Duchess of Cornwall

The Duchess of Cornwall is a title held by the wife of the heir apparent to the British throne. The Duchess of Cornwall is usually also the Princess of Wales, and she uses that title. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton), whose husband, Prince William (later Prince of Wales), became the Duke of Cornwall on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. Previously, Catherine's stepmother-in-law, Queen Camilla, was known by this title.

Duchesses of Cornwall Person Name Coat of Arms Birth Marriage Became Duchess of Cornwall Spouse Change in style Death Joan of Kent 19 September 1328 10 October 1361 Edward of Woodstock 7 June 1376Husband's death;became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall 7 August 1385 Anne Neville 11 June 1456 13 December 1470 Edward of Westminster 4 May 1471Husband's death;became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall;later became queen consort as the wife of Richard III 16 March 1485 Catherine of Aragon 16 December 1485 14 November 1501 Arthur Tudor 2 April 1502Husband's death;became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall;later became queen consort as the wife of Henry VIII 7 January 1536 Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1 March 1683 22 August 1705 1 August 1714 George Augustus 11 June 1727Husband acceded to throne as George II;became queen consort 20 November 1737 Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 30 November 1719 17 April 1736 Frederick Louis 31 March 1751Husband's death;became Dowager Duchess of Cornwall 8 February 1772 Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 17 May 1768 8 April 1795 George Augustus Frederick 29 January 1820Husband acceded to throne as George IV;became queen consort 7 August 1821 Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Denmark 1 December 1844 10 March 1863 Albert Edward 22 January 1901Husband acceded to throne as Edward VII;became queen consort 20 November 1925 Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck 26 May 1867 6 July 1893 22 January 1901 George Frederick Ernest Albert 6 May 1910Husband acceded to throne as George V;became queen consort 24 March 1953 Diana Frances Spencer 1 July 1961 29 July 1981 Charles Philip Arthur George 28 August 1996Divorced;assumed the style of Diana, Princess of Wales 31 August 1997 Camilla Rosemary Shand 17 July 1947 9 April 2005 8 September 2022Husband acceded to throne as Charles III;became queen consort living Catherine Elizabeth Middleton9 January 198229 April 20118 September 2022William Arthur Philip LouisIncumbent living

Until her husband's accession to the throne, Camilla, the second wife of the then-Charles, Prince of Wales, used the title "Duchess of Cornwall" rather than "Princess of Wales", as the latter was still popularly associated with Charles's first wife, Diana, who died in 1997.

Literary references Arthurian legend depicts Cornwall with its own ducal family. Notably, King Arthur's mother, Igraine, would have been Duchess of Cornwall from her first marriage to Duke Gorlois; in some stories, the title is then passed on to their daughter, Morgan le Fay. Shakespeare's King Lear includes the character of Regan, Duchess of Cornwall, the second daughter of Lear (the legendary Leir of Britain).

Duchess of Cornwall

Bron en licentie