Everyone around the world has most likely heard of different royal families. Whether you learned about some in class or on your own, you probably know that there are many in Europe, Asia, and Africa. This Women’s History Month, we are highlighting the queens and princesses of the world.
UK Royalty
The British royal family started in 1066 with William I, “The Conqueror.” Over the past 1200 years, the UK royalty has included 63 monarchs.
Catherine, Princess of Wales
The Princess of Wales is married to Prince William the eldest son of the current king and Diana. They have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The princess outside of all that is a very charitable woman and devotes her time to supporting charitable causes and organizations. One of which is focused on providing children from around pre-birth to five years old with the best possible start in life, she started The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. Along with wanting kids to have a good start in life she also focuses on mental health, supporting several mental health programs. She brought attention to problems children face such as addiction, poverty, abuse, neglect, loss, and illnesses of family. Those aren’t the only two she supports either because she also supports physical health, believing in the power to engage, educate, inspire, and change lives for the better, to help with this she is the royal patron of several sports institutions such as SportsAid, The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, The Lawn Tennis Association, Rugby Football League, Rugby Football Union, and the 1851 Trust.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Before becoming Duchess, she was well-known for playing Rachel Zane in the law show Suits and for writing and editing a lifestyle website called The Tig. Then, she married Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. Currently, as the Duchess of Sussex, she is a patron of several organizations, such as the National Theatre, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and Smart Works. Smart Works helps long-term unemployed and vulnerable women return to employment.
Spain Royalty
The Spanish royalty comes from the House of Bourbon. This dynasty goes back to Philp V, who became king in 1700. It had been overthrown three times before the Bourbon dynasty returned in 1975.
Princess Leonor
Her parents King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia make this Princess next in line of succession since she is the eldest child and her parents haven’t had a son but had two girls. Princess Leonor being the oldest with no brother means she will be the first queen regnant of Spain since the 1800s. She holds the titles of Duchess of Montblanc, Countess of Cervera, and Lady of Balaguer. Recently she commenced a six-month navy training voyage after having three years of military training in 2023.
Bhutan Royalty
The Bhutan dynasty also known as the Wangchuck dynasty was founded in 1907. It is known as the Wangchuck dynasty since it ruled government power in Bhutan. From 1907 to now the dynasty has had five kings.
Queen Jetsun Pema
Married to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Queen Jetsun Pema who is heralded as the Kate Middleton of the Himalayas for her charitable work. The Queen is the president of the Bhutan Red Cross Society, Patron of the Bhutan Kidney Foundation, United Nations Environment Program Ozone Ambassador, and works closely with organizations such as the National Environment Commission, Royal Society for Protection of Nature, Clean Bhutan, and other government and non-government agencies on conservation like waste management and other important environmental matters. She also works closely with schools and NGOs to provide services for people with disabilities and to ensure access to better healthcare and education for children. Lastly, she supports OGOP which helps farmers by supporting the value addition of products, collection, packaging, marketing, and export of rural produce.
Honorable mention: Princess Diana
Once married to the then Prince of Wales who is now King Charles, she is one of the most memorable members of the UK royal family. As a Princess, she visited Brazil, India, Canada, Nigeria, Cameroon, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, and more. During her years married to King Charles, she was a president or patron of over 100 charities. She did many things to publicize work on behalf of homeless, disabled people, children, and people with HIV/Aids. After her marriage, she resigned from most of her charities and other patronages. Still, she remained a patron of Centrepoint -a homeless charity-, the English National Ballet, Leprosy Mission, and the National Aids Trust. She also remained as President of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, and of the Royal Marsden Hospital. She was well recognized also for her iconic black revenge dress she wore after she found out that then Prince Charles cheated on her, the dress broke much of the royal dress code.
