Princess of Wales

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Princess of Wales
Tywysoges Cymru (Welsh)
Coat of arms of Catherine, Princess of Wales.svg
Arms of Catherine, Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales in 2023 (cropped)03.JPG
Incumbent
Catherine
since 9 September 2022
Style Her Royal Highness
Member of British royal family

Princess of Wales (Welsh : Tywysoges Cymru) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the British throne, and earlier the English throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton).

Contents

When the title was first recorded it was not connected to the English throne; it developed in an independent Wales when it was held by Eleanor de Montfort, the wife of the native Prince of Wales Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.

Background

Prior to 'Princess' (Welsh: Tywysoges) the title of 'Queen' (Welsh: Brenhines) was used by some spouses of the rulers of Wales. Examples are Angharad ferch Owain, wife of Gruffudd ap Cynan, and Cristin verch Goronwy, wife of Gruffudd's son, Owain Gwynedd (specifically, she was known as 'Queen Dowager'). [1]

The title in independent Wales

Joan (Siwan)

Joan, also known as Siwan (her Welsh name), was the illegitimate daughter of King John of England. She was the wife of Llywelyn the Great (initially king of Gwynedd), effective ruler of all of Wales. [2] During her tenure, she used the titles 'Lady of Wales' and 'Lady of Snowdon'.

Eleanor de Montfort and Gwenllian

Memorial to Gwenllian in Sempringham, England, where she was imprisoned since childhood Gwenllian memorial Sempringham.jpg
Memorial to Gwenllian in Sempringham, England, where she was imprisoned since childhood

Following her wedding ceremony in 1278, Eleanor de Montfort was officially known as princess of Wales. [4] [5] [6] [7] On 19 June 1282, she died giving birth to her first child, Gwenllian. [8]

The infant was captured by English forces the following year, after her father, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, was killed in December 1282. At Edward I's orders, she was kept in the remote Sempringham Priory in Lincolnshire, where she remained until her death in 1337.[ citation needed ]

Gwenllian's status was acknowledged at least once by the English Crown. When writing to the pope, attempting to secure more money for Sempringham Priory, the king stated that "...herein is kept the Princess of Wales, whom we have to maintain". The title 'Princess of Wales' as used here did not have its usual accepted meaning. [9] [3]

Margaret Hanmer and Catrin, daughter of Glyndŵr

Margaret Hanmer, sometimes known as Marred ferch Dafydd (her Welsh name), was the wife of Owain Glyndŵr. [10] [11] Some modern historians have accorded her the title 'Princess of Wales'. [12]

Catrin was one of the children of Owain Glyndŵr and Margaret Hanmer. In November 1402, she married Sir Edmund Mortimer, the second son of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and through his mother, a great-grandson of Edward III of England. [13]

Edmund Mortimer died during the siege of Harlech Castle in 1409, of unknown causes. [14] Catrin was subsequently captured alongside her three daughters, and they were taken to the Tower of London, along with Catrin's mother and one of her sisters. The deaths and burials of Catrin and her daughters are recorded, but the causes of their deaths remain unknown. They were laid to rest at St Swithin's Church in London. [15]

List

ImageNameBirthSpouseDeathNotes
Ffenestr liw'r Dywysoges Siwan yn Nhrefriw Sir Conwy 2014.png Joan 1191 Llywelyn the Great 2 February 1237Known as Siwan in Welsh;
Lady of Wales and Snowdon; [16]
Proposed to have been Princess of Wales [17]
Isabella de Braose 1222 Dafydd ap Llywelyn 1248Proposed to have been Princess of Wales [18]
Eleanor de Montfort.png Eleanor de Montfort 1252 Llywelyn ap Gruffydd 19 June 1282Princess of Wales;
Lady of Snowdon
[5] [6] [7]
Bedd y Dywysoges Elizabeth Ferrers, gwraig Dafydd ap Gruffudd 10.jpg Elizabeth Ferrers 1250 Dafydd ap Gruffydd 1300Proposed to have been Princess of Wales[ citation needed ]
Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn June 12827 June 1337Princess of Wales; [9]
daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Margaret Hanmer 1370 Owain Glyndŵr 1420Later attributed [19]
Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr Edmund Mortimer 1413Proposed to have been Princess of Wales;
daughter of Owain Glyndŵr
[20]

