Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, is likely to assume the title of “Princess of Wales,” which was most notably formerly held by Princess Diana.
After a 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday, making her eldest son Charles the new king.
Questions concerning new titles for many members of the royal family as the line of succession moves down a generation are raised by the Queen’s passing. Charles became King Charles III on Thursday, making him eligible to use the title of Prince of Wales.
It has long been assumed that Prince William, Charles’ eldest son and the current second in line to the throne, will be given his father’s previous title, making Kate the Princess of Wales.
The title was made “for the male heir to the British throne,” according to an archived version of the Prince of Wales website, which was not accessible at the time of publishing.
According to the website, passing it on is not always the case, but it frequently occurs when the current Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne, as it did on Thursday.
The phrase carries a great deal of talismanic weight in the UK because it was last uttered by Princess Diana, Charles’ then-wife, who passed away in 1997 at the age of 36.
Although Parker-Bowles was technically given the title Princess of Wales after Charles’ 2005 remarriage to Camilla Parker-Bowles, she chose not to use it due to the intensity of public sentiment. The topic was so important that a question concerning the title was brought up in Parliament.
Camilla referred to herself as HRH the Duchess of Cornwall instead. According to Sky News, Camilla will assume the title of Queen Consort if the Queen passes away.
In a conversation with a member of the public at Cardiff Castle in Wales in June of this year, Kate, who is Duchess of Cambridge for the time being, seemed to concede that she might someday become Princess of Wales.
At Cardiff Castle, I captured the moment when a lady told The Duchess of Cambridge ‘You’re going to be a brilliant Princess’ and she replied looking at Prince William ‘I’m in good hands’ 💙😭🙌
🎥 Credit: Me 😃#PrinceWilliam #DuchessofCambridge #Royal #Royals #HM70 #TheQueen pic.twitter.com/TqQTx4pOfo
— HRH Princess Fifi ❤️ The Cambridges 🇺🇸🇳🇮🇬🇧 (@hellen3030) June 11, 2022
The duchess was informed in a video shared by @hellen3030, “You’re going to be a fantastic Princess of Wales.”
Thank you, I’m in good hands, Kate said, gesturing to William who was standing a short distance away.
The fact that both Princes William and Harry have been able to add “of Wales” to their names further complicates matters; at least, it did up until Harry stepped down from his royal responsibilities and became the Duke of Sussex. This, however, is not the same as the title “Prince of Wales,” which is official.
