# How many princes are there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2019, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745 "2019-09-24T06:50:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/1 "2019-09-24T06:50:26Z")
So about ten years ago we did [How many princesses are there?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=523247). According to the criteria set out by the OP, the best-researched answer indicated that there were at least 64 European princesses (excluding those from deposed monarchies). Surprisingly, nobody thought to ask how many princes there were, so I’m doing so now. As before, let’s restrict ourselves to **European** princes (so as to avoid counting countries like Saudi Arabia, which hands out princely titles like candy) from **non-deposed houses** (i.e., no princely pretenders to extant monarchies, and no princes from republics even if the state lets them keep their now-meaningless title). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/2 "2019-09-24T07:39:14Z")
None in Spain. The sons of the king’s sisters aren’t princes and he has no male children. There are a bunch of other Borbones and Grecias living in Spain who claim this or that throne but the probability of getting it approaches zero. Two in Andorra: Monseñor Joan Enric Vives and Monsieur Emmanuel Macron. These get the title for being respectively the bishop of Seo d’Urgell (Spain) and the President of France, they’re not only not hereditary but also only held while the main job is. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/3 "2019-09-24T08:25:10Z")
Andorra - 2 co-princes. (But note that the position is not hereditary, but ex-officio; the co-princes are whoever is Bishop of Urgell, and whoever is President of the French Republic. And it’s a position, not a title; a co-prince is not, e.g. “Prince Emmanuel”) Belgium - Wikipedia lists 6 living princes in the Royal Family, plus I suppose you could argue about the ex-King, though he still has the title “King”, not “prince”. Denmark - Wikipedia lists 7 living princes. In addition, the male members of the deposed Greek royal house are princes of Denmark as well as of Greece; if you want to count them there are I think 7, plus the current pretender to the Greek throne, King Constantine II, who is a Prince of Greece and Denmark, though he doesn’t use the title. The Duke of Edinburgh was also a Prince of Greece and Denmark, but he renounced the title on his marriage. (He counts as prince of the UK, though.) Say 14, not counting the putative King of Greece or the Duke of Edinburgh. Lichtenstein - there’s the reigning Prince, of course, plus Wikipedia lists 9 of his descendants with the title “prince”, and 11 living collateral relatives with the title - a total of 20 Luxembourg - the Grand Duke and his heir do not use the title “prince” but other male members of the Grand Ducal family do - 17 of them. Monaco - there’s the reigning prince. Other legitimate members of the family are “prince” or “princess”; currently only 1 has the chromosomal qualifications to be a prince. The Netherlands - currently 5 princes in the royal family, according to Wikipedia, plus 1 who lost the title when he married without parliamentary consent. We can’t count him. Norway - just 2; the Crown Prince, and his son. Spain - the monarch’s eldest child, if male, would be “Prince of Asturias”, but there is currently no Prince of Asturias, since the King’s eldest child is female. (She is “Princess of Asturias”.) If the King had any other sons, each would be an “Infante of Spain”, and this title is generally regarded as equivalent to “Prince”. But the present King’s only other child is also female. If the Princess of Asturias had sons, they too would have the title of “infante”, but she’s only 13 years old. And similarly the living descendants of former kings who would be “infante” if male all lack the required chromosomes. So, no princes in Spain just now. Sweden - Wikipedia lists 6 members of the Royal Family with the title “prince”. UK - By my count, 11 current princes, although some of them are also Dukes and this title is generally used in preference - e.g. Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, is generally just referred to as the Duke of Edinburgh. The Wessexes have a son who is entitled to the title, but he doesn’t use it; so we won’t count him. So, I make that 86 princes either reigning in Europe or members of reigning European houses, if we count the Greeks as princes of Denmark also, and if we disregard former princes now using the title “King”, and if we counting the co-princes of Andorra. Obviously, you could argue about all of those. Over 40% of European princes are accounted for by just two states - Luxembourg and Lichtenstein. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/4 "2019-09-24T09:01:16Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Andorra - 2 co-princes. (But note that the position is not hereditary, but ex-officio; the co-princes are whoever is Bishop of Urgell, and whoever is President of the French Republic. And it’s a position, not a title; a co-prince is not, e.g. “Prince Emmanuel”) No, he is in fact Prince Emmanuel Macron, and would be addressed so if he visited Andorra as its chief of state. But he carefully refrains from visiting Andorra on official business. Prince(ss) of Asturias, Girona and Viana are also title/position combos; that is the origin of hereditary titles, after all. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/5 "2019-09-24T09:04:26Z")
Thanks, **UDS** , for that comprehensive and very well-researched overview! ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/6 "2019-09-24T09:06:00Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > No, he is in fact Prince Emmanuel Macron, and would be addressed so if he visited Andorra as its chief of state. But he carefully refrains from visiting Andorra on official business. Why the “on official business” qualifier? Does he often visit for non-official purposes? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/7 "2019-09-24T09:10:36Z")
I have no idea if he’s ever gone skiing there, for example. But he could without being called either “Your Highness” or “Monsieur le President”, because he’d be on his own time. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/8 "2019-09-24T10:34:25Z")
Why limit to Europe? Are those the only “real” royalty? I mean, yes Salman has a boatload of sons (14) but seeing that the king of Saudi Arabia has tree wives, I don’t find the number very high. Royalties, even in affluent countries with low birth rate, tend to get many offspring, thereby guaranteeing the survival of the family as monarchs. And if we count male offspring of the King as princes, why wouldn’t we consider Saudi-Arabia? The Saud family has ruled since the 18th century. Other countries to consider: Morocco, Jordan, Thailand, Japan, Brunei. Long, established monarchies and not something thought up by tin pot dictators in the former USSR, all ending in _-stan._ ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/9 "2019-09-24T11:14:59Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > Why limit to Europe? Because I said so. But now that my question’s been satisfactorily answered, feel free to expand its scope to other monarchies, pretender houses, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/10 "2019-09-24T16:03:55Z")
