There are lots of titles in the Royal Family – from Prince and Princess to Earl and Countess to Duke and Duchess.
Of course, the most senior titles belong to King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.
The second most senior title is The Prince of Wales, which currently belongs to Prince William. There is a feminine version of that title too, called The Princess of Wales.
A famous title, but who currently holds it? And who are the past Princesses?
Who is currently The Princess of Wales?
Catherine (aka Kate Middleton) became The Princess of Wales on September 9, 2022.
Her official title is now Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Countess of Chester, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Carrick and Baroness of Renfrew.
Post her 2011 wedding to Prince William, she was known as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.
She still is, technically, Duchess of Cambridge, meaning she also maintains titles Countess of Strathearn and Baroness of Carrickfergus.
After Queen Elizabeth II’s death and before The King passed on his Welsh title to his eldest son, Catherine was briefly known as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.
Who has held the title Princess of Wales in the past?
Catherine is the eleventh wife of a British heir to the throne to become The Princess of Wales, since the mid 1300s.
Before then, the title was used by some Welsh princesses, including Eleanor de Montfort, who went by Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon, before her death in 1282.
Looking at the 10 holders from the British monarchy, they are:
Joan, Countess of Kent(1361 to 1376)
Joan was the mother of King Richard II, and was Princess of Wales for around 24 years in total, was the first woman to hold the title.
She lost it, however, when her husband and heir apparent Edward the Black Prince died before he could rule.
Anne Neville (1470 to 1471)
Anne was briefly Princess of Wales for a year, through marriage to King Henry VI’s eldest son Edward of Westminster.
He died young, and Anne was later crowned Queen of England through another marriage to King Richard III.
Catherine of Aragon (1501 to 1502)
Similarly, Catherine was Princess of Wales for a short spell as the wife of Arthur, Prince of Wales.
He died, and she famously became Queen of England through marriage to his younger brother, King Henry VIII. The first of Henry’s wives, she begins the rhyme with ‘divorced’.
A better fate than awaited his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded.
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1714 to 1727)
Caroline was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George II, until her death in 1737.
But before George acceded the throne in 1727, he was known as Prince of Wales, making Caroline Princess of Wales.
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1736 to 1751)
Caroline’s daughter Augusta was Princess of Wales from 1736, until the death of her husband Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1751.
As a result, she did not become Queen, however her son did go on to become King George III.
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel (1795 to 1820)
Augusta’s daughter Caroline then carried the title for 25 years, through marriage to George, Princes of Wales – the future King George IV.
When George IV became king in 1820, the pair had long been estranged, but Caroline was popular with the public as Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover. She died in 1821.
Queen Alexandra (1863 to 1901)
Queen Alexandra, also known as Alexandra of Denmark, was Princess of Wales for nearly 40 years from 1863 until 1901 as wife of Prince Edward.
She then became Queen of the United Kingdom in 1901, when he acceded the throne as King Edward VII. After his death, she became a Queen Mother. She died in 1925, at the age of 80.
Queen Mary (1901 to 1910)
Queen Mary, also known as Mary of Teck, was only Princess of Wales for nine years, from 1901 to 1910, before her husband acceded the throne as King George V.
We’re a bit closer to modern royal history now… as Queen Mary was grandmother of the late Queen Elizabeth II, therefore great-grandmother to The King.
Diana, Princess of Wales (1981 to 1997)
A truly iconic holder of the title, Diana – often lovingly called Princess Diana – was Princess of Wales from 1981, when she married the now King as then Prince of Wales.
She was titled as Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales until her divorce in 1996, at which point she was stripped of her HRH status.
Diana tragically died age 36 in 1997.
Queen Consort Camilla (2005 to 2022)
Queen Consort Camilla was then Princess of Wales from 2005, when she married The King, until becoming Queen Consort of the United Kingdom in September 2022.
During these years, though, The Queen Consort was referred to as The Duchess of Cornwall.
MORE : Kate dazzles in diamonds and Diana’s tiara for King Charles’s first state banquet
MORE : Why is Camilla Queen Consort and what does the royal title mean?
MORE : Princess Diana’s style still influences us today – here’s how to wear her looks in 2022
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