| Princess of Wales | |
|---|---|
| Tywysoges Cymru (Welsh) | |
 Arms of Catherine, Princess of Wales | |
.jpg) | |
| Style | Her Royal Highness |
| Member of | British royal family |
Princess of Wales (Welsh:Tywysoges Cymru;Latin:Principissa Cambriae/Walliae) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of thePrince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent futurequeen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for theheir apparent to theBritish throne, and earlier the English throne. The current title-holder isCatherine (néeMiddleton).
When the title was first recorded it was not connected to the English throne; it developed in an independent Wales when it was held byEleanor de Montfort, wife of thenative Prince of WalesLlywelyn ap Gruffydd.
Prior to "Princess" (Welsh:Tywysoges) the title of "Queen" (Welsh:Brenhines) was used by some spouses of the rulers of Wales. Examples areAngharad ferch Owain, wife ofGruffudd ap Cynan, andCristin verch Goronwy, wife of Gruffudd's son,Owain Gwynedd (specifically, she was known as "Queen Dowager").[1]
Joan, also known as Siwan (herWelsh name), was the illegitimate daughter ofJohn of England. She was the wife ofLlywelyn ab Iorwerth (initially King ofGwynedd), effective ruler of all ofWales.[2] During her tenure, she used the titles "Lady of Wales" and "Lady of Snowdon".
Following her wedding ceremony in 1278,Eleanor de Montfort was officially known as Princess of Wales.[4][5][6][7] On 19 June 1282, she died giving birth to her first child,Gwenllian.[8]
The infant was captured by English forces the following year, after her father,Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, was killed in December 1282. AtEdward I's orders, she was kept in the remoteSempringham Priory inLincolnshire, where she remained until her death in 1337.[citation needed]
Gwenllian's status was acknowledged at least once by the English Crown. When writing to the pope, attempting to secure more money for Sempringham Priory, the king stated that "...herein is kept the Princess of Wales, whom we have to maintain". The title "Princess of Wales" as used here did not have its usual accepted meaning.[9][3]
Margaret Hanmer, sometimes known as Marred ferch Dafydd (her Welsh name), was the wife ofOwain Glyndŵr.[10][11] Some modern historians have accorded her the title "Princess of Wales".[12]
Catrin was one of the children of Owain Glyndŵr and Margaret Hanmer. In November 1402, she marriedEdmund Mortimer, the second son ofEdmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and through his mother, a great-grandson ofEdward III of England.[13]
Edmund Mortimer died during the siege ofHarlech Castle in 1409, of unknown causes.[14] Catrin was subsequently captured alongside her three daughters, and they were taken to theTower of London, along with Catrin's mother and one of her sisters. The deaths and burials of Catrin and her daughters are recorded, but the causes of their deaths remain unknown. They were laid to rest atSt Swithin's Church in London.[15]
| Image | Name | Birth | Spouse | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Joan | 1191 | Llywelyn ab Iorwerth | 2 February 1237 | Known asSiwan inWelsh; Lady of Wales and Snowdon;[16] Proposed to have been Princess of Wales[17] |
| Isabella de Braose | 1222 | Dafydd ap Llywelyn | 1248 | Proposed to have been Princess of Wales[18] | |
 | Eleanor de Montfort | 1252 | Llywelyn ap Gruffydd | 19 June 1282 | Princess of Wales; Lady of Snowdon[5][6][7] |
 | Elizabeth Ferrers | 1250 | Dafydd ap Gruffydd | 1300 | Proposed to have been Princess of Wales[citation needed] |
| Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn | June 1282 | 7 June 1337 | Princess of Wales;[9] daughter ofLlywelyn ap Gruffydd | ||
| Margaret Hanmer | 1370 | Owain Glyndŵr | 1420 | Later attributed[19] | |
| Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr | Edmund Mortimer | 1413 | Proposed to have been Princess of Wales; daughter ofOwain Glyndŵr[20] |
Joan of Kent married Prince of Wales, her cousinEdward the Black Prince, in early 1361; their marriage lacked needed dispensation and was annulled in the same year, but afterwards the pair was granted necessary documents by the Pope, and married again, making Joan the Princess of Wales for the second time.[21]
Cecily Neville, wife ofRichard of York, 3rd Duke of York, is omitted from this list. While her husband was briefly given various titles, including Prince of Wales, by anAct of Parliament as part of his arrangement to succeedHenry VI, he is not generally recognised as such and is not mentioned in any published summary of the topic.
