Kate Middleton will become a duchess on her wedding to Prince Williamand not, officially at least, a princess.
Buckingham Palace has announced that the Queen has gifted her grandson the title Duke of Cambridge on his wedding day – a dukedom being the highest rank in the British peerage. As such, Kate will become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.
There had been speculation that the Queen might confer a title that would allow her to be called Princess Catherine.
Instead, the monarch has stuck to tradition. Her own husband, Philip, who relinquished his princely Greek title before they wed, had to wait 10 years before he became a prince again.
And according to protocol, while William was born Prince William of Wales, his bride, who is not a royal in her own right, does not have the title Princess William of Wales, although through marrying William she could technically be described as such.
Explaining the slightly confusing picture, a palace spokesman said: "She is not a princess in her own right. That title has not been conferred on her. Her title is that of duchess. So she is not Princess Catherine. And to call her Princess William of Wales is misleading."
William also becomes the Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus, which means Kate can add Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus to her royal titles.
All titles are in the gift of the Queen.
The full palace statement, released three hours before the wedding ceremony, read: "The Queen has today been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince William of Wales. His titles will be Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. Prince William thus becomes His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge and Miss Catherine Middleton on marriage will become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge."
The Duke of Cambridge was seen as a favourite for William's new title in the runup to the wedding, the Queen fuelling speculation by visiting the city two days ago.
It could be considered appropriate since the last Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, a grandson of George III, was a military figure who married a commoner for love. But there the similiarities end.
George married the actor Sarah Louisa Fairbrother in 1847, when she was pregnant with their third child, refusing to have an arranged marriage and declaring such unions "doomed to failure". That marriage was never recognised by his cousin, Queen Victoria. He went on to keep a mistress for some 30 years.
There is an equestrian statue of him in the middle of London's Whitehall, which William and Kate would be able to see from their carriage procession after the service.
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