Princess of Wales - Princesses of Wales

Princesses of Wales

The ten Princesses of Wales (and the dates the individuals held that title) are as follows:

1. Joan of Kent (held title 1361–1376) — became dowager princess when her husband, Edward, the Black Prince, died as Prince of Wales.
2. Anne Neville (1470–1471) — through her marriage to Edward of Lancaster, though there is no record of her having used the title. She became queen consort when her second husband became King Richard III of England.
3. Catherine of Aragon (1501–1502) — became dowager princess when her first husband, Arthur, died as Prince. She remarried Arthur's younger brother, Henry, shortly after his succession in 1509 and became queen consort. Following the controversial annulment of their marriage, Catherine was officially designated the Dowager Princess of Wales until her death.
4. Caroline of Ansbach (1714–1727) — became queen consort when George II acceded to the throne.
5. Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1736–1751) — Dowager Princess of Wales after her husband, Frederick, Prince of Wales, died.
6. Caroline of Brunswick (8 April 1795–29 January 1820) — Married George, Prince of Wales, on 8 April 1795; became queen consort on the accession of her husband as George IV of the United Kingdom. Caroline and George were estranged, and she was barred from his court and from her husband's coronation. An attempt to divorce her by act of Parliament in 1820 failed. Queen Caroline died 7 August 1821.
7. Alexandra of Denmark (10 March 1863–22 January 1901) — The daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, she married Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and became Princess of Wales on 10 March 1863. On the accession of her husband as Edward VII of the United Kingdom on 22 January 1901, she became queen consort following a wait of 37 years. Queen Alexandra died 20 November 1925.
8. Mary of Teck (9 November 1901–6 May 1910) — Married George, Duke of York, on 6 July 1893 and became Duchess of York; became Duchess of Cornwall on the accession of her father-in-law as Edward VII of the United Kingdom on 22 January 1901; became Princess of Wales on 9 November 1901; became queen consort upon accession of husband George V on 6 May 1910. She held the titles Duchess of York, Princess of Wales, Queen-Empress and Queen-Empress Dowager. Queen Mary died 24 March 1953.
9. Lady Diana Spencer (29 July 1981–31 August 1997) — Diana was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981. Following her divorce she assumed the style of Diana, Princess of Wales. Buckingham Palace issued a press release on the day of the decree absolute of divorce was issued, announcing Diana's change of title, but made it clear Diana continued to be a British princess. The Princess of Wales, as the mother of Prince William, will be regarded by The Queen and The Prince of Wales as being a member of the Royal Family and retain any orders, insignia and other titles, consistent with her being known as Diana, Princess of Wales. After her divorce and until her death Diana, Princess of Wales continued to be a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland without the style Royal Highness. As the mother of the future Sovereign, she was accorded the same precedence she enjoyed whilst being married to The Prince of Wales. This situation made the Princess the first non royal British princess in history.
10. Camilla Shand (9 April 2005–present) — Camilla is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 9 April 2005. Though entitled to be styled Princess of Wales, Camilla is the first Princess of Wales whose husband previously had another official consort known as Princess of Wales. Camilla uses the style of Duchess of Cornwall or Rothesay in accordance with public sentiment.

Several Princesses of Wales became queens consort. Those who did not generally took the title of "Dowager Princess of Wales" after the deaths of their husbands. (Following the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Catherine officially reverted to her earlier title of Dowager Princess of Wales, as the widow of Henry's older brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, because Henry did not wish to acknowledge that he had ever been legally married to her.)

Under the male-preference primogeniture in use in the United Kingdom, a daughter, sister, or other female relative of a monarch may be heir presumptive, but none has ever been heir apparent, since it has always been (theoretically) possible for the monarch to beget or bear a male heir who would displace any female heir, even an older sister. A woman could become heir apparent if she was the brotherless eldest child of a deceased heir apparent; this situation has never arisen, however, in the history of the United Kingdom.

Under the new absolute primogeniture system, it will be more possible for there to be a female heir apparent, a situation which would likely result in a first born daughter of a monarch to become "Princess of Wales" in her own right. Similar to other cases, her husband would not take any titles from her and would only use whatever titles he has, if any at all.