British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is a shared royal family. This article describes the Royal Family from the perspective of United Kingdom. In some other Commonwealth Realms, the concept, function and position of the royal family is similar, but the historical and cultural significance may differ. For information on the Royal Family in the other Realms, see Other Realms.
Close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom are known by the appellation The Royal Family. Although there is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the Royal Family [1], and different lists will include different people, those carrying the style His or Her Majesty (HM) or His or Her Royal Highness (HRH) are generally considered members, which usually results in the application of the term to these persons:
the monarch (the king or queen);
the consort of the monarch (his or her spouse);
the widowed consorts of previous monarchs (Queen Mother or Queen Dowager);
the children of the monarch;
the grandchildren of the monarch;
the spouses and the widowed spouses of a monarch's son and male-line grandsons; and
before 1917, great-grandchildren in the male line.
The current British Royal Family are members of the House of Windsor.
Collaterals of the British Royal Family
The following descendants (or widows) of the younger children of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, and King George V
The Earl of Harewood (grandson of King George V through his daughter Mary, Princess Royal), his second wife, and his children, and grandchilddren, as well as the children and grandchildren of his now deceased brother, Gerald Lascelles.
The Duke of Fife (female-line great-grandson of King Edward VII) and his children and grandchildren
The Lady Saltoun (widow of Alexander Ramsay of Mar, a female-line grandson of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the third son of Queen Victoria), and her children and grandchildren
The Marquess of Milford Haven (grandson of George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, and a first cousin once removed of the Duke of Edinburgh), and his family
The Countess Mountbatten of Burma (elder daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and a first cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh), and her family
The Earl of Harewood is a female-line first cousin of the Queen. The Duke of Fife, the Marquess of Milford Haven, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and the Lady Saltoun, and their respective families, as well as Lord Harewood's descendants, are so distant from the reigning sovereign that they are relatives of, rather than members of, the Royal Family.
None of these persons receive any monies from the State or undertake official engagements on behalf of the Queen. However, the Queen does invite them to private family functions and to participate in official royal occasions, such as the Trooping the Colour, the Golden Jubilee celebrations, and ceremonial or state funerals.
There are three living former spouses of members of the British Royal Family:
Sarah, Duchess of York (the former wife of the Duke of York),
Captain Mark Phillips (the first husband of the Princess Royal), and
The Earl of Snowdon (the former husband of the late Princess Margaret).
Recently deceased members of the Royal Family include:
HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (widow of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and mother to the present Duke of Gloucester)
HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (sister of the Queen)
Diana, Princess of Wales (first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales)
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (widow of King George VI and mother of the Queen)
