European royalty
Old World rulers
European royalty refers to the monarchs, their families, and the broader aristocratic class holding hereditary titles across Europe's kingdoms and principalities.
The term encompasses both reigning houses and deposed dynasties that retain social status: European royalty gathered for the state funeral.
Through centuries of intermarriage, European royalty forms an interconnected web of cousins—Queen Victoria was grandmother to monarchs across the continent.
The phrase often carries connotations of glamour, tradition, and tabloid fascination: She follows European royalty the way others follow celebrities.
- BourbonFrench ruling family
- HabsburgEuropean imperial dynasty
- HanoverAnglo-German royal house
- House of WindsorBritish ruling dynasty since 1917
- KingMale hereditary ruler
Windsor · Versailles · Buckingham Palace · Romanov · Tudor · Stuart · Heraldry · Savoy · hereditary monarchy · Duke · blue blood · heir apparent · Grimaldi · Coronation · palace intrigue · heir · throne · lineage
- Queen VictoriaQueen Victoria, Prince Albert, Victorian era, Victorian age, Balmoral Castle
- Dutch RoyaltyPrince of Orange, Willem-Alexander, Beatrix, Wilhelmina, Juliana
European royaltyelected officials
Leaders chosen by vote
republican government · popular sovereignty · elected representatives · presidents · prime ministers
European royaltycommoners
Ordinary citizens, untitled
peasants · serfs · the masses · working class · plebeians
European royaltyAfrican royalty
Monarchs from that continent