WEBVTT - How do British royal titles work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff from house stuff marks dot com where

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<v Speaker 1>smart happens. I am Marshall Brain with today's question, who

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<v Speaker 1>are the Duke of York, the Duke of Kent and

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<v Speaker 1>so on? And how did they get their titles? The

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<v Speaker 1>British Royal family is like other families, made up of spouses, children, grandchildren, grandparents, uncle's,

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<v Speaker 1>aunts and cousins. The head of the British Royal family

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<v Speaker 1>is Queen Elizabeth Too, and she is the one who

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<v Speaker 1>decides who are bona fide members of the family and

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<v Speaker 1>what titles they will carry. To answer your question, a

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<v Speaker 1>duke is the highest rank you can achieve without being

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<v Speaker 1>a king or a prince. Historically, a duke is a

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<v Speaker 1>high ranking nobleman, landowner or a prince, and in feudal

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<v Speaker 1>times was the lord over some part of the country.

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<v Speaker 1>Today the titles are largely embolic, and there are twenty

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<v Speaker 1>eight dukedoms. Some people, like Prince Charles, have several dukedoms,

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<v Speaker 1>and some dukedoms are currently unassigned. When a duke who

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<v Speaker 1>does not have an air dies, the title returns back

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<v Speaker 1>to the royal family to be given out to someone new.

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<v Speaker 1>Not everyone who carries the title duke or Earl is

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<v Speaker 1>a member of today's royal family. Britain has a system

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<v Speaker 1>of peerage which ranks members of the nobility and aristocracy.

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<v Speaker 1>Many titles of nobility were one many years ago through

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<v Speaker 1>great wealth, favors to the king or good deeds, and

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<v Speaker 1>they're passed on from one generation to the next. This

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<v Speaker 1>is known as the inherited peerage. For example, Earl Spencer,

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<v Speaker 1>the brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is

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<v Speaker 1>the ninth man in his family to carry that title.

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<v Speaker 1>Before he came Earl of Spencer. Note that the practices

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<v Speaker 1>to drop the of upon the death of his father,

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<v Speaker 1>he was known as Charles Spencer or as Viscount Althorpe,

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<v Speaker 1>a title his son Lewis now carries. Other noble titles

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<v Speaker 1>are given on merit or on special occasions. The life

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<v Speaker 1>peerage are titles that the monarch confers on exceptional people

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<v Speaker 1>during their lifetimes, and those titles do not pass to

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<v Speaker 1>children or descendants. Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of Britain,

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<v Speaker 1>is now Baroness Thatcher. The British Prime Minister, consults with

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<v Speaker 1>the Queen about who is deserving of a life peerage

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<v Speaker 1>and several people are elevated to the peerage every year.

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<v Speaker 1>Life peers get a seat in the House of Lords,

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<v Speaker 1>but a law passed in limits the right of hereditary

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<v Speaker 1>peers to have a seat. The order of the titles

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<v Speaker 1>in British isles nobility from highest the lowest are first

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<v Speaker 1>of all, the duke and duchess title. The name is

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<v Speaker 1>derived from the Latin ducks, which means lead. Most dukedoms

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<v Speaker 1>carry a place name, although that means little to the

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<v Speaker 1>modern titles because the holders are not the sovereigns of

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<v Speaker 1>that land area. The title marquis appeared in England with

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<v Speaker 1>the Norman conquest and was given to nobles who were

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<v Speaker 1>in charge of border areas. The name is related to

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<v Speaker 1>older words for the frontier. The title earl comes from

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<v Speaker 1>a Norse word which meant leader. It's equivalent to account

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<v Speaker 1>in European nobility. The term viscount comes from the Latin

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<v Speaker 1>word for companion, and was sort of an assistant nobleman

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<v Speaker 1>in the old days. Baron is the lowest rank of

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<v Speaker 1>nobility and came to England with the Norman's Also, and

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<v Speaker 1>the word is derived from the Norman word for a freeman.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have a life peerage. This is the highest

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<v Speaker 1>title you can carry. Below these are the lower nobility,

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<v Speaker 1>who carry the titles baronet. This title is granted to

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<v Speaker 1>members of the upper classes, referred to as the gentle.

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<v Speaker 1>The story is that King James the First created the

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<v Speaker 1>title to raise money. Then there's a knight. In medieval times,

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<v Speaker 1>knights were the soldiers of the king or of princes.

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<v Speaker 1>Now the queen grants knighthood to her subjects who have

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<v Speaker 1>achieved great success in their professions. Paul McCartney, the former

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<v Speaker 1>Beatle has been knighted, for example. The female equivalent is

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<v Speaker 1>dom or Dame Esquire in medieval times, and Esquire was

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<v Speaker 1>a candidate for knighthood. Nowadays, it's applied to members of

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<v Speaker 1>the gentry, just below the knights. The queen bestowed titles

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<v Speaker 1>on her sons at their marriages and gave her daughter

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<v Speaker 1>a special title. She has several titles that are hers

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<v Speaker 1>to do with as she wishes. If an inherited peer

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<v Speaker 1>dies without an error, the title becomes the crown's property. Again.

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<v Speaker 1>Some titles that the queen's son's hold are part of

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<v Speaker 1>the Scottish or Irish peerage. The prince's titles can be

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<v Speaker 1>inherited by their sons. Be sure to check out our

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