WOMEN+POWER: The Princess of Wales

On the day after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the new King Charles III bestowed on William, his eldest son and heir, the courtesy title of Prince of Wales. His wife, Catherine, formerly the Duchess of Cambridge, became Princess of Wales, a title that has been held by some of the most impactful, daring, and glamorous figures in the British Royal family.

“It’s hard to choose a favorite because almost all of them have their own interesting personal stories,” says Deborah Fisher, who lives in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales and is the author of Princesses of Wales and Royal Wales.

The new Princess of Wales joins one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. Though there have been 22 modern Princes of Wales, there have only been 10 Princesses of Wales (some would count Queen Camilla as the 11th, but because she never used the title, she is often not included). Female heirs to the throne are not bestowed the title, so it can be given only through marriage to the male heir.

Those who held the title are Joan of Kent, (1361–1376), Anne Neville (1470–1471), Catherine of Aragon (1501–1502), Caroline of Ansbach (1714–1727), Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1736–1751), Caroline of Brunswick (1795–1820), Alexandra of Denmark (1863-1901), Mary of Teck (1901–1910), Diana Spencer (1981–1997), and Kate Middleton (2022–present).

These Princesses, who often infused the monarchy with new blood and superior intelligence, have long been a source of fascination and scandalous gossip. “Over the centuries there have been long gaps where there was no Princess of Wales,” Fisher explains. “Thus, every woman who holds the title gets fresh media attention.”

Controversy has also long trailed the titles Prince and Princess of Wales since they are essentially stolen remnants of war spoils (last year’s petition calling for the abolition of the Wales title currently has over 40,000 signatures). In the 1280s, England’s King Edward I successfully conquered Wales, and the Welsh ruler Llywelyn the Last was killed in battle. His infant daughter, Gwenllian, the last native-born Princess of Wales, was captured by King Edward I and sent to a convent in England, where she died in 1337.

The final nail in the coffin of Welsh independence came in 1301, when King Edward I named his eldest son, Edward of Caernarfon (who had been born in Wales months after his father conquered the country), the Prince of Wales. Historians believe that this was a way of cementing English power in Wales and making it clear who was now in charge.

It is this heavy, layered history that the current Princess of Wales has inherited. “You might say she has big shoes to fill, but I think that her position is less challenging than Princess Diana’s was for several reasons: she has a very happy marriage, she knew what she was letting herself in for by the time she joined the royal family, and she’s had more time to think about her role,” Fisher says.

However, although William and Catherine spent the first three years of married life living in Anglesey in Wales, Fisher hopes the new Princess of Wales will embrace the title more publicly. “Even though she has lived in Wales and knows the people, it doesn’t seem to me that the title is as important to her as it was to Diana, who recognized her Welsh connection as a potential source of popular support,” Fisher says. “I hope that Kate will see its potential in due course.”

And so, the Princess of Wales, queen-in-waiting, walks a tightrope, forever expected to not upstage the current king and queen while serving as a glamorous ambassador for the monarchy. “She does have the ‘common touch’ and the humility that we associate with Diana, as well as much of the glamour and dignity,” Fisher says. “So, I believe she can hold her own.”