Princess Kate (aka the Duchess of Cambridge) is Pregnant!

[thestrangequark]

[Shazam!]

Festivus Toad wrote:

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so first borns get the crown, regardless of their parts. This is called "Absolute primogeniture"

I call it arbitrary. If I didn't know any better I'd have thought it was a satirical idea dreamt up by the Onion.

[stoneroses]

Dream wrote:

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It is really great for tourism, which makes a lot of money for the country.

People still visit France and they got rid of their lot years ago. We so don't need a royal family. People would still visit London whether they were there or not.
... And the 200million they cost to keep could be better spent.
Oh what about the xx million they bring in that far out weighs what we pay for them.
First of all that money would still come in as part of the UKs income secondly if they do bring so much extra in, here is a thought just knock off the 200 million and hand over the difference to the rest of us.

It is wrong to hold anybody above anybody else. I hope one day they are gone. It will happen but very very slowly over decades may be even centeries but they are going.

[JarodRussell]

Kate and Willie are expecting. If it's a boy, he'll be named Brian, if it's a girl, she'll be named Lynn.

[Darth Duck]

Deckerd wrote:

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Some of them are. Charles is hideous and his mother is the original Iron Lady. Forget Maggie Thatcher - she was a pusillanimous imitation.

I am very much looking forward to having King Charles ugly mug on my coins in the distant future.

[Count Zero]

I didn't expect Feynman to sound kind of British. How odd. I didn't expect to learn that factoid in a thread about the Royals, either. I kind of agree with him to a point. I think arbitrary honours on the merit of what family you've been born into are quite ridiculous. Honours because of deeds are okay (and that includes the Nopel prize for physics).
Anyway, I really should have gotten the audio version of the Feynman lectures on physics.

iguana_tonante wrote:

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Of course you nick it all. That's what we did, that's what the French did, and by God that's what you should do, too!

Yep, indeed, that's how it's done.

As for Kate, I hope she'll be better soon. I didn't know morning sickness could be that severe.

[thestrangequark]

^I have the audio version of his lecture on planetary movement!

But...you think he sounded British? No offense, but . He had a super strong New York accent!

[Mr. Laser Beam]

JarodRussell wrote:

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Kate and Willie are expecting. If it's a boy, he'll be named Brian, if it's a girl, she'll be named Lynn.

I don't get it.

[Count Zero]

thestrangequark wrote:

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^I have the audio version of his lecture on planetary movement!

But...you think he sounded British? No offense, but . He had a super strong New York accent!

Well, slightly British in places. I somehow expected him to sound more rural, I suppose.

[thestrangequark]

Rural? The man was from Queens!

There are some similarities between some Brit accents and the New York accent, I guess -- I wouldn't go so far as to say the NY accent is completely nonrhotic, but it leans in that direction.

[Count Zero]

For some reason I thought he was from a rural area, it's been years since I read "Surely, You're Joking" and I misremembered.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ We're being totally serious here! And stop calling me Shirley.

[thestrangequark]

Count Zero wrote:

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For some reason I thought he was from a rural area, it's been years since I read "Surely, You're Joking" and I misremembered.

That's a great book!

[Nerys Myk]

danellis wrote:

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Princess is a title usually conveyed by birth, rather than marriage. As Prince William's wife she's most formally refered to as Princess William, failing that she's the Duchess of Cambridge or Countess of Strathearn in Scotland.

dJE

I'll just continue to call her Kiki Wigglesworth.

[tighr]

Deckerd wrote:

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It's usage innit? If they call her Princess Catherine then that's what she'll be called. Protocol went out the window with Diana.

There's four different things being discussed here:

1) What her actual name is (Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge [currently]. As a member of the royal family, she does not have a family name like you or I. That is her full name. "Middleton" is gone, and it is now incorrect to use it when referring to her.)
2) Her official style (Her Royal Highness Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, or Countess of Strathearn when in Scotland. This is for example what would appear on a wedding invitation or any other use of her formal titles. It is incorrect to use Catherine anywhere in her style.)
3) What the media prefers to call her (Princess Kate; it is of course their prerogative to casually call her whatever they like)
4) What you think everyone should call her (Princess Catherine)

Deckerd wrote:

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It's Princess Catherine. I'm not a royalist but if you're going to give her a title, do it properly.

If you're going to be pedantic, at least be correct. She is not a princess. The media called Diana "Princess Di", but she was never a princess, either. In fact, when she was Princess of Wales, she was still not a princess, she was simply married to the current Prince of Wales, and thus took the feminine form of her husband's title. Her actual name at the time was Diana, Princess of Wales.

If and when William rises to the crown, she will be officially styled as "Queen Catherine", however.

Now, you can argue that these names, titles, and styles are all antiquated jargon, and that's all well and good. But if you're going to do it properly, then do it properly.

The bit above about any female children of William and Kate not being titled princess at birth has more to do with the fact that current letters patent only grant titles to the grandchildren of the monarch. Since its been a while (ever? I dunno) that a sitting monarch has sired great-grandchildren, those rules do not currently exist. A male child of William gets to be a Prince by virtue of being a direct line male decedent of the monarch.

If it is a girl, and those rules are extended, then it is possible that Kate's daughter be a Princess and yet Kate is not a princess.