Neither Zara Tindall, 44, nor her brother, Peter Phillips, 48, carries any royal title. This often surprises people, given that their mother, the Princess Royal, is the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s second eldest child.
Meanwhile, their cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have always been known publicly as princesses, titles they received at birth as children of the then-Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York.
The Role of Royal Legislation
Royal titles follow rules established in 1917, when King George V issued a Letters Patent declaring that the children and grandchildren of a reigning monarch through the male line would receive princely titles.
Because of this, Andrew’s daughters automatically qualified as princesses, while Anne’s children did not — unless the monarch chose to intervene.
Interestingly, the late Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly willing to bend those rules for her only daughter and her grandchildren.
Princess Anne Declined Titles for Her Children
When Peter was born in 1977, and again when Zara arrived in 1981, Princess Anne is said to have asked the Queen not to grant them the titles of prince or princess.