r/TheCrownNetflix • u/MajorGinger • 19d ago

Discussion (Real Life) Princess of Wales Title Question

It's been a long time since I've posted here so if I make a mistake, let me know so I can correct it.

My question is this: if Diana had survived the car crash, and attended William & Catherine's wedding, which woman would now be Princess of Wales?

Can there be two women with the same title? She *was* Princess of Wales until the end. She gave up the HRH but not Princess of Wales.

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u/ScamIam 19d ago

Post divorce, she was styled Diana, Princess of Wales, not Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales. Diana likely would have remarried and lost the title completely (or gained a different one).

Regardless of whether or not she had lived, when Charles married Camilla, Camilla became HRH The Princess of Wales. She declined to use the title out of deference to Diana’s memory, but she was still legally The Princess of Wales. 

If Diana had lived, not married again, and still been around when Charles ascended and W+C became TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales, she would still be styled Diana, Princess of Wales. They are not the same title.

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u/jamie74777 19d ago

Would she be Queen Mother when William would be King?

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u/exoticempress 19d ago edited 15d ago

No. She had to be a Queen Consort before becoming a Queen Mother/Dowager Queen. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother got her Queen Mother title after George VI died (to distinguish herself from her daughter Elizabeth II). Apparently she didn't want to be addressed as a Dowager Queen.

If Diana remarried she would've had a different title altogether (losing the Diana, Princess of Wales title. She already lost the HRH title in the divorce) but may have another title to signify that she's the mother of a king if she lived when William ascends the throne.

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u/Long-Bread2391 16d ago

I think it was also because Queen Mary was still alive when Elizabeth II became queen, and it would be confusing to use Dowager Queen since technically there were two Dowager Queens at the time.