It is Inorrect to Call The Princess of Wales “Princess Catherine.”

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Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, HRH The Princess of Wales, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, Peerage title, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Royal Family, Style

Like yesterday’s post concerning how is a Queen Consort is refered to, I will look at how a Princess of Wales is addressed.

I do want to stress that the Princess of Wales is a Princess of the United Kingdom by virtue of her marriage to Prince William. In British Law the wife of a British Prince takes on the feminine form of her husband’s titles. Therefore, when Catherine Middleton married Prince William she became a Princess of the United Kingdom, also Duchess of Cambridge. Now she is the Princess of Wales.

However, she was not born royal and that does matter in how she is addressed and referenced.

Princess of Wales (Welsh: Tywysoges Cymru) is a courtesy title first held by the wife of a native Prince of Wales. Since the 14th century, it has been used by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine, wife of William, Prince of Wales.

From 1301 onward, the eldest sons of the Kings of England (and later Great Britain and the United Kingdom) have generally been created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, and their wives have been titled Princess of Wales.

HRH The Princess of Wales

Although not granted the title in her own right, the future Queen Mary I was, during her youth, invested by her father, King Henry VIII, with many of the rights and properties traditionally given to the Prince of Wales, including use of the official seal of Wales for correspondence.

For most of her childhood, Mary was her father’s only legitimate heir, and for this reason, she was often referred to as “the Princess of Wales”, although Henry VIII never formally created her as such. For example, Spanish scholar Juan Luis Vives dedicated his Satellitium Animi to “Dominæ Mariæ Cambriæ Principi, Henrici Octavi Angliæ Regis Filiæ”.

In modern times Welsh politicians suggested Princess Elizabeth (future Elizabeth II) be made Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday, but King George VI rejected the idea because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales and the Prince of Wales had always been the heir apparent.

Camilla, Charles III’s second wife, was the Princess of Wales from 2005 to 2022 but did not use the title due to its popular association with her husband’s first wife, Lady Diana Spencer.

Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom issued Letters Patent dated 21 August 1996, stating that any woman divorced from a Prince of the United Kingdom would no longer be entitled to the style “Royal Highness”. This has so far applied to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York. No longer being married to a Prince of the United Kingdom they are no longer

Thier Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales

When a British prince marries, his wife also becomes a British princess; however, she is addressed by the feminine version of the husband’s most senior title on his behalf.

For example, William, was created Duke of Cambridge by the Queen on the day of his marriage to Catherine Middleton. Upon the wedding she was called HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.

And as mentioned above when a British prince marries, his wife also becomes a British princess.

Then once Charles became King his eldest son was (briefly) officially styled His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge while his wife Catherine became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, omitting both the ‘prince’ and ‘princess’ titles and their first names.

When addressing a person with a peerage title, whether they be royal or a member of the aristocracy, first names are omitted and replaced with their Style (form of address) in this case His/Her Royal Highness. That is followed by thier title.

The next day when William was then created Prince of Wales, that became the senior title held in his own right, and he and Catherine are styled His/Her Royal Highness The Prince/Princess of Wales.

However, despite being a Princess of the United Kingdom as the wife of a British Prince, a wife is not to be called Princess in front of her first name. That privilege is for members who are Prince/Princess of the Blood. In other words, those born into the Royal Family who are a Princess of the United Kingdom from birth.

Examples of this are: Princess Anne, the Princess Royal (HRH The Princess Royal), Princess Eugenie of York, Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Alexandra of Kent. These women were born members of the Royal Family.

If William, or his brother Harry, had not been elevated to a peerage title then thier wives would have gone by thier husband’s first names. In this case, Princess William and Princess Harry respectively. Remember the wife of a British Prince is addressed by the feminine version of the husband’s most senior title on his behalf.

Another example of this case is Princess Michael of Kent, the wife of the King’s first cousin once removed, Prince Michael of Kent. Although she is a Princess by virtue of her marriage to a British Prince, since he does not have a peerage title she is called Princess Michael of Kent. This is much like how a wife will be known by her husband’s name. Technically my wife could be known as Mrs Liam Foley.

HRH The Princess of Wales

There is also the case when a princess of blood royal marries a British prince. She also becomes a princess by marriage and will be addressed in the same way; an example of this situation was the late Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife: when she married the cousin of her mother, Prince Arthur of Connaught, she became Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife.

