Duchess of Cambridge to receive this royal title when Prince William becomes king

The duchess won't automatically be named Queen, as some may assume

Anyone who watches The Crown will be somewhat aware of the complex nature of being a member of the royal family.

While one may assume that the Duchess of Cambridge will automatically be named Queen when her husband becomes King, this isn’t actually the case.

When the Duke of Cambridge becomes the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom, his wife will inherit a royal title that differs slightly from that of her grandmother-in-law.

It’s understood that Kate will be named Queen consort when Prince William takes to the throne, as his great-grandmother, The Queen Mother, did previously.

This is in line with royal tradition, as is explained on the palace’s official website.

“Unless decided otherwise, a Queen consort is crowned with the King, in a similar but simpler ceremony,” the explanation states.

However, the same doesn’t go for the other way around if a Queen with a husband is crowned as the reigning monarch.

When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1952 following the death of her father King George VI, her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was made a consort.

He wasn’t crowned with the Queen at her coronation ceremony, as Kate will be as the future Queen consort, as the rules differ for male and female spouses of a British monarch.

There has been one instance in history when a male consort was awarded the elevated title of Prince Consort.

In 1857, Prince Albert, husband and consort of Queen Victoria, was given the title of Prince Consort following 20 years of his wife’s reign.

While the Duke of Edinburgh is technically a prince consort of the Queen, he never took after Prince Albert by being given the official title of Prince Consort.

When the marriage between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles was announced in 2005, it was revealed by Clarence House that the Duchess of Cornwall would receive the title of The Princess Consort, rather than Queen consort, when Prince Charles is crowned King.

However, in 2018 Clarence House removed this statement from its website.