Royal titles can be a bit confusing. There are members of the royal family, such as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s first child, Archie, who don’t have them.

And then there’s also that trend where royals get another title upon marriage. For instance, Harry and Meghan became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, while William and Kate became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

And this leads to another question that might have perplexed fans since last year. Unlike her cousins Prince William and Prince Harry, Princess Eugenie did not become a duchess when she got married in 2018.

It all boils down to how the UK’s peerage system works. Simply put, there’s a difference between being a prince and being a duke. And, as Reader’s Digest puts it, “princes are born,” while “dukes are made.”

Normally, the title of a prince or princess requires one to have a royal blood. But that’s not the case for dukes and duchesses as the title is merely granted by the reigning monarch.

British princes can be considered fortunate in this area as most princes are given the title of duke upon coming of age or when they get married. For instance, Prince Charles became the Duke of Cornwall when he was 4, given to him by his mother, who became the monarch by then.

Similarly, Prince William became the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry became the Duke of Sussex when they got married. As a result, Kate became the Duchess of Cambridge, while Meghan became the Duchess of Sussex.

Unfortunately, there might be some form of gender inequality as far as dukedoms are concerned. “The harsh truth, perhaps, but only sons and grandsons of the monarch receive royal dukedoms,” Reader’s Digest wrote.

“So when Eugenie (born Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York) got married, there was no precedent for her to be named the duchess of any realm. And as a female, she isn’t eligible to inherit her father’s Dukedom of York,” the publication continued.

Had Princess Eugenie married a duke, she would have earned the title of a duchess as well. Unfortunately, her husband neither is a royal nor was given the title of a duke by Queen Elizabeth.

This means that Eugenie will have to be content with being a princess for now. But duchess or not, royal titles might not even matter that much to her at all.

“How do I play the princess thing?” she once jokingly asked Telegraph. “I don’t really. I don’t like talking about it and find it annoying when people say things like, ‘Oh, you’re the princess.’ One of my best friends jokingly says, ‘Hi Princess,’ and I say, ‘Shut up.’ It is one of the things that bugs me the most.”

Princess Eugenie
Princess Eugenie of York looks at art work during a visit to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to open the new Stanmore Building. David Mirzoeff - WPA Pool/Getty Images

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