Giving the title of Imperial Prince (親王宣下)
Giving the title of Imperial Prince is to give the title of Imperial Prince or Imperial Princess to the children of the Imperial family. In this article, the situation in the Japanese Imperial Family will mainly mentioned.
Before the Meiji period, even a child of Emperor was not entitled to use the title of Imperial Prince unless he was given the title of Imperial Prince (Reference : Mochihito-o). Conversely, even such members of the Imperial family as the head of a hereditary family of prince, who were in the generations same as or after the grandchildren of Emperor, sometimes became an Imperial Prince by an imperial order.
Today, as stipulated in the Imperial House Law, legitimate children of Emperor and legitimate children of the legitimate sons of Emperor are to be an Imperial Prince or an Imperial Princess. Therefore, since the members of the Imperial family are born with the right for the titles, the system of giving the title of Imperial Prince to the members of the Imperial family like king (Imperial family) was abolished. However, it is stipulated in the Article 7 of the Imperial House Law that if a king ascends the Imperial throne, kings and princesses who are brothers and sisters of the Emperor shall be given the titles of Imperial Prince or Imperial Princess.