Although not granted the title in her own right, the futureMary 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 the use of the official seal of Wales for correspondence. For most of her childhood, Mary was her father's only legitimate child, and for this reason, she was often referred to as the Prince(ss) of Wales, although Henry never formally created her as such. For example, contemporary scholarJuan Luis Vives dedicated hisSatellitium Animi to "Dominæ Mariæ Cambriæ Principi, Henrici Octavi Angliæ Regis Filiæ" ("Lady Mary, Prince of Wales, Daughter of Henry VIII, King of England").[22]
Welsh politicians suggested thatGeorge VI's elder daughter,Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), be granted the title on her 18th birthday, but he rejected the idea because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales and the Prince of Wales had always been the title of theheir apparent.[23]
Camilla,Charles III's second wife, was the Princess of Wales from 2005 to 2022, but did not use the title due to its popular association with her husband's first wife,Diana. Camilla chose to be known as "Duchess of Cornwall" instead, which is traditionally a subsidiary title.[24]
On 9 September 2022, a day after his accession to the throne, Charles III bestowed the title of "Prince of Wales" upon his elder son,William, making his wife,Catherine, the Princess of Wales.[25]
| Image | Previous name | Coat of Arms | Birth | Marriage | Became Princess of Wales | Spouse | Change in style | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Joan of Kent | 19 September 1328 | Early 1361 (1st time); 10 October 1361 (2nd time) | Edward of Woodstock (both times) | 1361 Marriage annulled (1st time); 7 June 1376 (2nd time) | 7 August 1385 | |||
 | Anne Neville | 11 June 1456 | 13 December 1470 | Edward of Westminster | 4 May 1471 Husband's death; became Dowager Princess of Wales | 16 March 1485 | Later becamequeen consort as the wife ofRichard III | ||
 | Catherine of Aragon | 16 December 1485 | 19 May 1499 (by proxy) 14 November 1501 | Arthur Tudor | 2 April 1502 Husband's death; became Dowager Princess of Wales[26] | 7 January 1536 | Later became queen consort as the wife of Henry VIII | ||
 | Wilhelmina CharlotteCaroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach | 1 March 1683 | 22 August 1705 | 27 September 1714[27] | George Augustus | 11 June 1727 Husband acceded to throne asGeorge II; becamequeen consort[28] | 20 November 1737 | ||
 | Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |  | 30 November 1719 | 17 April 1736[29] | Frederick Louis | 31 March 1751 Husband's death; became Dowager Princess of Wales | 8 February 1772 | ||
 | Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | 17 May 1768 | 8 April 1795[30] | George Augustus Frederick | 29 January 1820 Husband acceded to throne asGeorge IV; became queen consort[31] | 7 August 1821 | |||
 | Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Denmark |  | 1 December 1844 | 10 March 1863[32] | Albert Edward | 22 January 1901 Husband acceded to throne asEdward VII; became queen consort[33] | 20 November 1925 | ||
 | VictoriaMary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck |  | 26 May 1867 | 6 July 1893 | 9 November 1901[34] | George Frederick Ernest Albert | 6 May 1910 Husband acceded to throne asGeorge V; became queen consort[35] | 24 March 1953 | |
 | Diana Frances Spencer | .svg) | 1 July 1961 | 29 July 1981[36] | Charles Philip Arthur George | 28 August 1996 Divorced; assumed the style of Diana, Princess of Wales[37] | 31 August 1997 | ||
.jpg) | Camilla Rosemary Shand |  | 17 July 1947 | 9 April 2005[38][39] | 8 September 2022 Husband acceded to throne asCharles III; became queen consort[40] | living | Known asDuchess of Cornwall during her tenure | ||
| Catherine Elizabeth Middleton | | 9 January 1982 | 29 April 2011 | 9 September 2022[41] | William Arthur Philip Louis | Incumbent | living | |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)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."
