Kate Middleton Will Not Be A Duchess Once A New King Is Crowned

Jun 09, 2022

After Prince Philip's passing in April 2021, Queen Elizabeth has continued her royal duties without her faithful husband by her side. On Feb. 6, 2021, Elizabeth added another year to her reign as Queen of the United Kingdom and 15 Commonwealth realms, making her the ruling monarch for 69 years and counting. This is certainly a huge milestone as it makes Elizabeth the longest-reigning British monarch ever.

All members of the Royal Family receive an official title before their name as titles show the position and ranking of a member within the Royal hierarchy. Currently, the next-in-line to the throne is the Prince of Wales, Charles, whose former wife, Princess Diana, was naturally given the title Princess of Wales.

When the time comes for Charles to take the throne, many people may be wondering what will happen to the official titles of William and Kate Middleton. These two are two of the most famous figures in the British Royal Family. Beloved by the public and the press, the pair is always seen with smiling faces in public engagements and has proven their prominence as working members of the royal family.

In the end, Charles' ascension to the throne means that William will be next in line, and his current title as a Duke may no longer suffice for a person of such stature. Naturally, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be receiving new titles when Charles takes the throne. Contrary to what many people may believe, Kate may not be inheriting the "Princess of Wales" title once Charles takes the throne. 

Kate Middleton is known for many things as a senior member of the royal family; from her impeccable taste in fashion to her passion for causes, Kate has proven herself to be an excellent queen consort in the making. However, her role as a mother to her three children, Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, has made her a fan favorite as well. 

She is typically friendly, happy, and wonderful when she meets her fans out and about in public — even at official engagements. She has been known to even pose and take pictures with a few lucky admirers. Even today, fans eagerly await the day William will ascend to the throne and make Kate the Queen Consort.

It comes as no surprise that according to official data from YouGov, an international research data and analytics group, Kate and William are considered the 2nd and 3rd most popular members of royalty worldwide. Place number one on the list is, of course, Queen Elizabeth herself. According to YouGov, 61% of all people asked claimed to have a positive opinion of William and 59% claimed the same of Kate.

Interestingly enough, YouGov also tracks fame separately to popularity, defining it as "the percent of people who have heard of a royalty." In this ranking, William holds second place as well, beating out even the queen. Kate only ranks in place ten, but this is surely going to change when she takes the title of queen in the future. Already, people are looking forward to this, right now far off, day. Before she will become the queen, however, her title and rank of duchess will change for a very different reason.

As the male heir to the throne, Prince Charles currently holds the traditional title "Prince of Wales," and once he ascends the throne, Woman And Home reported that it is expected that William will become the next Prince of Wales, as he will be next in line to become king. However, this title is not automatically bestowed upon male heirs to the throne. 

The Constitution Unit at University College London explains that "Charles created Prince of Wales in 1958 when he was aged 10, with an investiture at Caernarvon Castle in 1969. As an adult, Prince William might expect to become Prince of Wales soon after his father's accession; but that will be a matter for the new king to decide because, strictly, the title is not heritable."

Should Prince Charles decide to pass the title on to his son, Kate will lose her title as "Duchess of Cambridge" and instead take on the title of "Princess of Wales." The last person to publicly use this title was the late Princess Diana, who was officially known as "Diana, Princess of Wales" while she was married to Charles. The title was then offered to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, but British Heritage reported that she turned down the title out of respect for the late Diana. 

When William takes the throne, Kate Middleton's title will certainly be Queen Catherine to the world according to royal expert and author of the blog Royal Musings Marlene Koenig according to Town And Country Mag. However, because Catherine is not of royal descent, she, like Camilla before her if Prince Charles were to become king, will actually be Queen Consort. Only women who are born into the royal family, such as Princess Charlotte, are allowed to take the official title of Queen. 

There are some potential other changes in titles that could come when Charles takes over as king, as well as later on when his son William takes the throne. According to Marie Claire, Louis almost didn’t even receive a royal title, and it’s been reported that Charlotte will never be called a duchess.

The royal family has held their positions for quite some time, but their titles will undoubtedly change at some point in the future. Fortunately for Kate, this is something that she has already begun preparing for, according to Marie Claire.

However, that time could potentially come sooner than expected, as it’s possible that Charles may just hand the crown straight down to William, giving his son the reigning title of king. As of now, though, Charles is still the Prince of Wales, and is in fact the longest-serving one in history.

And while Camilla could have technically held the title of Princess of Wales, she chose not use it as it is still very cherished as belonging to the late Princess Diana. However, according to Parade, Kate could take on the title once Charles takes the throne, but most likely will not.

As the Queen expressed that it is her “sincere wish” for Camilla to be given the title of Queen Consort once Charles is crowned King, the same will go for Kate once William becomes the reigning monarch. Parade reported that this title change was re-styled in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. This also means that if George becomes king while Kate is still alive, she will be given the title of the Queen Mother.

Do you think Prince William and Kate Middleton will get the titles of "Prince and Princess of Wales?” Tell us what your thoughts are, and be sure to ask your friends about it as well.