prince

Historical background

The Latin word prīnceps (older Latin *prīsmo-kaps, lit. 'the one who takes the first [place/position]'), became the usual title of the informal leader of the Roman senate some centuries before the transition to empire, the princeps senatus.

Emperor Augustus established the formal position of monarch on the basis of principate, not dominion. He also tasked his grandsons as summer rulers of the city when most of the government were on holiday in the country or attending religious rituals, and, for that task, granted them the title of princeps.

The title has generic and substantive meanings:

Generically, prince refers to a member of a family that ruled by hereditary right (such as the House of Sverre in Norway) or to non-reigning descendants, the title referring to sovereigns, former sovereigns' descendants (such as descendants of King Haakon V) or to cadets of a sovereign's family. The term may be broadly used of persons in various cultures, continents or eras. In Europe, it is the title legally borne by dynastic cadets in monarchies, and borne by courtesy by members of formerly reigning dynasties.

As a substantive title, a prince was a monarch of the lowest rank in post-Napoleonic Europe, e.g. Princes of Andorra, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Mingrelia, Monaco, Waldeck and Pyrmont, Wallachia, etc.

Also substantively, the title was granted by popes and secular monarchs to specific individuals and to the heads of some high-ranking European families who, however, never exercised dynastic sovereignty and whose cadets are not entitled to share the princely title, viz the Princes de Beauvau-Craon, von Bismarck, Colonna, von Dohna-Schlobitten, von Eulenburg, de Faucigny-Lucinge, von Lichnowsky, von Pless, Ruffo di Calabria, (de Talleyrand) von Sagan, van Ursel, etc.

Generically, cadets of some non-sovereign families whose head bears the non-dynastic title of prince (or, less commonly, duke) were sometimes also authorized to use the princely title, e.g. von Carolath-Beuthen, de Broglie, Demidoff di San Donato, Lieven, de Merode, Pignatelli, Radziwill, von Wrede, Yussopov, etc.

Prince as generic term for ruler

The original but now less common use of the word was the application of the Latin word prīnceps, from late Roman law and the classical system of government that eventually gave way to the European feudal society. In this sense, a prince is a ruler of a territory that is sovereign or quasi-sovereign, i.e., exercising substantial (though not all) prerogatives associated with monarchs of independent nations, such as the immediate states within the historical boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. In medieval and early modern Europe, there were as many as two hundred such territories, especially in Italy, Germany, and Gaelic Ireland. In this sense, "prince" is used of any and all rulers, regardless of actual title or precise rank. This is the Renaissance use of the term found in Niccolò Machiavelli's famous work, Il Principe. It is also used in this sense in the United States Declaration of Independence.

As a title, by the end of the medieval era, prince was borne by rulers of territories that were either substantially smaller than those of, or who exercised fewer of the rights of sovereignty than did, emperors and kings. A lord of even a quite small territory might come to be referred to as a prince before the 13th century, either from translations of a native title into the Latin prīnceps (as for the hereditary ruler of Wales) or when the lord's territory was allodial. The lord of an allodium owned his lands and exercised prerogatives over the subjects in his territory absolutely, owing no feudal homage or duty as a vassal to a liege lord, nor being subject to any higher jurisdiction. Most small territories designated as principalities during feudal eras were allodial, e.g. the Princedom of Dombes.

Lords who exercised lawful authority over territories and people within a feudal hierarchy were also sometimes regarded as princes in the general sense, especially if they held the rank of count or higher. This is attested in some surviving styles — e.g. British earls, marquesses, and dukes are still addressed by the monarch on ceremonial occasions as high and noble princes (cf. Royal and noble styles).

In parts of the Holy Roman Empire in which primogeniture did not prevail (e.g., Germany), all legitimate agnates had an equal right to the family's hereditary titles. While titles such as emperor, king, and elector could only be legally occupied by one dynast (person) at a time, holders of such other titles as duke, margrave, landgrave, count palatine, and prince could only differentiate themselves by adding the name of their appanage to the family's original title. This tended to proliferate unwieldy titles (e.g. Princess Katherine of Anhalt-Zerbst; Karl, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Neukastell-Kleeburg; or Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg). As agnatic primogeniture gradually became the norm in the Holy Roman Empire, by the end of the 18th century, another means of distinguishing the monarch from other members of his dynasty became necessary. Gradual substitution of the title of Prinz for the monarch's title of Fürst occurred, and became customary for cadets in all German dynasties except in the grand duchies of Mecklenburg and Oldenburg. Both Prinz and Fürst are translated into English as "prince", but they reflect not only different but mutually exclusive concepts.

