Kate Middleton is many issues: the Duchess of Cambridge; the Countess of Strathearn when she is in Scotland; and, extra not too long ago, the Princess of Wales following the loss of life of Queen Elizabeth II and Charles’s succession as the brand new King of England.
That final addition is especially important because the royal household has turn out to be the primary Princess of Wales for the reason that late Princess Diana, Prince William’s mom, held the title. It is in all probability the final title change Kate could have a very long time now that she and Wills are the subsequent King and Queen ready… which raises the next questions: What occurs when William turns into King of England? Will Kate be the queen, the queen consort or one thing else fully? Let’s get into all of it, beginning with the truth that…
If Prince William is king, Kate will certainly be queen consort
Backside line: sure, Kate goes to be queen, however there are several types of queens it’s best to in all probability find out about. (I imply this is the royal household we’re speaking about! Issues are usually not straightforward.)
Whereas we are able to anticipate to see Queen Catherine in our future, she is going to by no means be a queen in the identical method because the late Queen Elizabeth II. And that’s as a result of Queen Elizabeth II was what’s formally often called a Queen Regnant: a monarch of equal rank to a king who has the authority to rule over the dominion (on this case England) and has sovereign energy.
Kate will as a substitute be a queen consort, the spouse of a reigning king (William, in fact). Within the position, she is going to assist her husband in his duties, attend appointments and assist with charitable organizations that resonate along with her. When you actually need to get into the weeds of that place, the royal household’s web site states: “The position of The Queen’s Consort is primarily to offer companionship and ethical and sensible assist to the Monarch. The Consort holds no formal place within the construction of presidency…[or] view state papers or maintain official audiences.”
Camilla Parker Bowles was once a Queen Consort (earlier than the “Consort” was not too long ago “quietly” dropped from her identify, however that is a complete different story 
I hate to ask… however what occurs when Prince William dies?
That might make Kate a queen dowager, the widow of a king. Kate would have the same position and title as Queen Consort, however she truly would not to go by “Queen Consort” as a result of a brand new monarch can be in cost and he or she wouldn’t be their partner.
Anyway! Here is real-life footage of us making an attempt to grasp all of those titles:
Assistant information editor
Gretty Garcia is the assistant information editor at Cosmopolitan, the place she covers all issues information, leisure and popular culture. Earlier than becoming a member of Cosmos, Gretty was social strategist for Ms. Dow Jones and editorial and particular initiatives editor at Editorialist. She has an MS from Columbia Journalism College and studied artwork historical past at Harvard School.
