Entitled
Sir: The wine of Languedoc has stirred Mr Auberon Waugh into an unjustified attack on a lad of two and a girl of but a few months old ('Lessons of the Royal Wedding', 15 August). It was no 'pipsqueak' courtier who granted to Prince Michael's children the styles of Lord Frederick and Lady Gabriella, but King George V in a proclamation of December 1917. It is absolutely correct that the children of a younger son of a younger son of the Sovereign should bear these courtesy titles.
With very few exceptions one must return to the reign of Edward III to find a legitimate great-grandson of the Sovereign living in the male line. Of these exceptions, the descendants of the Duke of Cumberland (1771-1851) were Kings of Hanover, and those of the Duke of Albany (1853-1884) were Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The Duke of Connaught (1850-1942) had a grandson wrongly styled as HH Prince Alistair until 1917 and thereafter known as the Earl of Macduff, a courtesy title from his mother, the Duchess of Fife.
Considering Mr Waugh's occasional espousal of the cause of the younger son, I trust he will now leave Lord Freddie and his sister in peace.
Hugo Vickers 62 Lexham Gardens, London W8
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