Why Beatrice and Eugenie were not given Lady titles - but Lady Louise Windsor was

When it comes to royal titles, there isn't always a cut and dry explanation as to why some members get them and others don't. Prince Louis almost didn't get his Prince title, all because of an old law, and Kate Middleton only received her Duchess of Cambridge title because of an internal change. Prince George is also set to inherit this fancy title - although again, nothing is set in stone - and Princess Charlotte will never be a Duchess.

Yes, it can all get a little confusing.

Which is why many royal fans are now asking: why were Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie not given Lady titles, but their cousin Lady Louise Windsor was?

As the daughters of Prince Andrew and granddaughters to the Queen, Beatrice and Eugenie were given Princess titles when they were born. However, when the monarch's third son, Prince Edward, welcomed his daughter Louise Windsor in 2003, she wasn't given a Princess title despite also being a granddaughter through the male line.

So - why?

According to the 1917 Letters Patent issued by King George V (the Queen's grandfather), the only members of the royal family entitled to Prince or Princess titles are the children of the Sovereign, and the grandchildren through the Sovereign's sons.

Beatrice and Eugenie, therefore, were permitted to have Princess titles. While they are not working royals, at the times of their births it was believed that they would be according to royal historian Marlene Koenig, who spoke to Express.co.uk.

However, various royal scandals might have scuppered that plan.

She said: 'This has been my view for many, many years. I think if there were no scandals in the 1990s, Charles and Diana, Andrew and Sarah, and to a lesser extent Anne and Mark. It is possible that say Andrew and Sarah had remained a happily married couple, I do think those girls would be working royals.

'Back in the late 1990s, there was a group called the Way Ahead group. It included senior royals, advisors and I believe some government officials, and it was already discussed that the Royal Family would be slimmed down.

'There was also talk they would lose their royal titles and be styled as daughters of a Duke - Lady Beatrice and Lady Eugenie. That was vetoed, I think because they were born.'

Around the same time in 1999, Prince Edward got married and the wedding announcement included that his future children would not be styled as royals. While they believed it would be 'rude' to take away Beatrice and Eugenie's Princess titles as they had already been bestowed, the Palace decided that the privilege would be withdrawn from future grandchildren of the Queen - something that Edward and his wife, Sophie Rhys-Jones, are said to have agreed to.

So that explains it!