Princess Charlotte could inherit the title Princess Royal but she'll have to wait

Charlotte will have to wait for a very simple reason...

princess charlotte prince louis christening

Princess Charlotte already has the title of sassiest little royal in our minds but how long will she have to wait until she's called Princess Royal?

Princess Charlotte might be fourth in line to the throne but it's unlikely she'll ever be Queen.

Princess Charlotte's eldest brother, Prince George, on the other hand is third in line to the throne and will one day be king – even if he doesn't quite understand the momentous role he will one day inherit.

So the title Princess Charlotte is most likely to inherit is that of Princess Royal.

The title of Princess Royal is usually, but not automatically, awarded by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter.

Hence, Princess Anne currently holds the title as she is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

This is why Princess Charlotte will have to wait until she can have the title.

Royal historian and founder of Royal Musings Marlene Koenig told Hello magazine: 'William will need to be king and Princess Anne dead for Charlotte to be named Princess Royal. So yes it is possible in the future.'

She added: 'But now with gender equal succession, I think it would be more possible to grant a peerage to Charlotte. Prince Louis will get one when he marries, so it would only be fair if Charlotte was named a Duchess on her wedding day.

'She and her children will be ahead of Louis' line in the succession.'

Prince Louis: May 2018

In 2015, ahead of Princess Charlotte's birth, all 16 countries in the Commonwealth agreed that the law should be changed so that birth order and not gender determined succession.

This meant that when Prince Louis was born in April, Princess Charlotte became the first royal girl to welcome a younger brother and not lose her place in the line to the throne.

We think Princess Charlotte will rock the title of Princess Royal, she already seems to have mastered the world's media and she's just three-years-old!

Jessica Ransom
Senior Food Writer

Jessica is a freelance food writer, stylist and recipe tester. She previously worked as Senior Food Writer at Future. While at Future Jessica wrote food and drink-related news stories and features, curated product pages, reviewed equipment, and developed recipes that she then styled on food shoots. She is an enthusiastic, self-taught cook who adores eating out and sharing great food and drink with friends and family. She has completed the Level 1 Associate course at the Academy of Cheese and is continually building on her knowledge of beers, wines, and spirits.