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The day after ascending to the throne, Charles III gave his eldest son William and his wife Catherine new titles. The former Duke and Duchess of Cambridge became the Prince and Princess of Wales on 9 September 2022.
The Prince of Wales title has been given to the heir apparent to the English (and later British) throne for centuries. And historically, Princess of Wales has been awarded as a courtesy title - meaning it has no legal status - to the wife of the heir apparent (1), as happened with Kate.
However, changes to Britain’s rules of succession in 2013 ended male primogeniture (2), which means that women will now be able to become the heir apparent and therefore the Princess of Wales in their own right.
It’s probably Diana, the late mother of Prince William and Prince Harry and first wife of King Charles, who immediately comes to mind when you think of the Princess of Wales. She received the title upon her marriage to Charles in July of 1981, and continued to style herself as Princess of Wales after the pair separated. Affectionately known as “The People’s Princess”, she was enormously popular with the general public.
But the title is steeped in history. Let’s take a look at some of the other women who have been known as the Princess of Wales in the past.
The first woman to obtain the title was Joan of Kent in 1361 when she married Edward of Woodstock, the reigning King Edward III’s eldest son and heir. But when her husband died before his father, the King, in 1376, Joan became the Dowager (3) Princess of Wales.
MORE:
-Precious moments with Princess Diana
-How Britain's Princess became the world's queen of hearts
Catherine of Aragon was also briefly the Princess of Wales. At the tender age of three, the Spanish infanta was betrothed (4) to the English heir apparent, Prince Arthur. They would marry in 1501 when she was just 15. But having suffered from ill-health his whole life, her young husband sadly died less than six months into their marriage. Seven years later, Catherine would go on to marry the recently crowned King of England, Arthur’s younger brother Henry VIII, becoming Queen. But after their notorious divorce in 1533, Catherine was told to style herself as the Dowager Princess of Wales. She refused, because she didn't recognise her separation from the King for religious reasons, and continued to refer to herself as Catherine the Queen.
Alexandra of Denmark was the longest serving Princess of Wales in history. She married Albert Edward, the heir apparent of Queen Victoria, in 1863. She held the title until he became King in 1901, when she became Queen.
And Camilla, the current Queen Consort, was technically the Princess of Wales after she married Charles in 2005, though she preferred to use her other title, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Kate and William are determined to live up to (5) their illustrious titles. In the King’s speech announcing them he said: “Today, I am proud to create [William] Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru, the country whose title I have been so greatly privileged to bear during so much of my life and duty. With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations.”
1. Heir apparent = The next in line to the throne whose claim won't be affected by the birth of another heir.
2. Male primogeniture = The favouring of sons (regardless of age) over daughters in the line of succession.
3. Dowager = An addition to a woman's title that means it comes from her deceased spouse.
4. Betrothed = Old-fashioned term for “engaged”.
5. To live up to = To behave in accordance with high expectations.
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