Therefore in conclusion the current Princess of Wales is simply addressed simply as HRH The Princess of Wales. Since she was not born a Princess of the blood royal it is incorrect to refer to her as “Princess Catherine” just as it was incorrect to refer to Diana as “Princess Diana” despite how she was called by the Press.

Incidentally, calling her Catherine, Princess of Wales is also incorrect because, as we have seen, that would indicate that she was divorced.

Happy 9th Birthday to HRH Prince George of Cambridge

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Catherine Middleton, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, Prince George of Cambridge, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Prince George of Cambridge (George Alexander Louis; born 22 July 2013) is a member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of HRH the Duke of Cambridge and HRH the Duchess of Cambridge, (Prince William and neé Catherine Middleton)

Prince George is third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind his grandfather Prince Charles and his father.

Due to his rank in the line of succession, and the subsequent expectation that he will one day become the British monarch, his birth was widely celebrated across the Commonwealth realms. George occasionally accompanies his parents on royal tours and engagements.

Happy 40th Birthday to HRH The Duke of Cambridge

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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, KG, KT, PC, ADC (William Arthur Philip Louis; born June 21, 1982) is a member of the British royal family. He is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana Spencer and the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II. Since birth, he has been second in the line of succession to the British throne after his father.

Born in St Mary’s Hospital, London, Prince William and his younger brother, Harry, (HRH Prince Henry of Wales) were raised at Kensington Palace in London, and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.

William was educated at Wetherby School, Ludgrove School and Eton College.

His parents divorced in 1996. Diana died in a car accident in the early hours of August 31, 1997. William, then aged 15, together with his 12-year-old brother and their father, were staying at Balmoral Castle at the time. The Prince of Wales waited until his sons awoke the following morning to tell them about their mother’s death.

William accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and his maternal uncle Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, at his mother’s funeral. William and Harry walked behind the funeral cortège from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.

Prince William spent parts of his gap year in Belize and Chile before earning a Scottish Master of Arts degree in geography at the University of St Andrews.

William then trained at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst prior to serving with the Blues and Royals. In April 2008, William graduated from Royal Air Force College Cranwell, joining RAF Search and Rescue Force in early 2009.

In 2011, William was made Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus preceding his marriage to Catherine Middleton. The couple have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis of Cambridge.

The Duke of Cambridge served as a full-time pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance from July 2015 for two years.

The Duke performs official duties and engagements on behalf of the Queen. He holds patronage with over 30 charitable and military organisations, including the Tusk Trust, Centrepoint, and London’s Air Ambulance Charity.

The Duke undertakes projects through The Royal Foundation, with his charity work revolving around mental health, conservation, and emergency workers.

In December 2014, he founded the “United for Wildlife” initiative, which aims to reduce worldwide illegal wildlife trade. In April 2016, the Cambridges and Prince Harry initiated the mental health awareness campaign “Heads Together” to encourage people to open up about their mental health issues. In October 2020, William launched the Earthshot Prize, a £50 million initiative to incentivise environmental solutions over the next decade.

Happy 40th Birthday to HRH The Duchess of Cambridge

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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, GCVO (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; January 9, 1982) is a member of the British royal family. Her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is second in the line of succession to the British throne, making Catherine a likely future queen consort.

Born in Reading, Middleton grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire. She was educated at St Andrew’s School and Marlborough College before studying art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she met William in 2001. She held jobs in retail and marketing and pursued charity work before their engagement was announced in November 2010.

They married on April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey. The couple’s children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis of Cambridge—are third, fourth, and fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, respectively.

Since her marriage, the Duchess has undertaken royal duties and engagements in support of the Queen. She holds patronage within over 20 charitable and military organisations, including Action for Children, SportsAid, and the National Portrait Gallery. She undertakes projects through The Royal Foundation, with her charity work focusing on issues surrounding young children, addiction, and art. To encourage people to open up about their mental health issues, the Duchess envisioned the mental health awareness campaign “Heads Together”, launched with the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex in April 2016.

June 21, 1982: Birthday of HRH The Duke of Cambridge

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Official photo released on The Duke of Cambridge’s 38th birthday.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, KG, KT, PC, ADC (William Arthur Philip Louis; born June 21, 1982) is a member of the British royal family. He is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. Since birth, he has been second in the line of succession to the British throne.

