to be fair, she was old enough to choose it. Diana was only 18. She had no way to know what was coming. Really no one expected the reaction she got from the media.
A bill is due before parliament in the very near future. I suspect it will also alter the rules in who us a 'prince' or 'princess' as currently a son of William's would be a prince from birth but a daughter would bit be a princess until Charles took the throne. And the distinction between Kate and Diana is that Diana was the wife of the Prince of Wales and therefore was made Princess of Wales in her own right. Camilla holds that title currently, but doesn't use it because of public sensibilities around Diana. When Charlie ascends to the throne and William becomes Prince of Wales, Kate will take the same styling as Diana. Currently she is only a 'princess' by virtue of being wife of a prince, so she is Princess William of Wales when in his company, or the Duchess of Cambridge always. She isn't in any sense Princess Catherine until Will gets to move up to Prince of Wales. Then she'll hold the Princess of Wales title until her father in law croaks and she becomes Queen.
Sounds like it would simplify things...if nothing else. It'd make it easier for us Americans to understand. We have a very Disneyian view of your goings-on. All girls will grow up to be queen...all men to be king. We is dumb.
Good job such a law wasn't enacted before 1840 or Kaiser Wilhelm II would have been King of the United Kingdom in 1914 - his mother being Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest child of Queen Victoria.
Why? I was speculating on names, and hoping it wouldn't be a boy, since they'd inevitably have to name it after Charles in some way, and probably Philip (neither of whom I like). Besides, the best monarchs have been female. Takes a woman to run that family! Charles has chimpanzee ears, not elephant ears. You're thinking of Princess Michael of Kent, who apparently is/was a self-aborbed narcissist who always wanted attention.
She becomes Queen? If I interpret your post correctly, you're talking about William and Catherine reigning at the same time, is that right? When was the last time that ever happened? (I admit I know precisely BUPKES about the monarchy so I still don't understand why Philip is only a prince, despite being married to the Queen)
because a king outranks a queen. You can't outrank the reigning monarch. Elizabeth's mother was the queen, and then the Queen mother. Yet she didn't reign
Everything you wanted to know (and waaaay more) about the Royal Family: the official website of The British Monarchy! Pretty interesting, actually. And, no, Kate is not a princess. I was kind of surprised to hear that being discussed here, because I don't think I've ever heard her referred to as one.
Sadly, I'm old enough to remember when it was announced that Diana's title would be Princess Charles (in the same way as Marie Christine is Princess Michael of Kent). She never seemed to be referred to as Princess Charles though, just as Diana, Princess of Wales officially, and as Princess Di by the media. Yet I distinctly remember it being announced since it struck me at the time as such a ridiculous title for such a pretty girl.
Not an aunt. Princess Michael is married to the Queen's first cousin i.e. Michael of Kent and the Queen are both grandchildren of George V. Prince Michael is the son of George of Kent who was the 4th son of of George V. George of Kent was killed in a RAF crash in 1942, Prince Michael was only a few weeks old when his father was killed. The Queen's aunt (by marriage) was Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, who was a princess in her own right (she was Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark when she married George of Kent). Marina and George's eldest son is Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and this means that Michael of Kent is not a duke and therefore the only title available for his wife is Princess Michael of Kent. Prince William is a duke so rather than his wife being Princess William, she is rightly known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Edited to add - Edward, Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley and she prefers to be known as Katharine, Duchess of Kent (her formal title is Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent).
As culty says, it looks like all this archaism will be done away with in the new Bill, since it's a nonsense in this day and age and completely ignored by the media and public alike.
William will reign, and Catherine will be his queen consort, not sovereign in her own right. Perhaps confusingly we use the same title when we have a Queen who actually is the monarch, as we do now. As has been said, King outranks Queen though in the ranks of the nobility so 'King Consort' is instead 'Prince'.
It is all rather stupid especially when it comes to the titles of the lesser Royals. My mother absolutely adored Princess Marina and I grew up listening to gossip about her (though I was still a child when she died).
But a king can only move one square at a time, except when castling, and a queen can move any number of squares rank, file, or diagonally. Really, I think I must be one of the few republicans left in the UK at the moment. The whole monarchy thing just seems so archaic.
I like the monarchy. Granted, I'm an outsider, and I'm sure there are annoyances like there is with any governing body (both as figureheads and heads of state), but they just seem, well, charming.
Some of them are. Charles is hideous and his mother is the original Iron Lady. Forget Maggie Thatcher - she was a pusillanimous imitation.