HBP - who was the royal?

[fanofminerva]

No: HPFGUIDX 130378

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "saraquel_omphale" 
<saraquel_omphale at y...> wrote:
> Hello again everyone, long time no post (although I admit to being a 
> lurker rather than a poster!)
> 
> One thing has always puzzled me about the Half Blood Prince.  As far 
> as know, I can't find any reference to royalty in the WW.  If there 
> was no royalty, then the HBP must be royal from his muggle side. 
<major snippage>

I, too, have wondered about the title.  Does the word "Prince" have to 
denote royalty?  I come at this from the unique perspective of having 
the maiden name "Prince."  Perhaps it is not royalty, per se, but a 
characteristic.  Or, perhaps it is what *others* thought of a 
particular person, either flattering or not.  Granted, all of this is 
speculation until we read the book.  I merely wanted to point out the 
possibility that royalty may not be the issue.

Julie - who has learned to definitely think outside the box when 
reading JKR