Puzzling Principles on Princes and Princesses

There are Princes and Princesses, and then there are Princes and Princesses. The problem lies in where they come from; the title of Prince does not mean the same thing depending on where it comes from. The puzzle is solvable, given some knowledge of geography and history. And some of the muddle derived from translating foreign titles into English. 

Pierre Casiraghi of Monaco

Royal Succession in the United Kingdom

Checking the search results for my recent articles, I found that certain questions keep cropping up. The forthcoming visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the United States seems to give rise to quite a few puzzles. Royal succession seems a good starting point. 

HRH Prince William Duke of Cambridge

Princess Madeleine of Sweden Wins Court Case

Princess Madeleine of Sweden took German papers to court over stories published between 2000 and 2004. The last act of this drama was now played out in Germany’s High Court and ended in a resounding victory for the Princess.

HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden

Loyal General: Prince Grigori Dmitrievich Yusupov

In their family myth, the Princes Yusupov claimed descent from Tamerlane and the Prophet Mohammed. To explain their fabulous wealth, they claimed descent from the rulers of the Khanate of Crimea. While Wikipedia and Russian tourist guides treat this as history, the myth only gained a wider audience with the writings of Prince Felix Felixovich Yussupov in the 20th century. 

Tsar Peter The Great of Russia