British princess

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The use of the title of Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is entirely at the will of the sovereign, and is now expressed in letters patent. Individuals holding the title of princess will usually also be granted the style of Her Royal Highness (HRH). The current letters patent were issued in 1917 during the World War I, with one extension in 2012.

Between 1714 and 1917, pursuant to the then custom, daughters of the monarch and daughters of male-line descendants of a monarch were accorded the rank of a British princess. King George V issued letters patent on 30 November 1917 (issue 30428, Dec. 14, 1917, p. 2.), predefining who held the title, style and rank of a British Princess^[1] to restrict the automatic assignment of the title "princess" and the use of the style "Royal Highness" to the following persons:

• the legitimate daughters of a British Sovereign
• the legitimate male line granddaughters of a British sovereign.

On 31 December 2012, Queen Elizabeth II issued letters patent enabling daughters of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales to hold the title princess and style Royal Highness, as opposed to only the eldest son (the 1917 patent having extended "prince" to his eldest living son).

The wife of a British prince whose marriage has been approved by the British Sovereign is automatically entitled to the feminine form of her husband's titles by long established tradition.