A few days ago there was a lot of movement in the titles of members of the British royal family. The children of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will now be addressed as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Prince Edward and his wife Sophie are the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and James, their son is the new Earl of Wessex, but why did the title of Countess not pass to Lady Louise?
Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor is the eldest daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, she has no royal titles by her parents’ decision. However, upon reaching the age of majority she could claim them which she did not, Louise turned 18 on November 8, 2021.
Why is Lady Louise not Countess of Wessex?
Although Louise is the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh she still maintains her status as a “Lady” within the British royal family, many expected her to be designated as Duchess of Wessex.
However, it was only in 2013 that England repealed the law that gave priority to boys over daughters regardless of whether she was born first. Louise born in 2003 and her brother James in 2007, does not benefit from this royal change.
Some have been upset that Louise is not a countess. Lady Helen Nall, the wife of the baronet of Nall, expressed her displeasure at this move in the royal family.
Nall has long been fighting to change the rules favoring male inheritance over any first-born daughter. In her case, she has only one daughter which means that her husband’s title of baronet will be inherited by her brother-in-law, rather than his daughter.
Lady Nall is not the only aristocrat who wishes to change the sexist regulations. Lady Kinvara Balfour, daughter of the Earl of Balfour, has denounced the issue. In 2020 an article was published in the Daily Telegraph where she cited her own family as an example of “the unfairness of these laws”, pointing out that despite her father having four daughters when he dies, his title will be inherited by his uncle (because he is a man).
Without going too far, Princess Diana’s niece has also been affected by the same regulations. Lady Kitty Spencer, eldest daughter of Charles, Earl of Spencer, and Princess Diana’s brother, she will not inherit that title, even though she is the eldest, it will be her brother who will get it.