TheDuchess of Cornwallis a title held by the wife of the heir apparent to theBritish throne.The Duchess of Cornwall is usually also thePrincess of Wales,and she uses that title. The current title-holder isCatherine(néeMiddleton), whose husband,Prince William(laterPrince of Wales), became theDuke of Cornwallon 8 September 2022, upon the death of QueenElizabeth II.[1]Previously, Catherine's stepmother-in-law,Queen Camilla,was known by this title.
| Duchess of Cornwall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Style | Her Royal Highness |
| Member of | British royal family |
| First holder | Joan of Kent |
Duchesses of Cornwall
edit| Person | Name | Birth | Marriage | Became Duchess of Cornwall | Spouse | Change in style | Death | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Joanof Kent | 19 September 1328 | 10 October 1361 | Edward of Woodstock | 7 June 1376 Husband's death; becameDowagerDuchess of Cornwall |
7 August 1385 | ||
|
AnneNeville | 11 June 1456 | 13 December 1470 | Edward of Westminster | 4 May 1471 Husband's death; became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall; later becameQueen Consortas the wife ofRichard III |
16 March 1485 | ||
|
Catherineof Aragon | 16 December 1485 | 14 November 1501 | Arthur Tudor | 2 April 1502 Husband's death; became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall; later became Queen Consort as the wife ofHenry VIII |
7 January 1536 | ||
|
Wilhelmina CharlotteCarolineof Brandenburg-Ansbach | 1 March 1683 | 22 August 1705 | 1 August 1714 | George Augustus | 11 June 1727 Husband acceded to throne asGeorge II; became Queen Consort |
20 November 1737 | |
|
Augustaof Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | 30 November 1719 | 17 April 1736 | Frederick Louis | 31 March 1751 Husband's death; became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall |
8 February 1772 | ||
|
CarolineAmelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | 17 May 1768 | 8 April 1795 | George Augustus Frederick | 29 January 1820 Husband acceded to throne asGeorge IV; became Queen Consort |
7 August 1821 | ||
|
AlexandraCaroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Denmark | 1 December 1844 | 10 March 1863 | Albert Edward | 22 January 1901 Husband acceded to throne asEdward VII; became Queen Consort |
20 November 1925 | ||
|
VictoriaMaryAugusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck | 26 May 1867 | 6 July 1893 | 22 January 1901 | George Frederick Ernest Albert | 6 May 1910 Husband acceded to throne asGeorge V; became Queen Consort |
24 March 1953 | |
|
DianaFrances Spencer | 1 July 1961 | 29 July 1981 | Charles Philip Arthur George | 28 August 1996 Divorced; assumed the style of Diana, Princess of Wales[2] |
31 August 1997 | ||
|
CamillaRosemary Shand | 17 July 1947 | 9 April 2005 | 8 September 2022 Husband acceded to throne asCharles III; became Queen Consort |
living | |||
|
|
CatherineElizabeth Middleton | 9 January 1982 | 29 April 2011 | 8 September 2022 | William Arthur Philip Louis | Incumbent | living | |
Until her husband's accession to the throne, Camilla, the second wife of thethen-Prince of Wales,used the title "Duchess of Cornwall" rather than "Princess of Wales", as the latter was still popularly associated with Charles's first wife,Diana,whodied in 1997.[3]
Literary references
edit- Arthurian legenddepicts Cornwall with its own ducal family. Notably,King Arthur's mother,Igraine,would have been Duchess of Cornwall from her first marriage to DukeGorlois;in some stories, the title is then passed on to their daughter,Morgan le Fay.
- Shakespeare'sKing Learincludes the character "Regan, Duchess of Cornwall", Lear's second daughter.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^"House of Commons – Royal Marriage".parliament.uk.Retrieved23 March2019.
- ^The press secretary to the Queen."DIVORCE: STATUS AND ROLE OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES".PR Newswire.Buckingham Palace.Retrieved9 July2015.
- ^"The Royal Title that Camilla and Princess Diana Shared".Harper's Bazaar.13 November 2018. Archived fromthe originalon 3 January 2019.Retrieved2 January2019.
When she married Prince Charles, "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," [Marlene] Koenig says. "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."