Spouse of the British (formerly English) heir apparent

Cecily Neville, wife of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, is omitted from this list. While her husband was briefly given various titles, including prince of Wales, by an Act of Parliament as part of his arrangement to succeed Henry VI, he is not generally recognised as such and is not mentioned in any published summary of the topic.

Although not granted the title in her own right, the future Mary I was, during her youth, invested by her father, Henry VIII, with many of the rights and properties traditionally given to the Prince of Wales, including the use of the official seal of Wales for correspondence. For most of her childhood, Mary was her father's only legitimate child, and for this reason, she was often referred to as the Princess of Wales, although Henry never formally created her as such. For example, contemporary scholar Juan Luis Vives dedicated his Satellitium Animi to "Dominæ Mariæ Cambriæ Principi, Henrici Octavi Angliæ Regis Filiæ" ("Lady Mary, Prince of Wales, Daughter of Henry VIII, King of England"). [21]

Welsh politicians suggested that George VI's elder daughter, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), be granted the title on her 18th birthday, but he rejected the idea because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales and the Prince of Wales had always been the title of the heir apparent. [22]

Camilla, Charles III's second wife, was the Princess of Wales from 2005 to until she became queen consort in 2022, but did not use the title due to its popular association with her husband's first wife, Diana. Camilla used a traditional subsidiary title, the Duchess of Cornwall [23]

On 9 September 2022, a day after his accession to the throne, Charles III bestowed the title of "Prince of Wales" upon his elder son, William, hence making his wife, Catherine, the Princess of Wales. [24]

List

ImagePrevious nameCoat of ArmsBirthMarriageBecame Princess of WalesSpouseChange in styleDeathNotes
Joan of Kent.jpg Joan of Kent 19 September 132810 October 1361 Edward of Woodstock 7 June 1376
Husband's death;
became Dowager Princess of Wales
7 August 1385 
Anne Neville portrait.jpg Anne Neville 11 June 145613 December 1470 Edward of Westminster 4 May 1471
Husband's death;
became Dowager Princess of Wales
16 March 1485Later became queen consort as the wife of Richard III
Catalina de Aragon, por un artista anonimo.jpg Catherine of Aragon 16 December 148519 May 1499 (by proxy)
14 November 1501
Arthur Tudor 2 April 1502
Husband's death;
became Dowager Princess of Wales
7 January 1536Later became queen consort as the wife of  Henry VIII
Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1 March 168322 August 170527 September 1714 George Augustus 11 June 1727
Husband acceded to throne as George II;
became queen consort
20 November 1737 
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales by Charles Philips.jpg Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Coat of Arms of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Princess of Wales.svg 30 November 171917 April 1736 Frederick Louis 31 March 1751
Husband's death;
became Dowager Princess of Wales
8 February 1772 
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel.jpg Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 17 May 17688 April 1795 George Augustus Frederick 29 January 1820
Husband acceded to throne as George IV;
became queen consort
7 August 1821 
Queen Alexandra, the Princess of Wales.jpg Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Denmark Coat of Arms of Alexandra of Denmark as Princess of Wales.svg 1 December 184410 March 1863 Albert Edward 22 January 1901
Husband acceded to throne as Edward VII;
became queen consort
20 November 1925 
Mary, Princess of Wales, 1905.jpg Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck Coat of Arms of Mary of Teck as Princess of Wales.svg 26 May 18676 July 18939 November 1901 George Frederick Ernest Albert 6 May 1910
Husband acceded to throne as George V;
became queen consort
24 March 1953 
Princess Diana 1985.jpg Diana Frances Spencer Coat of Arms of Diana, Princess of Wales (1981-1996).svg 1 July 196129 July 1981 Charles Philip Arthur George 28 August 1996
Divorced;
assumed the style of Diana, Princess of Wales
31 August 1997 
CHOGM Commonwealth Big Lunch on April 17, 2018 - 007 (cropped).jpg Camilla Rosemary Shand [25] Coat of Arms of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.svg 17 July 19479 April 20058 September 2022
Husband acceded to throne as Charles III;
became queen consort
livingKnown as Duchess of Cornwall during her tenure
Princess of Wales in 2023 (cropped)03.JPG Catherine Elizabeth Middleton [26] Coat of arms of Catherine, Princess of Wales.svg 9 January 198229 April 20119 September 2022 William Arthur Philip Louis Incumbentliving 