Princes consort and princes of the blood

The husband of a queen regnant is usually titled "prince consort" or simply "prince", whereas the wives of male monarchs take the female equivalent (e.g., empress, queen) of their husband's title. In Brazil, Portugal and Spain, however, the husband of a female monarch is accorded the masculine equivalent of her title (e.g., emperor, king), at least after he fathered her heir. In previous epochs, husbands of queens regnant were often deemed entitled to the crown matrimonial, sharing their consorts' regnal title and rank jure uxoris.

However, in cultures which allow the ruler to have several wives or official concubines (e.g., Imperial China, Ottoman Empire, Thailand, the Zulu monarchy), these women, sometimes collectively referred to as a harem, often have specific rules determining their relative hierarchy and a variety of titles, which may distinguish between those whose offspring can be in line for the succession or not, or specifically who is mother to the heir to the throne.

To complicate matters, the style His/Her (Imperial/Royal) Highness, a prefix often accompanying the title of a dynastic prince, may be awarded/withheld separately (as a compromise or consolation prize, in some sense, e.g., Duke of Cádiz, Duchess of Windsor, Princesse de Réthy, Prince d'Orléans-Braganza).

Although the arrangement set out above is the one that is most commonly understood, there are also different systems. Depending on country, epoch, and translation, other usages of "prince" are possible.

Foreign-language titles such as Italian: principe, French: prince, German: Fürst, German: Prinz (non-reigning descendant of a reigning monarch), Ukrainian and Russian: князь, romanized: knyaz, etc., are usually translated as "prince" in English.

Some princely titles are derived from those of national rulers, such as tsarevich from tsar. Other examples are (e)mirza(da), khanzada, nawabzada, sahibzada, shahzada, sultanzada (all using the Persian patronymic suffix -zada, meaning "son, descendant"). However, some princely titles develop in unusual ways, such as adoption of a style for dynasts which is not pegged to the ruler's title, but rather continues an old tradition (e.g., "grand duke" in Romanov Russia or "archduke" in Habsburg Austria), claims dynastic succession to a lost monarchy (e.g. Prince de Tarente for the La Trémoïlle heirs to the Neapolitan throne), or descends from a ruler whose princely title or sovereign status was not de jure hereditary, but attributed to descendants as an international courtesy, (e.g., Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan, Poniatowski, Ypsilanti).

Specific titles

In some dynasties, a specific style other than prince has become customary for dynasts, such as fils de France in the House of Capet, and Infante. Infante was borne by children of the monarch other than the heir apparent in all of the Iberian monarchies. Some monarchies used a specific princely title for their heirs, such as Prince of Asturias in Spain, Prince of Brazil in Portugal, and (customarily but not automatically) Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom.

Sometimes a specific title is commonly used by various dynasties in a region, e.g. Mian in various of the Punjabi princely Hill States (lower Himalayan region in British India).

European dynasties usually awarded appanages to princes of the blood, typically attached to a feudal noble title, such as Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, Britain's royal dukes, the Dauphin in France, the Count of Flanders in Belgium, and the Count of Syracuse in Sicily. Sometimes appanage titles were princely, e.g. Prince of Achaia (Courtenay), Prince de Condé (Bourbon), Prince of Carignan (Savoy), but it was that their owners were of princely rank rather than that they held a princely title which was the source of their pre-eminence.

For the often specific terminology concerning an heir apparent, see Crown prince.

Prince as a substantive title

Other princes derive their title not from dynastic membership as such, but from inheritance of a title named for a specific and historical territory. The family's possession of prerogatives or properties in that territory might be long past. Such were most of the "princedoms" of France's ancien régime, so resented for their pretentiousness in the memoirs of Saint-Simon. These included the princedoms of Arches-Charleville, Boisbelle-Henrichemont, Chalais, Château-Regnault, Guéménée, Martigues, Mercœur, Sedan, Talmond, Tingrey, and the "kingship" of Yvetot, among others.

