The Reason Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall Isn't Called A Princess Like Diana Was

May 25, 2021

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's relationship has definitely raised eyebrows over the years. The couple had an affair while Charles was still married to Princess Diana, and during the last few years of her life, it was reported that the alleged affair tormented the late princess. There was even an interview from 1995 where she references the affair to a young Prince William.

Then tragedy struck when Princess Diana passed away due to a car accident in 1996. Following this, Prince Charles and Camilla began officially seeing each other two years after Princess Diana's death. Because of Diana's untimely passing, Prince Charles did not want to overwhelm his family with the sudden inclusion of a new spouse. Prince Harry and Prince William were still minors when their mother passed and Charles decided that it would be best to wait until they were adults to get married to Camilla.

So, finally, in 2005, they married in a private ceremony, despite dating in public for six years prior to tying the knot. Since then, their relationship has been a stable one, as they've embarked on royal trips together, as well as many official engagements.

But one major difference between Prince Charles' second wife is that Camilla doesn't go by the title of princess, despite Diana, his first wife, doing so. In fact, the reason why has something to do with Diana.

Furthermore, the royals are known to have exceedingly long titles added to their names, but Camilla's stands in stark contrast to other family members, as her official title is simply, Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall. Let's take a look at the reason why Camilla isn't known as a princess. 

The royal family is known for the long titles in their names. The late Prince Philip, commonly referred to as the Duke of Edinburgh, had an incredibly wordy full name, according to Express:

"His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, Baron Greenwich, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Member of the Order of Merit, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Grand Master and First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Knight of the Order of Australia, Additional Member of the Order of New Zealand, Extra Companion of the Queen’s Service Order, Royal Chief of the Order of Logohu, Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada, Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Lord of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Councillor of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Personal Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty, Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom."

Wow, what a mouthful! This makes it all the more interesting when comparing Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's full name. But beyond only having one title, the wife of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is also not a princess, despite the fact that his first wife Diana was. In fact, Camilla could technically be known as the Princess of Wales, but the royal family opted not to give her that title out of respect to the late Princess Diana, so they made special steps to ensure that the scenario could be avoided.  

Despite Charles and Diana getting a divorce, the title Princess of Wales was still strongly associated with her. And after Diana's untimely passing in 1997, the public wasn't too fond of Camilla, even up to 10 years later when she and Charles eventually married. According to royal expert Marlene Koenig, the decision for Camilla to not take up Diana's former title was so that the potential ill will toward her would be limited. She told Town & Country:

"Camilla was not popular or well liked, [though] this has changed a lot since the marriage as Camilla has taken on a lot of patronages and Charles is a lot happier ... Still, [there was] a lot of tension and anger among a certain element of the population — so it was decided that Camilla would be styled as the Duchess of Cornwall, even though, of course, she is the Princess of Wales."

Having celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary on April 9 — which is, sadly, the same day that Charles' father Prince Philip died — Charles and Camilla appear to be enjoying married life. Despite the duchess' popularity rising over the years, Camilla has still not had a change in title to become a princess.

However, soon enough that won't even be relevant, as Charles, who is the heir apparent, will take the title of king when he ascends the throne, leaving many to believe that Camilla may even take on the title of queen. But knowing the royal family, even that isn't certain, so we'll have to just wait and see.  

Did you know the reason Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall doesn't go by the title of a princess? If you found this article informative, then be sure to pass it on so others can read it!