The Duke of Cambridge is expected to be given the title of Prince of Wales after his father was named King Charles III.
The Duke of Cambridge is expected to be given the title of Prince of Wales after his father was named King Charles III
Prince William, 40, is now heir to the throne of the United Kingdom after Prince Charles’ accession following the death on Thursday (08.09.22) of his mother Queen Elizabeth at the age of 96.
The royal’s wife the Duchess of Cambridge, 40, is also set to take on the new title of the Princess of Wales, according to MailOnline, which has published an updated version of the line of succession to the UK throne in light of Her Majesty’s death.
William is the oldest of the royals among the top eight in line, and is followed by his three children Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis, four.
Following the Cambridges are the Duke of Sussex, as well as his children Archie, three, and one-year-old Lilibet, followed by Prince Andrew and his two daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York.
The update is expected as the Prince of Wales title is not Charles’ per se, but is conferred on the heir apparent, who then vacates the honour when he ascends to the throne.
But MailOnline stresses “there is no automatic succession to the Prince of Wales title – the heir apparent has to be created Prince of Wales by the monarch.
“The title is only ‘merged in the crown’ and renewed at the Sovereign's pleasure – which is why Charles became the 21st Prince of Wales not on the day of his birth, but rather aged nine in 1958.
“He was only ‘invested’ – in the ceremony acknowledging the creation of a new Prince of Wales – 11 years later in 1969.”
William and his wife are considered two of the most stable and grounded senior royals, with their April 2011 wedding watched by an estimated two billion people.
Charles’ wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, has been the Princess of Wales until now, but has used the feminine equivalent of her husband’s Duke of Cornwall title, the Duchess of Cornwall.
The Queen gave her the title of Queen Consort in February in a huge sign she was preparing to pass the torch of her reign to her eldest son Charles.
Following the Queen’s death, Charles also becomes head of the Commonwealth, with her passing leaving Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, now 13th in line ahead of his two children with Sophie – James, Viscount Severn, 14, and 15-year-old Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.