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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Puzzle of Middleton's title
Source: Agencies |
January 17, 2011, Monday
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IF you're invited to Britain's royal wedding, don't go buying Kate Middleton an engraved gift - the poor woman doesn't know yet what her title's going to be.
She will be a princess, possibly a duchess, perhaps even a countess. But the exact title is unlikely to be divulged until shortly before April 29, the day she officially joins "the firm" - as the lordly British royal family is known by some.
Most women face a straightforward choice when they prepare to walk down the aisle: Take their husband's name, keep their own, or combine the two with a hyphen. But Middleton's title, which will dictate what she is called, will be determined by Queen Elizabeth II, not Middleton herself.
Some of the options are not great. Royal experts say it is possible Middleton could end up with the formal name Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales, a moniker that deflates the aura of the fairytale nuptials. The title makes sense from a traditional point of view - and that's important when dealing with the queen and her minions - but it's just not very feminine.
"It's not feasible for her to be known as Princess William of Wales," said Noel Cox, chief of the legal department at Aberystwyth University in Wales. "I don't think they'll do that."
The rules and precedents that will guide the queen and her inner circle have been in use for centuries - and some of those conventions are showing their age.
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers said the types of names that have been used in the past - Princess Michael of Kent for example - do not sound right to contemporary ears.
"Those kind of titles are out of date," he said. "But theoretically she can't just be called Princess Catherine, that would imply that she was the daughter of Prince Charles rather than the daughter-in-law."
The dilemma arises in part because of the queen's extremely long reign. Since she is still in power after nearly 60 years, her son, Prince Charles, as heir to the throne, still holds the title of the Prince of Wales.
That means William has not yet become the Prince of Wales - a title that traditionally goes to the heir to the throne - and does not hold a formal position, like the Duke of Cambridge, that could be -automatically bestowed on -Middleton, making her the Duchess of the same place.
In some circles, the whole question of titles has already been resolved. Regardless of what the queen does, Arbiter said it is likely that Middleton will be known - at least to Britain's inventive tabloid newspapers and their millions of readers - as Princess Kate.
She will be a princess, possibly a duchess, perhaps even a countess. But the exact title is unlikely to be divulged until shortly before April 29, the day she officially joins "the firm" - as the lordly British royal family is known by some.
Most women face a straightforward choice when they prepare to walk down the aisle: Take their husband's name, keep their own, or combine the two with a hyphen. But Middleton's title, which will dictate what she is called, will be determined by Queen Elizabeth II, not Middleton herself.
Some of the options are not great. Royal experts say it is possible Middleton could end up with the formal name Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales, a moniker that deflates the aura of the fairytale nuptials. The title makes sense from a traditional point of view - and that's important when dealing with the queen and her minions - but it's just not very feminine.
"It's not feasible for her to be known as Princess William of Wales," said Noel Cox, chief of the legal department at Aberystwyth University in Wales. "I don't think they'll do that."
The rules and precedents that will guide the queen and her inner circle have been in use for centuries - and some of those conventions are showing their age.
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers said the types of names that have been used in the past - Princess Michael of Kent for example - do not sound right to contemporary ears.
"Those kind of titles are out of date," he said. "But theoretically she can't just be called Princess Catherine, that would imply that she was the daughter of Prince Charles rather than the daughter-in-law."
The dilemma arises in part because of the queen's extremely long reign. Since she is still in power after nearly 60 years, her son, Prince Charles, as heir to the throne, still holds the title of the Prince of Wales.
That means William has not yet become the Prince of Wales - a title that traditionally goes to the heir to the throne - and does not hold a formal position, like the Duke of Cambridge, that could be -automatically bestowed on -Middleton, making her the Duchess of the same place.
In some circles, the whole question of titles has already been resolved. Regardless of what the queen does, Arbiter said it is likely that Middleton will be known - at least to Britain's inventive tabloid newspapers and their millions of readers - as Princess Kate.
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