See also

Notes

  1. Messer, Danna R. (30 September 2020). Joan, Lady of Wales: Power and Politics of King John's Daughter. Pen and Sword History. ISBN   978-1-5267-2932-3. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  2. Kate Norgate and A. D. Carr: "Joan [Siwan", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: OUP, 2004), Retrieved 2 February 2019.]
  3. 1 2 "Gwenllian The Lost Princess of Wales". Historic UK. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  4. Bliss, W. H., editor. Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 1, 1198–1304. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1893.
  5. 1 2 Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1272–81, 306; CPR, 1281–92, 11
  6. 1 2 Calendar of Ancient Correspondence, 75–76
  7. 1 2 Foedera I, ii, 576, 584, 587
  8. The Chronicle of Bury St Edmunds, pp. 74–76
  9. 1 2 Fisher, Deborah (2005). Princesses of Wales. University of Wales Press. pp. viii–ix. ISBN   9780708319369.
  10. The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher, and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog. 1. London: T. Richards. pp. 199, 211–219. The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher, and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog. 1. London: T. Richards. pp. 199, 211–219.
  11. "Owain Glyndwr – The Parish of Hanmer and Tallarn Green". parish.churchinwales.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  12. Deborah Fisher, Princesses of Wales (University of Wales Press, 2005)
  13. Gwynfor Evans (1974). Land of my fathers: 2000 years of Welsh history. John Penry Press. ISBN   9780903701037. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  14. The Last Mab Darogan, Charles Parry (Novasys, 2010) pp. 273–4.
  15. Issues of the Exchequer, Hen. III – Hen. VI, ed. F Devon (Record Commission, 1837), p. 327
  16. Messer, Danna R. (30 September 2020). Joan, Lady of Wales: Power and Politics of King John's Daughter. Pen and Sword History. p. 172. ISBN   978-1-5267-2932-3.
  17. Sims-Williams, Patrick (25 November 2010). Irish Influence on Medieval Welsh Literature. OUP Oxford. p. 297. ISBN   978-0-19-159159-4. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  18. Fisher, Deborah C. (2005). Princesses of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 6. ISBN   978-0-7083-1936-9. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  19. Deborah Fisher, Princesses of Wales (University of Wales Press, 2005)
  20. Issues of the Exchequer, Hen. III – Hen. VI, ed. F Devon (Record Commission, 1837), p. 327
  21. Vives, Juan Luis (1883). Satellitium animi (in Latin). Apud A. Pichleri viduam et filium. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  22. Pimlott, Ben (2001). The Queen: Elizabeth II and the monarchy (Golden Jubilee ed.). London: HarperCollins. ISBN   0-00-711435-4. OCLC   59496079.
  23. "House of Commons – Royal Marriage". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  24. RegalFille (9 September 2022). "The New Prince and Princess of Wales". RegalFille. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  25. Chris Leslie, Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (4 April 2005). "Royal Marriage". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 1228W. "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 4 Apr 2005 (Pt 42)". Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. "King Charles III pays tribute to his 'darling mama' in first address". BBC.com. 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.

Bibliography

Further reading