HRH The Duke of Cambridge

His father is HRH The Prince of Wales eldest son and heir to the throne of HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her husband HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

His mother, Diana, Princess of Wales was born Lady Diana Spencer (1961-1997) the fourth of five children of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (1924–1992), and Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (née Roche; 1936–2004). The Spencer family had been closely allied with the British royal family for several generations; Diana’s grandmothers, Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer and Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, had served as ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

HRH The Prince of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales

Prince William was born at Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, at 9:03 pm on June 21, 1982 as the first child of Charles, Prince of Wales—heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II—and Diana, Princess of Wales. His names, William Arthur Philip Louis, were announced by Buckingham Palace on June 28.

Prince William was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 4 August 4, the 82nd birthday of his paternal great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. He was the first child born to a Prince and Princess of Wales since the birth of Prince John in 1905.

William’s mother wanted him and his younger brother Prince Henry (Harry) to have wider experiences than are usual for royal children. She took them to Walt Disney World and McDonald’s, as well as AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless, and bought them items typically owned by teenagers, such as video games. Diana, who was by then divorced from Charles, died in a car accident in the early hours of August 31, 1997.

Prince William, then aged 15, together with his 12-year-old brother and their father, were staying at Balmoral Castle at the time. The Prince of Wales waited until his sons awoke the following morning to tell them about their mother’s death. William accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and his maternal uncle Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, at his mother’s funeral; they walked behind the funeral cortège from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

The decision to place William in Eton went against the family tradition of sending royal children to Gordonstoun, which William’s grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended. Diana’s father and brother both attended Eton. The royal family and the tabloid press agreed William would be allowed to study free from intrusion in exchange for regular updates about his life.

After completing his studies at Eton, William took a gap year, during which he took part in British Army training exercises in Belize, worked on English dairy farms, visited Africa, and for ten weeks taught children in southern Chile. By 2001, William was back in the United Kingdom and had enrolled at the University of St Andrews. The extra attention did not deter him; he embarked on a degree course in Art History, later changing his main subject to Geography, and earned a Scottish Master of Arts degree with upper second class honours in 2005.

Having decided to follow a military career, in October 2005 William attended the four-day Regular Commissions Board at Westbury in Wiltshire, where he underwent selection to judge his suitability to become an army officer. He passed selection and was admitted to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in January 2006. After completing the course, William was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at Sandhurst on 15 December 2006; the graduation parade was attended by the Queen and the Prince of Wales, along with other members of the Royal Family.

Prince William officially received his commission as a lieutenant at midnight. As “Lieutenant Wales”—a name based on his father’s title Prince of Wales—he followed his younger brother into the Blues and Royals as a troop commander in an armoured reconnaissance unit, after which he spent five months training for the post at Bovington Camp, Dorset.

In January 2009, William transferred his commission to the RAF and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. He trained to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF’s Search and Rescue Force. In January 2010, he graduated from the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury, where he had been under the instruction of Squadron Leader Craig Finch. On January 26, 2010, he transferred to the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley, Anglesey, to receive training on the Sea King search and rescue helicopter; he graduated from this course on September 17, 2010. This made him the first member of the British royal family since King Henry VII to live in Wales.

In November 2011, he participated in a search-and-rescue mission involving a cargo ship that was sinking in the Irish Sea; William, as a co-pilot, helped rescue two sailors.

William was deployed to the Falkland Islands for a six-week tour with No. 1564 Flight from February to March 2012. The Argentine government condemned the Duke’s deployment to the islands close to the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Falklands War as a “provocative act”.

In June 2012 Prince William gained a qualification to be captain or pilot in command of a Sea King rather than a co-pilot. His active service as an RAF search-and-rescue pilot ended in September 2013.

Prince William’s private life became a subject of tabloid speculation, especially around his relationship with Catherine Middleton, one of William’s university flatmates whom William began dating in 2003. Middleton attended William’s passing-out parade at Sandhurst, which was the first high-profile event that she attended as his guest.

On November 16, 2010, Clarence House announced that Prince William and Middleton were to marry; the couple had become engaged in Kenya in October. The engagement ring given by William to Catherine had belonged to his mother.

