How England's Royals Pick Their Names

Now that England's Kate & William named their baby 'George Alexander Louis' there's been a great deal of interest in how the royal families derive them. In this case he will be known more formally as 'His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge' until/if such time he becomes king. Upon being made king he will then become 'King George VII'.

G.A. Louis now becomes third in line to the throne behind Prince Charles (his grandfather) and Prince William.

Now if all this naming business becomes a bit confusing 'The Official Website of The British Monarch' explains it this way."Members of the Royal Family can be known both by the name of the Royal house, and by a surname, which are not always the same. And often they do not use a surname at all.

Before 1917, members of the British Royal Family had no surname, but only the name of the house or dynasty to which they belonged.

Kings and princes were historically known by the names of the countries over which they and their families ruled. Kings and queens therefore signed themselves by their first names only, a tradition in the United Kingdom which has continued to the present day."In other words. Surnames can come from their various 'dynasties', but can also sometimes change due to their 'line of succession'. That is, if they choose to use them at all. Hey, when your royalty you get to make the rules, right? :-)


How The Game Is Played
The line of succession goes from the first born eldest male heir to the throne (Prince Charles). The next in line would be his first born male child (not his brothers). In this case Prince William. Now that William has had a son, that son becomes 3rd in line (knocking Harry out of 3rd place pushing him back to 4th).

Let's mucky this up a bit more. If Prince Charles never had a son his younger brother (Prince Andrew Duke Of York) was 2nd in line to the thrown. However since he has had two sons, Prince William and Prince Henry Charles Albert David (Prince Harry), that pushed Andrew back to 4th place.

Prince Harry was in 3rd in line but now that William & Kate had their baby that pushes him back to 4th and leaving Prince Andrew now 5th in line for the throne. Prince Andrew's 2 kids along with Prince Charles's other brother (Prince Edward Earl of Wessex) are pretty much out of the running as they are now in 6th thru 9th heirs to the throne. They could be pushed back even further if Prince Harry were to have a son sometime in the future. Clear as mud, eh?

Fret not. If your still confused (and who wouldn't be) check out the royal site for the whole scoop on 'succession' and 'precedence' for the royal events. There's also a listing of the current sixteen royal families. In addition check out the currently occupied royal castles and palaces along with the 23 others which are no longer occupied and a whole bunch of other goodies.

Who was that?