew and Sarah)		Sunninghill
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, before their marriage		Third cousins
Name of the campus of Geelong Grammar School, in Victoria, Australia, where Prince Charles spent two terms in 1966		Timbertop
RAF officer, and equerry to King George VI, that Princess Margaret was not allowed to marry, because he was divorced; died in 1995		Group–Capt. Peter Townsend
Safari lodge in Kenya where Princess Elizabeth heard of her father's death		Treetops
Alternative name for the King's (Queen's) Birthday Parade – held on his (or her) official birthday		Trooping the Colour
Prince Charles's college at Cambridge		Trinity
Boat designer and sailing enthusiast – a native of the Isle of Wight – who taught Prince Charles to sail		Uffa Fox
Title subsidiary to Earl of Snowdon: afforded to David, son of Princess Margaret and the 1st Earl of Snowdon (Elizabeth II's only nephew), and to his son Charles when David became the 2nd Earl of Snowdon on the death of his father in 2017		Viscount Linley
The first holder became the first Royal to get a criminal record in 1987, when he was banned from driving
Elizabeth II had removed in hospital in 1982		Wisdom tooth

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24