Substantive title
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A substantive title (or substantive peerage) is a title of nobility or royalty held by someone (normally by one person alone), which they gained through either grant or inheritance, as opposed to one given or loaned to them either as a courtesy title, or gained through marriage.
The British peerage and some continental nobilities confer titles only to individuals, such as Comte de Clermont or Duke of Leinster (which are substantive titles). However, other continental nobilities confer the same title to each member of the family, for example Herzog von Sachsen, Count Danneskiold-Samsoe, Baron Mannerheim, Count Oxenstierna and Prinz von Liechtenstein; those are usually treated as non-substantive titles (with an exception in some cases for the head of the house).
The Earl of Wessex, Prince of Orange, Prince of Liege, Duke of Orleans, Prince of Wales, Duke of Brabant, Prince of Asturias and Duchess of Gästrikland and Hälsingland are currently substantive titles, whereas Princess of Belgium, Infante of Spain and Princess of Sweden are not. Usually, the Crown Prince of a monarchy is treated like a holder of substantive title.
For the British peerage, written references to substantive peers are supposed to be in the form The Marquess of Winchester, The Earl of Derby, etc, including the preceding definite article ("The"); courtesy peers are named without the article, e.g. Marquess of Blandford, Earl of Sunderland, etc.
