IT is often asked why Zara Tindall and her brother Peter Phillips do not have Prince and Princess Royal titles.
The siblings are the Queen’s eldest grandchildren but don’t hold any royal ranks. Here’s why…
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Why don’t Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips have titles?
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh have eight grandchildren – including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Princes William and Harry.
Yet not all were given hereditary titles.
Zara Tindall, 42, and Peter Phillips, 45, are the children of the Queen’s only daughter, Princess Anne, and her first husband, Mark Phillips.
However, neither of Her Majesty’s grandchildren have ever had HRH status.
Many girls dream of being a princess, but professional sportswoman Zara was relieved that her mum decided that she wouldn’t be one.
Princess Anne turned down the Queen’s offer of giving Zara a royal title after she was born, and equestrian-loving Zara said she felt “lucky” the decision was made.
Keen for her only daughter’s children to not miss out on the title of Prince or Princess, the Queen had extended the honour to Princess Anne’s offspring.
However, the invitation was turned down – following in the footsteps of Zara and Peter’s dad Captain Mark Phillips who refused a title as a wedding gift.
Neither of Princess Anne’s children, Zara and Peter, were actually entitled to royal status through birth, as typically titles are given to a monarch’s grandkids through sons.
This happened in the case of the children of Prince Charles and Prince Andrew.
But Prince Edward, upon his wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones, agreed with the Queen that their kids would be deemed as children of an Earl, instead of being called His or Her Royal Highness.
Therefore they became the Queen’s first male-line descendants not to have royal titles.
Zara, who is married to former rugby player Mike Tindall, told The Times in 2015: “I’m very lucky that both my parents decided to not use the title and we grew up and did all the things that gave us the opportunity to do.”
The lack of royal title has not held Zara back in life – and the talented horse-lover won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics in the GB Eventing Team.
It has also meant she has been free of the family’s formal obligations.
Former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter said: “It was a masterstroke of the Princess Royal when she decided not to give her children titles.
“Growing up as a commoner allowed Zara to thrive as her own woman, and there has never been pressure on her to conform.
“She has benefited from it in all sorts of ways.”
Are Peter and Zara in line to the throne?
The Royal Family is ever-expanding – with Princess Eugenie giving birth to her son, August in February 2021, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their second child, Lilibet Diana, in June 2021.
Zara welcomed her third child with husband Mike in March 2021, with the sporting couple already parents to two young daughters.
Their son, Lucas Philip Tindall, was named in honour of late Prince Philip.
So what does the growing clan mean in terms of succession?
The throne passed to King Charles when the Queen passed away in September 2022.
Now, first in line to the throne is eldest son Prince William and then his children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Louis does not leapfrog his sister Charlotte in the line of succession after the law favouring male heirs was changed.
Prince Harry – who was third in line to the throne in 2013 – is fifth in line.
Meghan and Harry’s firstborn Archie is sixth in line to the throne, followed by their second, Lilibet.
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is bumped down the line to eighth.
His and Sarah Ferguson’s first-born girl, Beatrice, is ninth in line, with her sister Eugenie tenth.
ROYAL FAMILY LINE OF SUCCESSION
- The Prince of Wales
- Prince George
- Princess Charlotte
- Prince Louis
- The Duke of Sussex
- Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor
- Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor
- The Duke of York
- Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
- Miss Sienna Mapelli Mozzi
- Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank
- Master August Brooksbank
- The Earl of Wessex
- Viscount Severn
- The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
- The Princess Royal
- Mr. Peter Phillips
- Miss Savannah Phillips
- Miss Isla Phillips
- Mrs. Michael Tindall
- Miss Mia Tindall
- Miss Lena Tindall
- Master Lucas Tindall
Do Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall have children?
The Queen’s eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips, has two daughters, with first wife Autumn – Savannah who was born in 2010 and Isla who was born in 2012.
Despite being included in the order of succession, their kids do not hold a royal title because his parents rejected the Queen’s offer when he was born in 1977.
Zara and Mike have two daughters and one son, Mia Grace, born in 2014, Lena Elizabeth, born in 2018, and Lucas Philip Tindall, born in 2021.
The couple met during England’s Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in Australia in 2003.
They were introduced to each other in a bar in Sydney by Zara’s cousin Prince Harry.