Prince as a reigning monarch

A prince or princess who is the head of state of a territory that has a monarchy as a form of government is a reigning prince.

The co-principality of Andorra (current reigning princes are the French President Emmanuel Macron and HE Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat)

The emirate of Kuwait (current reigning emir is Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah)

The principality of Liechtenstein (current reigning prince is Hans-Adam II)

The principality of Monaco (current reigning prince is Albert II)

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (current prince and Grand Master is John T. Dunlap)

The emirate of Qatar (current reigning emir is Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani)

The member emirates of the federation in the United Arab Emirates (United Arab Principalities):

Abu Dhabi (Emir Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also President of the UAE)

Ajman (Emir Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi)

Dubai (Emir Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE)

Fujairah (Emir Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi)

Ras al-Khaimah (Emir Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi)

Sharjah (Emir Sultan III bin Muhammad al-Qasimi)

Non-dynastic princes

In several countries of the European continent, such as France, prince can be an aristocratic title of someone having a high rank of nobility or as lord of a significant fief, but not ruling any actual territory and without any necessary link to the royal family, such as Andora, which makes it difficult to compare with the British system of royal princes.

The kings of France started to bestow the style of prince, as a title among the nobility, from the 16th century onwards. These titles were created by elevating a seigneurie to the nominal status of a principality—although prerogatives of sovereignty were never conceded in the letters patent. Princely titles self-assumed by the princes du sang and by the princes étrangers were generally tolerated by the king and used at the royal court, outside the Parlement of Paris. These titles held no official place in the hierarchy of the nobility, but were often treated as ranking just below ducal peerages, since they were often inherited (or assumed) by ducal heirs:

French titles of prince recognized by the king

Holy Roman Empire states annexed by France

Arches-Charleville: in the Ardennes region, near the border with the Empire

Château-Renaud: near Arches-Charleville

Dombes: on the east bank of the Rhône

Orange

Sedan: held by the Dukes of Bouillon

Ancient principalities seated in the Kingdom of France

Boisbelle, later Henrichemont: in the Berry region, a sovereign principality recognized in 1598

Luxe: in the Béarn region, also styled Sovereign Count (cf. Princely Count)

Title in various European traditions and languages

In the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Ukraine, Japan, Lithuania, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Belarus and Hungary the title of prince has also been used as the highest title of nobility (without membership in a ruling dynasty), above the title of duke, while the same usage (then as Fürst) has occurred in Germany and Austria but then one rank below the title of duke and above count.

In each case, the title is followed (when available) by the female form and then (not always available, and obviously rarely applicable to a prince of the blood without a principality) the name of the territory associated with it, each separated by a slash. If a second title (or set) is also given, then that one is for a Prince of the blood, the first for a principality. Be aware that the absence of a separate title for a prince of the blood may not always mean no such title exists; alternatively, the existence of a word does not imply there is also a reality in the linguistic territory concerned; it may very well be used exclusively to render titles in other languages, regardless whether there is a historical link with any (which often means that linguistic tradition is adopted)

Etymologically, we can discern the following traditions (some languages followed a historical link, e.g. within the Holy Roman Empire, not their language family; some even fail to follow the same logic for certain other aristocratic titles):

Romance languages

Languages (mostly Romance) only using the Latin root prīnceps:

Catalan: Príncep/Princesa, Príncep/Princesa

French: Prince/Princesse, Prince/Princesse

Friulian: Princip/Principesse, Princip/Principesse

Italian: Principe/Principessa, Principe/Principessa

Latin (post-Roman): Princeps/*Princeps/*

Monegasque: Principu/Principessa, Principu/Principessa

Occitan: Prince/Princessa, Prince/Princessa

Portuguese: Príncipe/Princesa, Príncipe/Princesa

Rhaeto-Romansh: Prinzi/Prinzessa, Prinzi/Prinzessa

Romanian: Prinţ/Prinţesă, Principe/Principesă

Spanish: Príncipe/Princesa, Príncipe/Princesa

Venetian: Principe/Principessa, Principe/Principessa

Celtic languages

Celtic languages:

