A royal family is the immediate family of monarch and sometimes their extended family.
The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while the terms baronial family, comital family, ducal family, archducal family, grand ducal family, or princely family are more appropriate to describe, respectively, the relatives of a reigning baron, count/earl, duke, archduke, grand duke, or prince.
However, in common parlance members of any family which by hereditary right are often referred to as royalty or "royals". It is also customary in some circles to refer to the extended relations of a deposed monarch and their descendants as a royal family. A dynasty is sometimes referred to as the "House of ...". In July 2013 there were 26 active sovereign dynasties in the world that ruled or reigned over 43 monarchies.[ Meet the world's other 25 royal families]
Members of a royal family
A royal family typically includes the spouse of the reigning monarch, surviving spouses of a deceased monarch, the children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and paternal cousins of the reigning monarch, as well as their spouses. In some cases, royal family membership may extend to great grandchildren and more distant descendants of a monarch. In certain monarchies where voluntary
abdication is the norm, such as the
Netherlands, a royal family may also include one or more former monarchs. In certain instances, such as in Canada, the royal family is defined by who holds the styles
Majesty and
Royal Highness.
There is often a distinction between persons of the blood royal and those that marry into the royal family. Under most systems, only persons in the first category are dynasts, that is, potential successors to the throne (unless the member of the latter category is also in line to the throne in their own right, a frequent occurrence in royal families which frequently intermarry). This is not always observed; some monarchies have operated by the principle of
jure uxoris.
In addition, certain relatives of the monarch (by blood or marriage) possess special privileges and are subject to certain statutes, conventions, or special common law. The precise functions of a royal family vary depending on whether the polity in question is an absolute monarchy, a constitutional monarchy, or somewhere in between. In certain monarchies, such as that found in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, or in political systems where the monarch actually exercises executive power, such as in Jordan, it is not uncommon for the members of a royal family to hold important government posts or military commands. In most constitutional monarchies, however, members of a royal family perform certain public, social, or ceremonial functions, but refrain from any involvement in electoral politics or the actual governance of the country.
The specific composition of royal families varies from country to country, as do the titles and royal and noble styles held by members of the family. The composition of the royal family may be regulated by statute enacted by the legislature (e.g., Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan since 1947), the sovereign's prerogative and common law tradition (e.g., the United Kingdom), or a private house law (e.g., Liechtenstein, the former ruling houses of Bavaria, Prussia, Hanover, etc.). Public statutes, constitutional provisions, or conventions may also regulate the marriages, names, and personal titles of royal family members. The members of a royal family may or may not have a surname or dynastic name (see Royal House).
In a constitutional monarchy, when the monarch dies, there is always a law or tradition of succession to the throne that either specifies a formula for identifying the precise order of succession among family members in line to the throne or specifies a process by which a family member is chosen to inherit the crown. Usually in the former case the exact line of hereditary succession among royal individuals may be identified at any given moment during prior (e.g. United Kingdom, Sark, Aga Khan, Japan, Rain Queen, Sweden, Benin Empire) whereas in the latter case the next sovereign may be selected (or changed) only during the reign or shortly after the demise of the immediately preceding monarch (e.g. Cambodia, KwaZulu Natal, Buganda, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Yoruba people, The Kingitanga). Some monarchies employ a mix of these selection processes (Malaysia, Monaco, Tonga, Jordan, Morocco), providing for both an identifiable line of succession as well as authority for the monarch, dynasty or other institution to alter the line in specific instances without changing the general law of succession.
Some countries have abolished royalty altogether, as in post-revolutionary France (1870), post-revolutionary Russia (1917), Portugal (1910), post-war Germany (1918), post-war Italy (1946) and many ex European colonies.
Current royal families
Africa
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Lesotho royal family
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Moroccan royal family
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Swazi royal family
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List of current constituent African monarchs
Middle East
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Bahraini royal family
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Emirati princely families
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Hashemites
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Kuwaiti princely family
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Omani sultanic family
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Qatari princely family
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Saudi royal family
Asia
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Bruneian royal family
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Bhutanese royal family
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Norodom Sihanouk
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Japanese imperial family
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Malaysian royal families
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Johor royal family
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Kedah royal family
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Kelantan royal family
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Negeri Sembilan royal family
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Pahang royal family
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Perak royal family
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Perlis royal family
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Selangor royal family
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Terengganu royal family
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Chakri dynasty
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List of current constituent Asian monarchs
Europe
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Belgian royal family
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British royal family
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Danish royal family
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Dutch royal family
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Liechtenstein princely family
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Luxembourg grand ducal family
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Monegasque princely family
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Norwegian royal family
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Spanish royal family
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Swedish royal family
Oceania
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Australian royal family
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New Zealand royal family
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Papuan royal family
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Solomon Islands royal family
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Tongan royal family
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Tuvaluan royal family
North America
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Antiguan royal family
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Bahamian royal family
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Belizean royal family
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Canadian royal family
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Grenadian royal family
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Jamaican royal family
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Miskito royal family
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Saint Kitts and Nevis royal family
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Saint Lucian royal family
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Vincentian royal family
Deposed royal families
Africa
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Central African imperial family
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Egyptian royal family
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Ethiopian imperial family
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Gambian royal family
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Ghanaian royal family
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Kenyan royal family
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Senusiyya
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Malawian royal family
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Mauritian royal family
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Nigerian royal family
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Rwandan royal family
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Rhodesian (Zimbabwean) royal family
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Sierra Leonean royal family
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South African royal family
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Tanganykan (Tanzanian) royal family
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Husainid dynasty
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Ugandan royal family
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Umurundi royal family
Middle East
Asia
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Barakzai dynasty
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Bengali royal family
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Konbaung dynasty
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Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) royal family
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Chinese imperial family
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Indian imperial family
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Korean imperial family
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Laotian royal family
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Huraa dynasty
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Shah dynasty
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Pakistani royal family
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Singaporean sultanic family
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Uzbek royal families
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Vietnamese imperial family
Europe
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Albanian royal family
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Austrian imperial family
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Bohemian (Czech) royal family
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Bulgarian royal family
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Croatian royal family
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Finnish royal family
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French imperial family
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Georgian royal family
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German imperial family
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Bavarian royal family
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Saxon royal family
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Württemberg royal family
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Baden grand ducal family
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Hessian grand ducal family
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Mecklenburg (Schwerin and Strelitz) grand ducal family
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Oldenburg grand ducal family
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Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach grand ducal family
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Anhalt ducal family
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Brunswick ducal family
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Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ducal family
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Saxe-Meiningen
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Lippe-Detmold princely family
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Greek royal family
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Irish royal family
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Italian royal family
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Hungarian royal family
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Lithuanian royal family
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Maltese royal family
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Montenegrin royal family
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Polish royal family (Congress Poland)
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Portuguese royal family
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Romanian royal family
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Russian imperial family
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Serbian royal family
Oceania
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Fijian royal family
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Hawaiian royal family
North America
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Barbadian royal family
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Haitian imperial family
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Mexican imperial family
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Miskito royal family
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Trinidad and Tobago royal family
South America
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Brazilian imperial family
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Mask of Ferdinand VII context
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Argentine royal family (United Provinces of the Río de la Plata)
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Chilean royal family (Patria Vieja)
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Colombian royal family (Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca)
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Venezuelan royal family (Supreme Junta)
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Guyanese royal family
Mediatised princely families
Whilst mediatization occurred in other countries such as
France,
Italy and
Russia, only the certain houses within the former Holy Roman Empire are collectively called the Mediatized Houses.
Dynasties
See also
External links
