I realize that Kate as well as her parents are considered commoners; there is no titled/royal blood in their veins. However, once children are born to Kate and William this offspring will carry the Middleton blood. Is this sufficient to bestow a title to them?

Is the immediate family of a queen eligible for a title?

The Queen can bestow titles on anyone she wants but there is no entitlement. When Princess Anne got married the Queen would have offered to create a title for Mark Phillips but Princess Anne refused and as a result he remained Captain Mark Phillips. She also declined the HRH titles for her children when they were born.

The Middletons won't get any titles.

Why are William and Kate now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and not Prince and Princess of Wales?

Because Prince Charles is Prince of Wales, not William.

Once Charles becomes King, Prince William will then be the Prince of Wales, that title is for the eldest son of the monarch.

Another reason for giving them a Dukedom was to solve a problem about what people call Catherine. According to the rules of pomp and circumstance, it is incorrect to call her "Princess Catherine" as she is not of royal blood - and marrying royal blood isn't enough. The correct title for her would have been Princess William of Wales but in the 21st century it's impossible to envisage that most people would call her that. So a neat way round it is to create a dukedom for him, and then she is automatically a duchess which is a lot easier for people to remember.

I thought Charles couldn't become King because he married a divorced woman. But will he be able to become King or will he have to abdicate, just like Edward VIII did?

Times have changed. Edward VIII was told he had to abdicate because the British public, and crucially the heads of state of the colonies and dominions, would not accept a divorcee (and a "vulgar" American one to boot) as queen. Now that Britain doesn't have an empire and the public could care less, it's not really an issue.

Thank you for answering. I really am interested in this. I watched Charles and Diana's wedding and was thoroughly entranced! It looks like I have some research to do regarding British royalty. Maybe my quiz scores will improve!

Ahh! I see. Thanks for the reply, Snowman

The real issue is whether Camilla will be styled Queen. There is a lot of opposition to her taking the title. It is Charles' wish that she can, but it would have to be agreed to by every Commonwealth country. Personally I don't think she should. She had an affair with Charles way before he was married and whilst she was married and it carried on all the way through his marriage to Diana. As far as I'm concerned, even though I support the monarchy, Charlie should renounce his succession and pass it on to William.



As mentioned before, Catherine is not of the Blood Royal and so couldn't be called Princess Catherine. She could have been given the title Catherine, Princess of .. as was Diana when she married Charles. Diana was never officially Princess Diana, that was just the way people saw her. Even William isn't Prince of Wales. That's his father. William is Prince William of Wales. An important distinction. Camilla, despite being married to Charles isn't a Princess, she's Duchess of Cornwall. Duchess is one step down from Princess. She isn't, officially, entitled to HRH.

I've just woken up so maybe my memory is failing me but wasn't there talk of Charles marrying Camilla in a morganatic marriage i.e. he could be King but she wouldn't be called Queen i.e. it would be King Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall rather than King Charles and Queen Camilla? That rings a big bell but that was from talk in the media when they married and maybe I've got it wrong or things have changed.

It's a constitutional thing, even though we don't have a constitution. For Camilla to be formally recognised as Queen it will need the agreement of every Commonwealth country.

Another reason for not styling Kate 'Princess' is that so she doesn't outrank Camilla. They are now both duchesses.

It's possible for Charles to be King without Camilla being Queen - Prince Phillip is the Queen's husband but is not king, and Queen Victoria's husband remained Prince Albert.

That's because Victoria and Elizabeth were in line to inherit. Albert and Philip weren't. If they were made King they would have outranked their wife without having legitimate reason for the position.

I've just woken up too... but I thought Camilla automatically became Princess of Wales when she married the Prince of Wales, but chose not to use the title in case it invited unpleasant comparisons with Diana.

The title Princess for those not of the bloodline is in the gift of the Queen. Catherine, it has been announced, will be HRH but not Princess, although the Queens is aware that that is what the people will call her. Edited to add that Camilla is HRH but still not a Princess. HRH is reserved for members of the Royal Family while non royal dukes and duchesses are called His/Her Grace.