Home > Royal and noble ranks
Traditional ranks among European royalty, peers, and nobility are rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and between geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke), the following is a fairly comprehensive list that provides information on both general ranks and specific differences.- Royal/ Monarch:
- Princely:
- Prince-elector, Kurfürst in German, electing the Emperor
- DukeThe term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Spa, who rules¹ a duchyA duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. Historically, some duchies in Continental Europe were sovereign, while others (especially in France and Britain) were subordinate districts of a kingdom. See also: Grand Duchy. For the hi
- sovereign Prince, FürstFor Furst the uniquely German title of nobility that is best translated as " Prince", see below. In the general sense, the German word Furst refers to a ruler, as in Machiavelli's The Prince''. Thus a king, a duke, and a Furst in the narrow sense are all in German, ruling¹ a PrincipalityPrince Albert of Monaco on the left represents a principality where he wields adminisitrative authority. Prince Charles of Wales represents a titular principality with no administrative authority. A principality is a monarchial feudatory or sovereign stat
- PrinceFor other meanings, see Prince (disambiguation). A prince (from the Latin princeps is a male member of royalty or a royal family. A female prince is known as princess . Although this is the most commonly understood definition, there are also different sys, Prinz in German, junior members of a royal or princely family
- Peers:²
- 1) Loss of sovereignty or fief does not necessarily lead to loss of title. The position in the ranking table is however accordingly adjusted. The occurrence of fiefs has changed from time to time, and from country to country. For instance, dukes in England rarely had a duchy to rule.
- 2) The term Peer is used in Britain, but the division could be argued to be of general value.
- 3) Dukes who are not actually or formerly sovereign, such as all British, French, and Spanish dukes, or who are not sons of sovereigns, as titulary dukes in many other countries, would not be considered to be of princely rank.
In Germany, the actual rank of the holder of a title is, however, dependent on not only the title as such, but on for instance the degree of sovereignty and on the rank of the lord of the title-holder. But also such matters as the age of the princely dynasty play a role (Uradel, Briefadel, altfürstliche, neufürstliche, see: German nobility ).
Thus, any sovereign ruler would be higher than any formerly sovereign, i.e. mediatized , family of any rank (thus, the Fürst of Waldeck, sovereign until 1918, was higher than the Duke of Arenberg, mediatized).
Members of a formerly sovereign house ranked higher than the regular nobility.
Among the regular nobility, those whose titles derived from the Holy Roman Empire ranked higher than those whose titles were granted by one of the German princes after 1806, no matter what title was held.
Below is a comparative table of corresponding royal and noble titles in various European countries. See Royal and noble styles to learn how to properly address holders of these titles.
| English
| French
| Italian
| Spanish
| German
| Dutch
| Norwegian
| Swedish
| Finnish
| Polish¹
| Russian
| Danish
|
Emperor,
Empress
| Empereur,
Imperatrice
| Imperatore,
Imperatrice
| Emperador,
Emperatriz
| Kaiser,
Kaiserin
| Keizer,
Keizerin
| Keiser,
Keiserinne
|
|
| Cesarz,
Cesarzowa
| Tsar,
Tsaritsa
| Kejser,
Kejserinde
|
King,
Queen
| Roi,
Reine
| Re,
Regina
| Rey,
Reina
| König,
Königin
| Koning,
Koningin
| Kong,
Dronning
| Kung,
Drottning
| Kuningas,
Kuningatar4
| Król,
Królowa
|
| Konge
Dronning
|
Grand Duke,
Grand Duchess
| Grand Duc,
Grande Duchesse
| Granduca,
Granduchessa
|
| Großherzog
| Groothertog,
Groothertogin
| Storhertug,
Storhertuginne
|
| Suuriruhtinas,
Suuriruhtinatar4
| Wielki Ksiaze,
Wielka Ksiezna
| Veliky Kniaz
| N/A
|
Duke,
Duchess
| Duc,
Duchesse
| Duca,
Duchessa
| Duque,
Duquesa
| Herzog,
Herzogin
| Hertog
| Hertug, Hertuginne
| Hertig
| Herttua,
Herttuatar4
| Ksiaze,
Ksiezna
| Kniaz5
| Hertug
Hertuginde
|
Prince²,
Princess
| Prince²,
Princesse
| Principe²,
Principessa
| Príncipe²,
Princesa
| Fürst,
Fürstin
| Prins
| Fyrst
| Furste4
| Ruhtinas,
Ruhtinatar4
| Fyrste
Fyrstinde
|
Marquess,
Marchioness
| Marquis,
Marquise
| Marchese,
Marchesa
| Marqués,
Marquesa
| Markgraf³,
Markgräfin
| Markies,
Markgraaf
| Marki
| Markis4
| Markiisi4
| Markiz,
Markiza
| Boyar5
| Marki
?
|
Earl / Count,
Countess
| Comte,
Comtesse
| Conte,
Contessa
| Conde,
Condesa
| Graf,
Gräfin
| Graaf
| Greve / Jarl,
Grevinne
| Greve
| Kreivi,
Kreivitär4
| Hrabia,
Hrabina
| Graf,
Grafinia5
| Greve
Grevinde
|
Viscount,
Viscountess
| Vicomte,
Vicomtesse
| Visconte,
Viscontessa
| Vizconde,
Vizcondesa
| Vizegraf,
Vizegräfin
| Burggraaf
| Visegreve,
Visegrevinne
|
|
| Wicehrabia,
Wicehrabina
|
| Vicegreve
Vicegrevinde
|
|
Baron,
Baroness
| Baron,
Baronne
| Barone,
Baronessa
| Barón,
Baronesa
| Freiherr,
Freifrau
| Baron
| Baron,
Baronesse
| Friherre
| Vapaaherra,
Vapaaherratar4
| Baron,
Baronowa
|
| Baron
Baronesse
|
| Baronet6
| Baronnet
| Baronetto
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| N/A
|
| Knight6
| Chevalier
| Cavaliere
| Caballero
| Ritter
| Ridder
| Ridder
| Riddare4
| Ritari4
| Rycerz
|
| Ridder
|
- Notes:
- 1) Due to the prinicple of nobles' equality, any aristocratic titles below that of prince were not allowed in Poland (see szlachta). The titles in italics are simply Polish translations of western titles which were granted to some Polish nobles by foreign monarchs, especially after the partitions.
- 2) Prince/principe can also be a royal title, Prinz in German, Prins in Swedish. In the British system, the title Prince is not a rank of nobility but always a title held exclusively by members of the Royal Family
- 3) In the German system by rank approximately equal to Landgraf and Pfalzgraf
- 4) No titles were granted after 1906 when unicameral assembly (Eduskunta) was established
- 5) For domestic Russian nobility only the two titles Kniaz and Boyar were used before
the 18th century. Then Graf was added.
- 6) Not counted as nobility in the British system
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