Breton: Priñs/Priñsez

Irish: Prionsa/Banphrionsa, Flaith/Banfhlaith

Scottish Gaelic: Prionnsa/Bana-phrionnsa, Flath/Ban-fhlath

Welsh: Tywysog/Tywysoges, Prins/Prinses

Germanic languages

Languages (mainly Germanic) that use (generally alongside a prīnceps-derivate for princes of the blood) an equivalent of the German Fürst:

English: Prince/Princess, Prince/Princess

Afrikaans: Prins

Danish: Fyrste/Fyrstinde, Prins/Prinsesse

Dutch: Vorst/Vorstin, Prins/Prinses

Faroese: Fúrsti/Fúrstafrúa/Fúrstinna, Prinsur/Prinsessa

West Frisian: Foarst/Foarstinne, Prins/Prinsesse

German: Fürst/Fürstin, Prinz/Prinzessin

Icelandic: Fursti/Furstynja, Prins/Prinsessa

Luxembourgish: Fürst/Fürstin, Prënz/Prinzessin

Norwegian: Fyrste/Fyrstinne, Prins/Prinsesse

Old English: Ǣðeling/Hlæfdiġe

Swedish: Furste/Furstinna, Prins/Prinsessa

Slavic languages

Slavic:

Belarusian: Karalevich/Karalewna, Prynts/Pryntsesa, Knyazhych/Knyazhnya

Bosnian: Кнез/Кнегиња (Knez/Kneginja), Краљевић/Краљевна (Kraljević/Kraljevna), Принц/Принцеза (Princ/Princeza)

Bulgarian (phonetically spelt): Knyaz/Knyaginya, Prints/Printsesa

Croatian: Knez/Kneginja, Kraljević/Kraljevna, Princ/Princeza

Czech: Kníže/Kněžna, Kralevic, Princ/Princezna

Macedonian: Knez/Knegina, Princ/Princeza

Polish: Książę/Księżna, Królewicz/Królewna

Russian: Князь/Княгиня (Knyaz/Knyagina/Knyazhna), Tsarevich/Tsarevna, Korolyevich/Korolyevna, Prints/Printsessa

Serbian: Кнез/Кнегиња (Knez/Kneginja), Краљевић/Краљевна (Kraljević/Kraljevna), Принц/Принцеза (Princ/Princeza)

Slovak: Knieža/Kňažná, Kráľovič, Princ/Princezná

Slovene: Knez/Kneginja, Princ/Princesa, Kraljevič/Kraljična

Ukrainian: Княжич/Кяжна (Kniazhych/Kniazhna), Королевич/Королівна (Korolevych/Korolivna), Принц/Принцеса (Prynts/Pryntsesa), Гетьманич/Гетьманівна (Hetmanych/Hetmanivna)

Other Western languages

Albanian: Princ/Princeshë, Princ/Princeshë

Estonian: Vürst/Vürstinna, Prints/Printsess

Finnish: Ruhtinas/Ruhtinatar, Prinssi/Prinsessa

Georgian: თავადი/Tavadi, უფლისწული/"Uplists'uli" ("Child of the Lord")

Greek (Medieval, formal): Πρίγκηψ/Πριγκήπισσα (Prinkips/Prinkipissa)

Greek (Modern, colloquial): Πρίγκηπας/Πριγκήπισσα (Prinkipas/Prinkipissa)

Hungarian (Magyar): Herceg/Hercegnő or Fejedelem/Fejedelemnő if head of state

Latvian: Firsts/Firstiene, Princis/Princese

Lithuanian: Kunigaikštis/Kunigaikštienė, Princas/Princese

Maltese: Prinċep/Prinċipessa, Prinċep/Prinċipessa

Title in non-European traditions and languages

The below is essentially the story of European, Christian dynasties and other nobility, also 'exported' to their colonial and other overseas territories and otherwise adopted by rather westernized societies elsewhere (e.g. Haiti).

Applying these essentially western concepts, and terminology, to other cultures even when they don't do so, is common but in many respects rather dubious. Different (historical, religious...) backgrounds have also begot significantly different dynastic and nobiliary systems, which are poorly represented by the 'closest' western analogy.

It therefore makes sense to treat these per civilization.