The correct answer is, of course, [two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsdy_rct6uo). ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/11 "2019-09-24T16:08:36Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Because I said so. But now that my question’s been satisfactorily answered, feel free to expand its scope to other monarchies, pretender houses, etc. Well there is that [Fresh Price of Bel Air](https://www.newstatesman.com/sites/default/files/styles/cropped_article_image/public/blogs_2017/08/rehost_2f2016_2f9_2f13_2f1b5cb41f-6c9f-4862-ae3a-107fd32008ab_1_.jpg?itok=3V2At_67). 😃 Don’t say you didn’t expect this when you opened up the criteria! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/12 "2019-09-24T16:38:02Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > The correct answer is, of course, [two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsdy_rct6uo). True, but if you marry one, your father will condone you. How 'bout that. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/13 "2019-09-24T20:03:43Z")
The descendants of Prince Stefan Cantacuzino, a Romanian noble, reside in Sweden, which apparently lets them use the princely title. The Duke of Wellington is also the Prince of Waterloo in both the Dutch and Belgian nobility. The Prince of Chimay and Caraman is a noble in both Belgium and the Netherlands. A number of members of the House of Bourbon-Parma reside in the Netherlands, which apparently lets them use princely title and style. > **[Belgian nobility](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_nobility)** > > The Belgian nobility comprises Belgian individuals or families recognized as noble with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of Belgium. The Belgian constitution states that no specific privileges are attached to the nobility. > Because most old families have resided in the current territory of Belgium for centuries and prior to the founding of the modern Belgian state, their members have been drawn from a variety of nations. Spanish nobles resided in Flanders in the 15th and 16th centuri... > [@](#): > > Prince Swiatopelk-Czetwertyński, Prince Michel Czetwertynski, Prince Alexandre Czetwertynski, Prince Tinko Czetwertynski recognised in 2007 > > Prince de Habsbourg-Lorraine, Archdukes Rudolf (1950) and Carl Christian of Austria (1954), and their legitimate male-line descendants, were incorporated into Belgium’s nobility as Prince/sse de Habsbourg-Lorraine in 1978 and 1983, respectively > > Prince of Ligne, Imperial Count 1549, Imperial prince 1601, mediatized 1803, 1923 Belgian recognition of title Prince d’Amblise et d’Epinoy by male primogeniture > > Prince de Lobkowicz, mediatized family of Bohemia whose 1624 Imperial princely title was recognized in Belgium for a member of the family who became a Belgian subject > > Prince de Mérode, Imperial Count since 1622; Heads of the house bore the titles Marquis of Westerlo since 1626 and Prince of Rubempré and Everberg since the 18th century, title of Prince of Grimbergen inherited by primogeniture from Marie-Josephe de Mastaing-Oignies in 1842; each member is prince/sse de Merode since 1929. Famous is prince Emmanuel de Merode, director of the Virunga National Park. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/14 "2019-09-24T20:22:10Z")
All of the Roman Catholic Cardinals are Princes of the Church, and are rated at at the same level as royal princes. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/15 "2019-09-24T20:35:25Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Lichtenstein - there’s the reigning Prince, of course, plus Wikipedia lists 9 of his descendants with the title “prince”, and 11 living collateral relatives with the title - a total of 20 There’s more than 20 princes of Liechtenstein. Every male born legitimately in the male line in the last several centuries is a member of the princely house and entitled to call himself “Prince.” Wikipedia’s [list of dynasts of the House of Liechtenstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Liechtenstein) includes 53 names, making them the most numerous of the princes of Europe. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/16 "2019-09-24T21:08:48Z")
There may be some dupes on the list. For example … Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg married Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein and they have had three children: Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein Princess Marie-Astrid of Liechtenstein **Prince** Josef-Emanuel of Liechtenstein Note the “of Liechtenstein” after their father’s line. Not sure if they would be considered princesses/prince of Luxembourg as well. (Princess Margaretha’s brother’s kids are princes.) Luxembourg got rid of primogeniture and such recently but the young prince was born well before that. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/17 "2019-09-24T21:16:14Z")
Dunno if it’s legit to count members of the [various royal families of India](https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31709924), who have no official state responsibilities in the modern Republic of India but lots of inherited social, economic and political clout. There have to be hundreds, at least, of people in that group who are routinely called “Prince” or “Princess” or roughly equivalent Indian titles. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/18 "2019-09-25T03:01:36Z")
Italy has a bazillion “Princes”; how many of them are descended from actual rulers of former Princedoms and how many just styled themselves so and managed to make it stick is your own guess. Edit: those Indian princes have religious duties as well. I was in grad school with a maharajah’s daughter who was also a famous singer of religious plays; the reactions of the other Indian students when they recognized her were interesting, and I’m talking instant recognition. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/19 "2019-09-25T03:23:08Z")
There’s surely some Romanovs around. And Japan has a royal family. And Michael Jacksons sons are princes:) I think I have royal blood, but no one believes me. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745/20 "2019-09-25T04:56:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I think I have royal blood “Can I see it?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-princes-are-there/840745.md?page=2)