Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of the Prince of
Wales, who is, since the 14th century, the heir apparent of the English or
British monarch. The first acknowledged title holder was Eleanor de Montfort,
wife of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. It has subsequently been used by wives of
post-conquest princes of Wales. The title is currently held by Camilla
second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, since her marriage in 9 April 2005. She
does not, however, use the title, as it has remained strongly associated with
the previous holder, Diana. Instead, she uses the style and title, HRH the
Duchess of Cornwall. Status of the title
The Princess of Wales is not a princess in her own right. There have been some
Princesses of Wales who were addressed as such; for example, Catherine of
Aragon, Alexandra of Denmark, and Mary of Teck were called "Princess
Catherine", "Princess Alexandra", and "Princess Mary" respectively. However,
that was because they were already princesses of their ancestral countries
when they married: Catherine was a Princess of Aragon, and also of Castile;
Alexandra was Princess of Denmark; and Mary was a Princess of Teck because her
father was Duke of Teck. Diana, Princess of Wales was commonly called "Princess
Diana" following her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales, but - as Diana
herself pointed out - this was factually incorrect, because she was not a
princess in her own right. Although not granted the title in her
own right, the future Queen Mary I was, during her youth, invested by her
father, Henry VIII, with many of the rights and properties traditionally
given to the Prince of Wales, including use of the official seal of Wales for
correspondence. For most of her childhood, Mary was her father's only
legitimate heir, and for this reason she was often referred to as "the Princess
of Wales," although Henry never formally created her as such. For example,
Spanish scholar Juan Luis Vives dedicated his Satellitium Animi to
"Dominæ Mariæ Cambriæ Principi, Henrici Octavi Angliæ Regis Filiæ".
When a title was discussed for the future Elizabeth II, the possibility of
investing her as Princess of Wales in her own right was raised. This
suggestion was rejected, because Princess of Wales is a courtesy title
held by the wife of the Prince of Wales. If it were used by Princess Elizabeth,
it would have degraded her right as a Princess of the United Kingdom unless
Letters Patent or legislation were introduced to the contrary. Furthermore,
if the then Princess Elizabeth had been given the title of Princess of Wales,
there would have been the problem of what to call her future husband.
Therefore, King George VI decided not to grant his elder daughter the title.
Other titles of the Princesses of Wales The Princess of Wales, by virtue of her
marriage to The Prince of Wales, takes on the feminine equivalent of her
husband's titles. Thus, upon marriage, the wife of The Prince of Wales assumes
the styles and titles – Her Royal Highness The Princess of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Princess of Wales, Duchess of
Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester, Countess of Carrick,
Baroness of Renfrew, Lady of the Isles and Princess of Scotland.
Of all these titles, "Princess of Wales" has been used officially, due to it
being of a higher rank than the additional peerage titles. However, as
noted with the example of the current holder, a subsidiary title may just as
easily and legally be used. The Princess is known as Duchess of
Rothesay in Scotland, as the Prince of Wales is known as Duke of Rothesay
there, the dukedom being the title historically associated with the heir to
the Scottish throne. The Princess of Wales also holds the titles of Duchess
of Cornwall and Countess of Chester, as spouse to the Prince of Wales who is
also Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester.
Native princesses of Wales Several consorts of Welsh princes of
Wales were theoretically princesses of Wales while their husbands were in
power. Llywelyn ab Iorwerth's consort, Joan, Lady of Wales, used that title in
the 1230s; Isabella de Braose and Elizabeth Ferrers were likewise married
to princes of Wales, but it is not known if they assumed a title in light of
their husbands' status. The only consort of a Welsh prince
definitively shown to have used the title was Eleanor de Montfort, the
English bride of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales. Their
only child was Gwenllian of Wales, who was taken prisoner as an infant
following her father's death. Gwenllian was the last native Welsh princess to
actually be identified as Princess of Wales; Edward I had her raised in
Sempringham Priory in Lincolnshire, far from where any Welsh rebels could find
her, and once appealed to the Pope to increase funds to the priory by writing
that "...herein is kept the Princess of Wales, whom we have to maintain."
Princesses of Wales This is a list of Princesses of Wales
who held the title by their marriage to the Prince of Wales
See also The Green Howards,
The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment Notes
Bibliography Princesses of Wales by Deborah Fisher.
University of Wales Press, 2005. 'Tystiolaeth Garth Celyn' Y Traethodydd
1998 ISSN 0969 8930 Further reading
Fryer, M.; Mary Beacock Fryer; Arthur Bousfield; Garry Toffoli. Lives of the
Princesses of Wales. Toronto: Dundern Press Limited. ISBN 978-0-919670-69-3.