Acourtesy title is atitle that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context ofnobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf.substantive title).[1][2]
In some contexts,courtesy title is used to mean the more general concept of atitle orhonorific such asMr.,Mrs.,Ms.,Miss,Madam,Sir for those who not been awarded a knighthood or a baronetcy, as well asDr. for physicians who have not actually achieved a doctorate.[3]
In Europe, including France, many titles are not substantive titles but remaintitres de courtoisie, and, as such, are adopted unilaterally. When done by a genuine member of thenoblesse d'épée the custom was tolerated in French society. A common practice istitle declension, whencadet males of noble families, especially landed aristocracy, may assume a lower courtesy title than that legally borne by the head of their family, even though lacking a titledseigneury themselves.[4] For example, the eldest son of theDuke of Paris (substantive title) may be calledMarquis de Paris (courtesy title) and younger sonsComte N. of Paris, where N. stands for the first name. In the hereditary Napoleonic and Restoration peerage, declension was a legal right of younger sons, the derivative title being heritable by male primogeniture;King Joseph Napoleon conferred the title "Prince" on his grandchildren in the male and female line.[4]
During theAncien Régime, the only substantive titles werefeudal, land-based and required a royal grant or royal recognition. In order to use the title of count, one had to own aseigneurie elevated tocounty and to comply with the remainder of the grant. These legal prescriptions, however, came to be consistently enforced only with respect to the title of duke (duc). Most titles were self-assumed courtesy titles, even those used at theroyal court and in legal documents.
Clergymen beforeepiscopal ordination used the title ofabbé, followed by the name of the principal title of their father. Members of theSovereign Military Order of Malta used the title ofchevalier in the same fashion.
The heir apparent of atitled nobleman used one of the lesser titles of his father as a courtesy title. In the 17th century, the heirs of the most powerful dukes were sometimes allowed to assume the title of prince. In the 18th century, a trend was for the heir to use the title of duke. It was achieved in one of three ways: if the head of family held two dukedoms, his heir could use the junior one; the head of family could resign hisFrench peerage to his heir, who assumed a new title of duke while the father retained his ducal title; the king could confer abrevet de duc, that is formally accord the non-hereditary style and precedence of a duke to the heir of a ducal title.
The younger sons of a noble titleholder used one of the family's lesser titles, but rarely one of duke or prince. Even in untitled families of the nobility, every son used a differentterritorial designation, the so-callednom de terre.
The daughters used the title ofmademoiselle, followed by the name of a manor owned by their father. For example,Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (known asLa Grande Mademoiselle), was the eldest daughter ofGaston d'Orléans (Monsieur) and his first wifeMarie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier. Anne Marie Louise was officially known asMademoiselle from the time of her birth.
The United Kingdom has a detailed system of courtesy titles andstyles by which the eldest son,male-line grandson or great-grandson andheir of apeer may use asubsidiary title of his ancestor even though it is the ancestor who holds the title substantively. By extension, the children not only of all peers but of those who bear derivative courtesy titles as male-line descendants of a substantive peer bear specific titles (Lord/Lady) or styles (The Honourable) by courtesy. UnderUnited Kingdom law, users of courtesy titles of nobility are held to becommoners, eligible for election to theHouse of Commons rather than being members of theHouse of Lords.