Tartan honours Prince William and Kate Middleton

[chewse]

Dee,

Legally speaking, the children of the Earl and Countess of Wessex are indeed entitled to be called Prince and Princess as grandchildren of the Monarch in the male line as per the letters patent by George V in 1917.

However, it was announced when they married that these titles would not be used and that the rank of any children would derive purely from their father's rank as an Earl. This was at the wishes of Edward and Sophie themselves and does not set a precedent for any other future grandchildren of the Queen by her other male children, though of course such are now highly unlikely!

It was a break from tradition, just as it was when Edward was made an Earl rather than a Duke, albeit that the Dukedom of Edinburgh has been reserved for him.

Theoretically Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Windsor could claim their legal rights upon gaining the age of majority but again this is highly unlikely.

They are currently eighth an ninth in the line of succession and will be knocked down the list when any of those above them produce future issue.

Is there an "abridged" book or article that can explain in a simplistic form how all the royalty rankings work? I am really, really uninformed in this area.

[Chas]

Is there an "abridged" book or article that can explain in a simplistic form how all the royalty rankings work? I am really, really uninformed in this area.

As are we all, Chewse. I do not know of a book (certainly not a article) that covers the subject. The trouble is that there are so many subtle nuances that govern the Monarchy and all surrounding it.

Just one of many examples. The sovereign is the head of the Church of England and bears the title Defender of the Faith. Prince Charles could become a Buddhist, or a Muslim, or a Sikh or any one of the very many religions on offer, except Roman Catholic. If he became a Roman Catholic, he would in an instant exempt himself from inheriting the throne and would exempt all this offspring - for ever. Andrew would then be next in line, followed by his eldest daughter, Beatrice.

I am sure someone will be able to quote a good reference book, but I have found that Wikipedia is a good fallback. The Royal Family are protected subjects on Wikipedia so the information is usually sound and can be corrected when not.

As an aside, most Europeans cannot understand how the American Government (national) works.

Regards

Chas

[Chas]

To get right back to the original point of the thread - the tartan - I don't like it!

Black and white with a little blue stripe, not very inspiring and I think rushed to be the first and make the most money.

The couple are quite colourful and have both done some adventurous, daring and dangerous things in their short lives and it should be commemorated with a dull tartan? I hope not.

With any luck one of the major players in the tartan design/weaving industry will release something a bit better.

Regards

Chas

[YoungMan]

Oh yes the tartan. I'm in agreeance with Chas. It's very uninspired in my opinion. Catherine's dress color as inspiration? Pff.

Hopefully, someone will make the effort to put together something a little more pleasant in commeration of their wedding (months of planning time available). However, with the plethora of tartans already available to the royals to wear and Prince William's apparent preferance for trousers, I feel like any new design is just so much wasted time.

[Bing]

To get right back to the original point of the thread - the tartan - I don't like it!

Black and white with a little blue stripe, not very inspiring and I think rushed to be the first and make the most money.

I wonder if they were playing on the Glen plaid, a black/white with a colour overlaid in a window pane pattern. That is commonly referred to as Prince of Wales check because Edward VIII/Duke of Windsor wore it when he was Prince.

[Mike_Oettle]

Dead right, Chas – that’s not a very original tartan, and it’s a poor reflection of the colour of Kate’s dress.
Duke of Kent (registered as a tartan but in reality a plain royal blue material) would be better in that regard.
As for the title William is likely to bear, I suspect that the speculation is off the beam.
Since he is not only next in line to the throne after his father, but also heir to the dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay, I think it highly unlikely that William will become duke of anything else.
If past history is anything to go by, I think it likely that he might become known by the courtesy title Duke of Cornwall.
The fly in the ointment there is that his stepmother is known as Duchess of Cornwall, rather than Princess of Wales, so precedent might well not be followed in this instance.
Possibly he will take another of his father’s titles and be known as Earl of Chester (since his uncle Edward also is an earl).
As Chas rightly points out, William’s mother was never Princess Diana – this was merely a popular tag used of her by the media.
The media might similarly refer to Princess Katie, but in law she will be the Princess William (as long as Wills is a prince, that is).
Regards,
Mike

[piperdbh]

As an aside, most Europeans cannot understand how the American Government (national) works.

Most Americans can't, either.

If/when William becomes King, will Catherine become Queen Catherine or some other title?

[Mike_Oettle]

DBH wrote: “If/when William becomes King, will Catherine become Queen Catherine or some other title?”

Simple answer: Queen Catherine.
Regards,
Mike

[Chas]

As for the title William is likely to bear, I suspect that the speculation is off the beam.
Since he is not only next in line to the throne after his father, but also heir to the dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay, I think it highly unlikely that William will become duke of anything else.
If past history is anything to go by, I think it likely that he might become known by the courtesy title Duke of Cornwall.
The fly in the ointment there is that his stepmother is known as Duchess of Cornwall, rather than Princess of Wales, so precedent might well not be followed in this instance.
Possibly he will take another of his father’s titles and be known as Earl of Chester (since his uncle Edward also is an earl).
As Chas rightly points out, William’s mother was never Princess Diana – this was merely a popular tag used of her by the media.
The media might similarly refer to Princess Katie, but in law she will be the Princess William (as long as Wills is a prince, that is).
Regards,
Mike

Don't quite agree, Mike.
There are no heirs to the Dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay. They are both the gift of the reigning monarch to their eldest son and revert to the Crown on the death of that monarch. It is possible that Prince Charles could die before Her Majesty, but the Dukedoms would die with him and revert to the Queen. I doubt very much, in that event, that she would create William, Duke of Cornwall as he is her grandson and not her son.

If past history is anything to go by, I think it likely that he might become known by the courtesy title Duke of Cornwall.

When did this ever happen? We already have one Duke of Cornwall; we can't have two.

The Prince's style and title in full: His Royal Highness The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, Knight of the Garter, Knight of the Thistle, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Bath, Member of the Order of Merit, Knight of the Order of Australia, Companion of the Queen's Service Order, Privy Counsellor, Aide-de-Camp, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

If William were to be take a courtesy title then either the Earldoms of Chester or Carrick are both available, but I believe that only the Earldom of Carrick and the Baronny of Renfrew are the Prince's subsidiary titles.

But I see no reason why a dukedom could not be created for him. When Charles ascends to the throne, it will then be his decision to create or not. Because the title Prince of Wales would rank higher than a dukedom that would be his (William's) new title. It would matter not how many other dukedoms he already had. They would after all revert back to the monarch, which would be him (William) when he himself ascended to the throne.

Regards

Chas

[freddie]

Can they go all the way and get him in a kilt!!!!!