Brunei

It's crucial to use the proper title while speaking to members of the royal family because Brunei is an absolute monarchy, and inappropriate use might be uncomfortable. The heir apparent and crown prince, styled as Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri (His Royal Highness), is officially known as Pengiran Muda Mahkota (Crown Prince); A blood prince is officially known as Pengiran Muda (Prince); their names are styled differently: If they do not have additional titles, the Sultan's sons are addressed as Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri (His Royal Highness); The Pengiran Muda Mahkota's sons are addressed as Yang Teramat Mulia (His Royal Highness).

China

Before Qin dynasty, prince (in the sense of royal family member) had no special title. Princes of the Zhou dynasty were specifically referred to as Wangzi (王子) and Wangsun (王孫), which mean "son of the king" and "grandson of the king," while princes of the vassal states were referred to as Gongzi (公子) and Gongsun (公孫), which mean "son of the lord" and "grandson of the lord," respectively. Sons of the vassals may receive nobility titles like Jun (君), Qing (卿), Daifu (大夫) and Shi (仕).

Since Han dynasty, royal family members were entitled Wang (王, lit. King), the former highest title which was then replaced by Huang Di (皇帝, lit. Emperor). Since Western Jin, the Wang rank was divided into two ranks, Qin Wang (親王, lit. King of the Blood) and Jun Wang (郡王, lit. King of the Commandery). Only family of the Emperor can be entitled Qin Wang, so prince is usually translated as Qin Wang, e.g. 菲利普親王 (Prince Philip). For the son of the ruler, prince is usually translated as Huang Zi (皇子, lit. Son of the Emperor) or Wang Zi (王子 lit., Son of the King), e.g. 查爾斯王子 (Prince Charles).

During the Three Kingdoms period, some emperors of the Cao Wei dynasty enfeoffed certain vassals with the title of Xian Wang (县王 lit., King of the County) a title which was lower than Jun Wang.

As a title of nobility, prince can be translated as Qin Wang according to tradition, Da Gong (大公, lit., Grand Duke) if one want to emphasize that it is a very high rank but below the King (Wang), or just Zhu Hou (诸侯, lit. princes) which refers to princes of all ranks in general. For example, 摩納哥親王 (Prince of Monaco).

Japan

In Japan, the title Kōshaku (公爵) was used as the highest title of Kazoku (華族 Japanese modern nobility) before the present constitution. Kōshaku, however, is more commonly translated as "Duke" to avoid confusion with the following royal ranks in the Imperial Household: Shinnō (親王 literally, Prince of the Blood); Naishinnō (内親王 lit., Princess of the Blood in her own right); and Shinnōhi 親王妃 lit., Princess Consort); or Ō (王 lit., Prince); Jyo-Ō (女王 lit., Princess (in her own right)); and Ōhi (王妃 lit., Princess Consort). The former is the higher title of a male member of the Imperial family while the latter is the lower.

Korea

In the Joseon Dynasty, the title "Prince" was used for the king's male-line descendants. The title was divided into two: the king's legitimate son used the title daegun (대군, 大君, literally "grand prince"), but any other male royals used the title gun (군, 君, lit. "prince"). These included the descendants of the king up to the grandsons of illegitimate sons of the king and the crown prince, and up to the great grandsons of daeguns, with other royals being able to be named gun if they reached the second rank. But the title of gun wasn't limited to the royal family. It was also granted as an honorary title to the king's father-in-law and to gongsin (공신, 功臣, lit. "servant of merit") and was only conditionally hereditary for gongsins.

As noble titles no longer exist in modern Korea, the English word "Prince" is now usually translated as wangja (왕자, 王子, lit. "king's son"), referring to princes from non-Korean royal families. Princes and principalities in continental Europe are almost always confused with dukes and duchies in Korean speech, both being translated as gong (공, 公, lit. "duke") and gongguk (공국, 公國, lit. "duchy").

Sri Lanka

The title 'Prince' was used for the King's son in Sinhalese generation in Sri Lanka.

India

In the former Empire of India, during the British Colonial Era, the title of a Prince was conferred upon by the Emperor to the hereditary Indian rulers of the numerous principalities of varying sizes in the empire called "princely states", who ruled their territories in the name of the Emperor of India, who was also simultaneously the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Dominions. They acknowledged the Emperor as their imperial sovereign till the empire's dissolution in 1947 and subsequently acceded to the newly formed Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan between 1947 and 1949.

