Show BRITISH PRINCESSES ROYAL Historic Precedents Origin of the Title and Some Bearers Bear-ers of It Nothing In the list of the birthday honors will gratify his majestys subjects sub-jects more than the announcement that tho duchess of Fife the kings eldest daughter will bear the style and title of Princess Jloyul and that the daughters daugh-ters of her royal highness will bear the title of highness and the style of prln cess states the London Telegraph Tho title of Princess Royal Is endeared en-deared to an crtdor generation by the fact that It was borne by the eldest ot Queen Victorias daughters the deeply loved and much lamented Empress Frederick of Germany It is a common error to suppose that the title Is only conferred upon a daughter daugh-ter of the reigning house If she happens to be the first born child This Is not the case It has been conferred on the eldest daughter of the house whether first horn or not whether born before the accession of her parents to the throne or after Before the reign of Henry VIII tho daughters of the sovereign sov-ereign do not appear to have borne any distinctivetitle save that of the Lady Margaret or tho Lady Elizabeth as the case might be But Henry VIII made more than one alteration In the styles and titles of royalty He was for Instance the first English sovereign who bore the title of Majesty his predecessors being content with Sovereign Sov-ereign Lord Highness The step however how-ever was taken probably to put himself upon equal terms with his brother of Spain who was the first European monarch mon-arch to style himself majesty He also caused his eldest daughter to be described de-scribed as Princess Marythc queen who afterward came to bo popular known by a less attractive designation It was nottill the reign of Charles I that tho kings eldest daughter was commonly com-monly called Princess Royal |