Princess Anne is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. But, unlike her siblings, she was not given a dukedom. Instead, the British Monarch "gifted" her the title, Princess Royal.
It is said to be a "substantive title" given "customarily" and not automatically. Unlike the title of Prince of Wales, which is automatically given to the firstborn son of the British Monarch, the Princess Royal title is acquired by the Monarch's eldest daughter through individual grant or inheritance.
Reports noted that only one royal can hold the title at a time. This is why Queen Elizabeth II never held the title despite being the eldest daughter of King George VI. As it happened, her aunt, Princess Mary, who was the Princess Royal before Princess Anne was still alive until 1965.
As per Express UK, the Queen's only daughter was born on August 15, 1950, at the royal residence of Clarence House. Her full name is Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, but, became more popularly known as Princess Anne.
Queen Elizabeth II gifted the title only in 1987, more than two decades after Princess Mary's passing. It was not explained, though, why it took 22 years before she gave her daughter the title.
The publication continued to share that this title of nobility is only given to the eldest daughter of the British Monarch. Since its emergence in 1642, there have been a total of seven Princesses Royal.
The first royal who used the title was Princess Mary, the eldest daughter of King Charles I. It was said that this imitated the French Royal Family's customs as they referred to the French Monarch's eldest daughter as the "Madame Royal."
But, unlike her siblings, Princess Anne does not have a dukedom. As explained by Reader's Digest, dukedoms are the "highest titles" under the titles of the monarchs. Also, these titles are created only for the "legitimate sons" and "male-line grandsons" of the British Monarch.
Accordingly, this explains why Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince William, and Prince Harry obtained their dukedoms from Queen Elizabeth II. Normally, they received these titles upon marrying.
In the case of the Princess Royal, it was stated that her first husband, Mark Phillips was offered a title by the Queen. If he accepted then, Princess Anne would have another title aside from her current.
However, the couple did not accept the offer. The same thing also happened when the British Monarch offered titles for their kids, Peter and Zara. This is why the direct descendants of the current Princess Royal do not have any titles.