Indochina

See Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos

Philippines

See Principalia, the Sultanate of Maguindanao and the Sultanate of Sulu.

Thailand

In Thailand (formerly Siam), the title of Prince was divided into three classes depending on the rank of their mothers. Those who were born of a king and had a royal mother (a queen or princess consort) are titled Chaofa Chai (Thai: เจ้าฟ้าชาย: literally, "Male Celestial Lord"). Those born of a king and a commoner, or children of Chaofas and royal consorts, are tilted Phra Ong Chao (พระองค์เจ้า). The children of Chaofas and commoners, or children of Phra Ong Chaos, are titled Mom Chao (หม่อมเจ้า), abbreviated as M.C. (or ม.จ.).

African traditions

A Western model was sometimes copied by emancipated colonial regimes (e.g. Bokassa I's short-lived Central-African Empire in Napoleonic fashion). Otherwise, most of the styles for members of ruling families do not lend themselves well to English translation. Nonetheless, in general the princely style has gradually replaced the colonialist title of "chief", which does not particularly connote dynastic rank to Westerners, e.g. Swazi Royal Family and Zulu Royal Family. Nominally ministerial chiefly titles, such as the Yoruba Oloye and the Zulu InDuna, still exist as distinct titles in kingdoms all over Africa.

Title in religious traditions

In states with an element of theocracy, this can affect princehood in several ways, such as the style of the ruler (e.g. with a secondary title meaning son or servant of a named divinity), but also the mode of succession (even reincarnation and recognition).

Christianity

Certain religious offices may be considered of princely rank, or imply comparable temporal rights. Pope, Hereditary Prince-Cardinals, Cardinals, Prince-Lord Bishops, Prince Bishops, Lord Bishops, Prince-Provost, and Prince-abbots are referred to as Princes of the Church.

Also, in Christianity, Jesus Christ is sometimes referred to as the Prince of Peace. Other titles for Jesus Christ are Prince of Princes, Prince of the Covenant, Prince of Life, and Prince of the Kings of the Earth. Further, Satan is popularly titled the Prince of Darkness; and in the Christian faith he is also referred to as the Prince of this World and the Prince of the Power of the Air. Another title for Satan, not as common today but apparently so in approximately 30 A.D. by the Pharisees of the day, was the title Prince of the Devils. Prince of Israel, Prince of the Angels, and Prince of Light are titles given to the Archangel Michael. Some Christian churches also believe that since all Christians, like Jesus Christ, are children of God, then they too are princes and princesses of Heaven. Saint Peter, a disciple of Jesus, is also known as the Prince of the Apostles.

Islam

Arabian tradition since the caliphate: In several monarchies it remains customary to use the title sheikh (in itself below princely rank) for all members of the royal family. In families (often reigning dynasties) which claim descent from Muhammad, this is expressed in either of a number of titles (supposing different exact relations): sayid, sharif; these are retained even when too remote from any line of succession to be a member of any dynasty.

In Saudi Arabia the title of Emir is used in role of prince for all members of the House of Saud.

In Iraq, the direct descendants of previous Emirs from the largest tribes, who ruled the kingdoms before modern statehood, use the title of Sheikh or Prince as the progeny of royalty.

In the Ottoman Empire, the sovereign of imperial rank (incorrectly known in the west as (Great) sultan) was styled padishah with a host of additional titles, reflecting his claim as political successor to the various conquered states. Princes of the blood, male, were given the style Şehzade.

Persia (Iran)—Princes as members of a royal family, are referred to by the title Shahzadeh, meaning "descendant of the king". Since the word zadeh could refer to either a male or female descendant, Shahzadeh had the parallel meaning of "princess" as well. Princes can also be sons of provincial kings (Khan) and the title referring to them would be the title of Khanzadeh. Princes as people who got a title from the King are called "Mirza", diminutive of "Amir Zadeh" (King's Son).

In Indian Muslim dynasties, the most common titles were Mirza (from Amirzada) and Shahzada; while Nawabzada and Sahibzada were also given to younger blood princes.

In Kazakh Khanate the title Sultan was used for lords from a ruling dynasty (direct descendants of Genghis Khan), that gives them a right to be elected as khan, as an experienced ruler; and an honorific tore, another name for the clan, (ru:Торе (род)) for ordinary members of a ruling dynasty.