With a new generation of modern royals, the age-old rules dictating the privileges and behaviours of a royal heir are changing. From education to the line of succession, these are the new rules in place today...
Travelling
This isn’t strictly an official rule, but it’s previously been royal protocol that heirs should never travel together, particularly on an aeroplane in case of an accident or emergency. Travelling separately prevents the line of succession from being affected. Recently, this rule has been broken by the Cambridges, first in 2013 soon after Prince George was born, when the family travelled to Australia and New Zealand – they’ve pretty much travelled together as a family ever since.
Royal titles
King George V created a rule that restricted the use of HRH titles to only the monarch, the monarch’s children and grandchildren, and the monarch’s eldest-born’s first grandson. Under those rules, Prince George would have only been legally called a Prince, while Charlotte and Louis would be Lord and Lady Mountbatten-Windsor, but the Queen changed the rules in 2012, allowing all children of William and Kate to take the Prince and Princess titles too.
Surnames
Although the default for all modern British royals is Windsor, the Queen made a rule that members of the Royal Family can now choose from three options; they don’t have to use a surname but just go with ‘Prince George’; they can use the surname of their title so 'George Cambridge'; or use the hyphenate handed down from their royal great grandparents, so 'George Mountbatten-Windsor'.
Succession to the throne
The Succession to the Crown Act was a new change executed by the Queen in 2013, which amended the order of succession so it is now determined by order of birth rather than gender, eliminating the preference for a male heir over a female. This means that Princess Charlotte is fourth in line to the throne, ahead of both Prince Harry and her younger brother, Prince Louis.
Education
It was once royal protocol that royal heirs were privately tutored rather than attend a school (although the Queen did go to Eton for private lessons as a child). This was changed when Prince Charles was enrolled at Hill House prep school in London and ever since then, royal heirs have all attended school, with Prince George the latest royal to have joined, starting at Thomas’s Battersea in September 2017.
A hospital birth
For fans of The Crown, you might remember the scene of the Queen giving birth at the palace. Home births for royals were pretty much a given, until Diana, Princess of Wales chose The Lindo Wing at St Mary’s to give birth to Prince William, the first royal to be born in a hospital. Since then, it’s been the choice for most of the modern royals, including the Duchess of Cambridge’s three children and, most likely, the Duchess of Sussex.
The Royal Marriages Act
The Royal Marriages Act was passed in 1772 by King George II, stating that his descendants could not marry without the monarch’s consent. Although this law has been overshadowed in history (namely when Edward VIII abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson). Now, the Succession to the Crown Act made new changes to this law, meaning that only the first six in line to the throne need to seek the monarch’s permission to marry. However, it’s considered good manners for all royal heirs to inform the monarch of their intention to marry before it’s publicly announced.
