The Real Reason Queen Elizabeth Is No Longer Called 'Her Majesty The Queen'
Many royal family members' titles have changed since the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Charles, the longest-waiting king in British history, is now of course King Charles III. Prince William, the new heir to the throne, has taken over his father's title of the Prince of Wales, making his wife Kate Middleton the new Princess of Wales, a title long held by Princess Diana. The couple also inherited the King and new queen consort Camilla's titles of Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. Even the youngest members of the royal family received new titles, with William and Kate's kids to be known going forward as George the Prince of Wales, Charlotte the Princess of Wales and Louis the Prince of Wales. Phew!
Even Queen Elizabeth's styling has been altered since she passed away on September 8. Once known as Her Majesty The Queen, people technically should no longer refer to the late monarch in this way. Henceforth, she is to be called Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The difference between these two ways of talking about the former sovereign may seem minor, but there is a very important reason why the switch-up matters.
It's all about the word 'the'
Gert's Royals social media account explained the rule about why we no longer call Queen Elizabeth by her formerly-known title, tweeting, "Pre-funeral she was 'Her Majesty The Queen,' now she is officially referred to as 'Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.'"
As it turns out "the" refers to the current monarch, who of course is now King Charles. As such, the King's official styling would be His Majesty The King according to Royal.uk.
As Gert's Royals went on to note, "No 'The' means former title holder, former spouse of title holder, etc."
In keeping with the style switch-up, the official Twitter account of the royal family employed the new styling for referring to Queen Elizabeth just days after her funeral, after calling the monarch Her Majesty The Queen on September 19. The account has also used the styling of His Majesty the King since his mother's passing.