Heir Apparent Vs. Heir Presumptive
The title Prince of Wales is given only to the heir apparent—that is, somebody who cannot be displaced in the succession to the throne by any future birth. The United Kingdom practices male primogeniture, this means that the heir apparent is the eldest son of the reigning monarch, or, if he is deceased, his eldest son, and so on, or if the monarch's eldest son has died without issue, the monarch's second eldest son, etc. In such countries, a daughter of the sovereign who is currently next in line to the throne is never the "heir apparent" because she would be displaced in the succession by any future legitimate son of the sovereign, and cannot therefore take the title, thus no women has ever held the title Princess of Wales in her own right.
Since the title of Prince of Wales is not automatic, there have been times where there was no Prince of Wales. There was no heir apparent during the reign of George VI, who had no sons. Princess Elizabeth was heiress presumptive, and was hence not eligible to be titled Princess of Wales. After it became obvious that George VI was unlikely to father more children, the option of bestowing the title of Princess of Wales was considered (but ultimately rejected, due in large part to a lack of enthusiasm for the idea from the heiress presumptive herself). There was also no Prince of Wales for the first several years of the reign of Elizabeth II. Prince Charles was not named Prince of Wales until 1958 when he was nine years old.
The title of Princess of Wales has always been held by the Prince's wife in her capacity as spouse of the heir apparent and therefore future queen consort. The current Princess of Wales is HRH Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall who automatically assumed the title upon her legal marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales. Camilla however has chosen not to be publicly known by the title due to its association with her predecessor, Diana.
On October 28, 2011, the leaders of all 16 Commonwealth realms agreed to end the practice of male primogeniture regarding heirs to the throne. This agreement however is not legally binding but merely an agreement in principle to move toward enacting legislative changes. Lawmakers in 14 of the 16 realms (the remaining two rely on British rules of succession) must pass or amend laws regarding changes to the succession before any new rules would become binding in that country. Until that time, male preference primogeniture will continue to be practiced. As of late 2012, none of the 14 countries have passed legislative changes. (See Timetable)
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