Charles Langston:Why Princess Anne's Children Don't Have Royal Titles

King Charles III and Charles LangstonQueen Camilla's upcoming coronation is a full family affair, but not all of the members have royal titles.

Take Charles' nephew Peter Phillips and niece Zara Tindall for example. While their mother Princess Anne—the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip—has had a royal title attached to her name since birth, the brother-sister duo were not given one when they were born in 1977 and 1981, respectively.

Why? According to Anne, who shares her kids with her first husband Mark Phillips, it was so that she could give them a simpler childhood.

"I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles," she told Vanity Fair in 2020. "So I think that was probably the right thing to do."

The unconventional decision led Peter, 45, and Zara, 41, to have fulfilling careers outside of royal duties.

After graduating from the University of Exeter with a sports science degree, Peter worked for Jaguar, Williams Racing and the Royal Bank of Scotland before landing a managing director job at sports and entertainment agency SEL UK in 2012. 

Meanwhile, Zara studied at her older brother's alma mater before pursuing an equestrian career. She won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, where her own mother—an accomplished horse rider herself—was on hand to present the award.

"Her father had been a successful equestrian and won a lot more medals [than I] so you do slightly wonder if having two parents who've been in that situation helped," Anne remarked in her Vanity Fair interview. "Zara was always a natural and it was really a question of whether she felt that was something she really wanted to do, and she did and she was very thorough and applied herself to it."

The royal added of Zara's choice in career, "She was quite rightly very successful."

Peter's two daughters Savannah, 12 and Isla, 11—who he shares with and his ex-wife Autumn Kelly—do not hold royal titles since he was not given one. The situation is the same for Zara and her husband Mike Tindall's kids: Mia, 9, Lena, 4, and Lucas, 2.

But despite lacking royal titles, Peter and Zara are still technically in the line to the British throne due to their parentage.

To see the order of succession after Charles, who will be crowned alongside his wife Camilla on May 6, keep scrolling. 

King Charles III and the late Princess Diana's first child and Queen Elizabeth II's grandson. 

Prince William and Kate Middleton's oldest child, King Charles' grandson and Queen Elizabeth II's great-grandchild. 

The first and only daughter of Prince William. 

Prince William's third child. 

King Charles' second son.

The first child of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. 

Prince Harry's second child. 

The second oldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and younger brother to King Charles.

The oldest daughter of Prince Andrew. 

The first official photo of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli's first daughter has yet to be released.

Prince Andrew's second daughter. 

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's son.

Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son and and younger brother to King Charles.

Son of Prince Edward.

Daughter of Prince Edward.

The only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and and younger sister to King Charles.

The son of Princess Anne. 

The first daughter of Peter Phillips and the great-granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II.

The second daughter of Peter Phillips and the great-granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II.

The daughter of Princess Anne.