This Is How William And Kate’s Titles Will Change After Prince Charles Becomes King

May 24, 2021 by apost team

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. The queen, 95, has kept up with her work as sovereign at Windsor Castle even though she has been mourning the loss of her beloved husband of 73 years.

While former royal aides have expressed in the past that Elizabeth will not step down from her duties until her death, she has been delegating more pressing royal tasks to her son Prince Charles, who is next in line to the throne, as well as Prince William, her grandson. For example, Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, joined the queen at a scaled-back State Opening of Parliament on May 11, 2021. The queen has also been preparing William to take the throne since his childhood. 

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. After all, Charles' ascention 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. 

As the male heir to the throne, 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. This would mean that Kate takes 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. 

According to Woman And Home, Charles is currently the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history, after acquiring the title in 1958 at his investiture. However, this title is not automatically bestowed upon male heirs to the throne. 

The Constitution Unit at University College London explained 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."

For now, only time will tell whether Charles will automatically give his old title to William after his ascention or if he will create a whole new title for him. However, according to some royal aides, it may be a while till Charles takes the throne as the queen may serve until the end of her life. 

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A former senior aide who used to work at Buckingham Palace confided to PEOPLE that the queen will not officially abdicate: 

"Her family will step up and be by her side, but she will carry on. She understands that she has a job to do, and [Philip] would have wanted her to crack on. She did do so when he retired from public life."

Another source, only described as a royal insider, also told PEOPLE:

"She will never abdicate because of duty and honor and public service is so deep in her, as it was for him."

Back on the queen's 21st birthday, when she was just Princess Elizabeth, she made an iconic speech in which she promised to serve the British Commonwealth until the day that she died. She said:

"I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."

However, with the passing of Philip, the queen was reportedly "heartbroken" enough to consider handing the crown over to Charles earlier. According to Express, a former senior member of the Royal Household disclosed to royal correspondent Robert Jobson that the queen has given "considerable thought" to handing over the throne to Charles. In fact, this matter was discussed back in 2019. The former member had said:

"Her Majesty is mindful of her age and wants to make sure when the time comes, the transition of the Crown is seamless. I understand the Queen has given the matter considerable thought and believes that, if she is still alive at 95, she will seriously consider passing the reign to Charles.”

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