Concept in Definition ABC

First-born son of a king or queen and who as such is the successor to the throne

The prince is the first-born son of the king or queen and therefore the heir to the crown in question.

As a consequence, the prince will be the one who will become king when the monarch of a territory die or abdicate. As we have already pointed out, it is a title that is awarded to the king's children and it will always be the eldest son who enjoys that distinction and the first in the line of succession to the throne.

The prince receives a treatment almost like that of the king at the request of the monarchies and they also take care to represent the country in some diplomatic and social activities.

We were recently able to see this situation in the Spanish monarchy. King Juan Carlos I who ruled Spain for more than three decades decided to abdicate the throne in favor of who was his his heir, his son Felipe, the Prince of Asturias, who from the moment he assumed as king was renamed Felipe VI. She is currently his eldest daughter, Leonor, who holds the title of Princess of Asturias and is the first in her father's line of succession.

In the English monarchy who occupies the role of Prince of Wales is Carlos, son of Queen Elizabeth II. When this dies or abdicates, it will be Carlos who will assume as king.
In the line of succession, he is followed by his son Guillermo.

Title given to people of a royal family even if their territories are not kingdoms

Also, it turns out to be the title granted to some individuals of the family royal or imperial and that received by some sovereigns whose countries are not considered kingdoms. Monaco and Liechtenstein are currently in these conditions.

The origin of the term is Latin, princeps, first citizen, which was a euphemism that Augustus used as a consequence of the strong opposition he encountered to the establishment of the monarchy.

Princes, exclusive protagonists in fairy tales

The aforementioned title is one of those more stereotypes gather, even more than that of king or queen, since he is mainly found associated with beauty and virtue. Most tales, especially those of Fairies, are always starring princes and princesses who are loved and coveted for their beauty, chivalry and goodness, it is very, very rare to meet a story one of these that tells us about an ugly prince with bad intentions. The one with the Cinderella It is one of these stories in which this question most visibly appears, a dreamy prince who falls in love with a young woman, and although he discovers that he is poor, he does not care and fights for her.

More uses of the word

On the other hand, in the scope of religion christian and within what is the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the expression Princes of the Church to refer to cardinals.

Also, to the first edition of a literary work it is called the prince edition.

Meanwhile, the charming prince It is a concept that is used to refer to that ideal man of a woman. "Juana is still waiting for Prince Charming to knock on her door."

It is known as Prince of Wales to a type of plaid fabric made up of fine lines and very soft colors.

When someone refers to prince of darkness He is not talking about any kind of nice or dreamy prince, but about the devil himself.

The concept has also become very famous thanks to the Italian politician and intellectual Niccolò Machiavelli, who entitled his masterpiece precisely as The Prince. Written during the 16th century, in the work, Machiavelli addresses the issue of sovereign power. The influence of this piece has been tremendous and is considered very current due to the concepts it proposes.

Those who have this title but are women are called Princess. Both the wives of princes and those who are first in the line of succession of the throne, such is the current case of Spain with the princess of Asturias Leonor de Borbón, they are called princesses.

Themes in Principe