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Duchess of Cornwall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Duchess of Cornwall
Incumbent
Catherine
since 8 September 2022
StyleHer Royal Highness
Member ofBritish royal family
First holderJoan of Kent

The Duchess of Cornwall is a title held by the wife of the apparent heir to the British throne. The Duchess of Cornwall is usually also the Princess of Wales, and she uses that title. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton), whose husband, Prince William (later Prince of Wales), became the Duke of Cornwall on 8 September 2022, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II.[1] Previously, Catherine's stepmother-in-law, Queen Camilla, was known by this title.

Duchesses of Cornwall

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Person Name Birth Marriage Became Duchess of Cornwall Spouse Change in style Death
Joan of Kent 19 September 1328 10 October 1361 Edward of Woodstock 7 June 1376
Husband's death;
became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall
7 August 1385
Anne Neville 11 June 1456 13 December 1470 Edward of Westminster 4 May 1471
Husband's death;
became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall;
later became Queen Consort as the wife of Richard III
16 March 1485
Catherine of Aragon 16 December 1485 14 November 1501 Arthur Tudor 2 April 1502
Husband's death;
became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall;
later became Queen Consort as the wife of Henry VIII
7 January 1536
Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1 March 1683 22 August 1705 1 August 1714 George Augustus 11 June 1727
Husband acceded to throne as George II;
became Queen Consort
20 November 1737
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 30 November 1719 17 April 1736 Frederick Louis 31 March 1751
Husband's death;
became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall
8 February 1772
Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 17 May 1768 8 April 1795 George Augustus Frederick 29 January 1820
Husband acceded to throne as George IV;
became Queen Consort
7 August 1821
Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Denmark 1 December 1844 10 March 1863 Albert Edward 22 January 1901
Husband acceded to throne as Edward VII;
became Queen Consort
20 November 1925
Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck 26 May 1867 6 July 1893 22 January 1901 George Frederick Ernest Albert 6 May 1910
Husband acceded to throne as George V;
became Queen Consort
24 March 1953
Diana Frances Spencer 1 July 1961 29 July 1981 Charles Philip Arthur George 28 August 1996
Divorced;
assumed the style of Diana, Princess of Wales
[2]
31 August 1997
Camilla Rosemary Shand 17 July 1947 9 April 2005 8 September 2022
Husband acceded to throne as Charles III;
became Queen Consort
living
Catherine Elizabeth Middleton 9 January 1982 29 April 2011 8 September 2022 William Arthur Philip Louis Incumbent living

Until her husband's accession to the throne, Camilla, the second wife of the then-Prince of Wales, used the title "Duchess of Cornwall" rather than "Princess of Wales", as the latter was still popularly associated with Charles's first wife, Diana, who died in 1997.[3]

Literary references

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "House of Commons – Royal Marriage". parliament.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  2. ^ The press secretary to the Queen. "DIVORCE: STATUS AND ROLE OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES". PR Newswire. Buckingham Palace. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  3. ^ "The Royal Title that Camilla and Princess Diana Shared". Harper's Bazaar. 13 November 2018. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019. When she married Prince Charles, "Camilla was not popular or well liked, [though] this has changed a lot since the marriage as Camilla has taken on a lot of patronages and Charles is a lot happier," [Marlene] Koenig says. "Still, [there was] a lot of tension and anger among a certain element of the population—so it was decided that Camilla would be styled as the Duchess of Cornwall, even though, of course, she is the Princess of Wales."
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