This Is What Kate Middleton's Title Will Be When Prince William Becomes King
Prince William likely won't become King for years. He's second in the order of succession, behind his father Prince Charles, and even at 92-years-old, Queen Elizabeth shows no signs of giving up the throne anytime soon.
But that hasn't stopped William from preparing for his future duties.
"There has always been a special closeness between William and the Queen, and she has taken a particular interest in him," Robert Lacey, royal expert and historical consultant for The Crown, told People.
"When William became a teenager, she would have him at Windsor Castle and would open the state boxes and guide him through the papers. It was William’s constitutional education," he said.
William himself has described his Granny's teaching as "more of a soft influencing, modest kind of guidance."
"I don’t think she believes too heavily in instruction," he told the BBC.
William has ostensibly been training to become King for his entire life, but what will Duchess Kate's role be once William ascends to the throne?
As the wife of a reigning monarch, she will become what's known as the Queen consort. To most of the world, Kate will hold the title of Queen Catherine, according to expert and author of the blog Royal Musings Marlene Koenig. Generally speaking, as Queen consort, Catherine will support her husband in his duties as King, attending engagements and making foreign visits, and she will also serve as patron of and campaign for causes and charitable organizations that she feels passionately about. As always, her role within the royal family will remain non-political.
The official coronation page on the royal family's website explains how Duchess Kate will likely be crowned: "Unless decided otherwise, a Queen consort is crowned with the King, in a similar but simpler ceremony."
But the site also shares a key difference between the wives of Kings and the husbands of Queens: "If the new Sovereign is a Queen, her consort is not crowned or anointed at the coronation ceremony."
Similarly, while the wives of Kings can be Queens, the husbands of Queens cannot be Kings. Chalk it up to the patriarchy (like so many royal traditions), but Kings always reign, whereas Queen can be a symbolic title, as it will be in the case of Queen Catherine. Hence why Queen Elizabeth's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh is a Prince consort, not a King consort.
The most recent British Queen consort was Elizabeth II's mother, Queen Elizabeth. Following the death of her husband King George VI, she opted to assume the title of the Queen Mother, so that she would not be confused with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
According to Marlene Koenig, the Duchess of Cambridge's title could become the Queen Mother later in life, should she outlive her husband.
"When [Prince] George is King (if Catherine is still alive), she can choose to be styled as HM Queen Catherine, the Queen Mother," Koenig says.
The last time England had a Queen Catherine was under the reign of Charles II. A Portuguese princess before she married Charles, Catherine of Braganza was Queen consort from 1662 to 1685.
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