A substantive title is a title of nobility or royalty acquired either by individual grant or inheritance. It is to be distinguished from a title shared among cadets, borne as a courtesy title by a peer's relatives, or acquired through marriage. Characteristics The title is officially borne by only one person at a time: e.g. British peerages or "William, Prince of Wales" vs. "Princes George and Louis of Wales". The title may continue to be borne by the grantee, with authorization of the head of the house, whether the country is a monarchy or a republic. The title may be drawn from any rank, but a royal titleholder's precedence derives independently from kinship to the sovereign (e.g. royal duke); "Duke" is frequent, but lower titles have often been borne by dynasts and pretenders. The title may or may not belong to the noble hierarchy of the country if borne by a member of its ruling dynasty, e.g., the Prince of Orange, modern title of the heir to the Dutch throne, although Orange has never been part of the Netherlands. The title may or may not belong to the hereditary nobility of the recipient's country (e.g. Duke of York, Prince of Wales), may or may not be heritable (e.g. Duke of Aosta, Duke of Bergamo), and is often conferred in conjunction with a special occasion. Current monarchies The main titles of heirs apparent to a monarchy are treated as substantive titles. – Duke of Brabant – Marquis of Baux (must be conferred and may be conferred on a male heir presumptive) – Prince of Orange – Prince of Asturias (used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive) – Prince of Girona (used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive) – Prince of Viana (used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive) – Prince of Wales (must be conferred by monarch) – Duke of Cornwall (restricted to eldest son of monarch) – Duke of Rothesay (restricted to eldest son of monarch) Of European dynasties, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Norway do not grant substantive titles to family members. Granted titles In countries where titles have been inherited by primogeniture, these are substantive titles (e.g. France, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the titles of sovereigns in Europe post-1800). These may be contrasted with titles inherited by all sons or male-line descendants of the original grantee (Austria, Bohemia, Germany except Prussia, Hungary, Poland, Russia and