The wedding took place on April 29, 2011 in Westminster Abbey, London. A few hours before the ceremony, Her Majesty the Queen ennobled Prince William with new peerage titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus were announced.

His wife’s first pregnancy was announced on December 3, 2012. She was admitted on July 22, 2013 to the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, where Prince William had been delivered. Later that day, she gave birth to Prince George. On September 8, 2014, it was announced that the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant with her second child. She was admitted on May 2, 2015 to the same hospital and gave birth to Princess Charlotte. The Duchess’s third pregnancy was announced on September 4, 2017; Prince Louis was born on April 23, 2018.

April 29, 2011. 9th Wedding anniversary of Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

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On November 16, 2010, Clarence House announced that Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton were to marry; the couple had become engaged in Kenya in October. The engagement ring given by William to Catherine had belonged to his mother.

Prince William was born at Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, at 9:03 pm on June 21, 1982 as the first child of Charles, Prince of Wales—heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II—and Diana, Princess of Wales. His names, William Arthur Philip Louis, were announced by Buckingham Palace on June 28. He was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 4 August, the 82nd birthday of his paternal great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on January 9, 1982 into an upper-middle-class family. She was baptised at St Andrew’s Bradfield, Berkshire, on 20 June 1982. She is the eldest of three children born to Michael Middleton (b. 1949), and his wife, Carole (née Goldsmith; b. 1955), a former flight dispatcher and flight attendant, respectively, who in 1987 founded Party Pieces, a privately held mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations with an estimated worth of £30 million.

The wedding took place on April 29, 2011 in Westminster Abbey, London. A few hours before the ceremony, HM The Queen conferred on HRH Prince William the new titles of Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus.

The couple have three children:

HRH Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge; born July 22, 2013
HRH Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge; born May 2, 2015
HRH Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge; born 23 April 2018

Happy 2nd Birthday to HRH Prince Louis of Cambridge.

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Prince Louis of Cambridge (Louis Arthur Charles; born April 23, 2018) is a member of the British Royal Family. He is the third and youngest child and second son of the Duke of Cambridge, and Duchess of Cambridge. He is fifth in the line of succession to the British throne.

On April 27, 2018, it was announced that the baby had been named Louis Arthur Charles, the first and last names honouring his paternal great-great-great-uncle Lord Mountbatten (born HSH Prince Louis of Battenberg) and his paternal grandfather the Prince of Wales, respectively.

Title and succession

Louis is from birth a Prince of the United Kingdom, entitled to the style of Royal Highness. Under the 1917 Letters Patent issued by King George V (1910-1936) Louis would not have been entitled without the dignity Prince of the United Kingdom and the style of Royal Highness.

The Letters Patent, dated November 30, 1917, stated that “the children of any Sovereign of these Realms and the children of the sons of any such Sovereign (as per the Letters Patent of 1864) and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (a modification of the Letters Patent of 1898) shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour”.

Louis, as a younger son of the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales he would not have met the requirements to be a Prince of the United Kingdom. It was very rare that a reigning sovereign would live long enough to have great-grand children. The birth of Princess Charlotte was the first British Royal to have been exempted from a title under the 1917 Letters Patent.

On December 31, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II made an amendment to the 1917 Letters Patent by issuing a Letters Patent which gave the title and style His/Her Royal Highness and Prince/Princess of the United Kingdom to all the children of the Prince of Wales’s eldest son. Therefore at birth Louis was thus styled “His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge”.

Prince Louis is fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, behind his grandfather, father and older siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Prince Louis, is the first British Prince to be ranked behind an elder sister in the line of succession following the implementation of the Perth Agreement.

The Perth Agreement is an agreement made by the prime ministers of the sixteen countries of the Commonwealth of Nations which retain the Westminster model of constitutional monarchy (“the Commonwealth realms”). The document agreed to amend the succession to the British throne (and ancillary matters). The institutional and constitutional principles of Commonwealth realms are greatly and at root shared equally as enacted in 1931. The changes, in summary, comprised: replacing male-preference primogeniture ― under which males take precedence over females in the royal succession ― with absolute primogeniture (which does not distinguish gender as a succession criterion); ending disqualification of any person who had married Roman Catholics; and that only six people closest to the throne require the monarch’s permission to marry.