List of titles and honours of William, Prince of Wales explained
William, Prince of Wales has received numerous titles, decorations and honorary appointments both during his time as Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales. Each is listed below; where two dates are shown, the former indicates the date of receiving the title or award (the title as Prince William of Wales being given as from his birth) and the latter indicates the date of its loss or renunciation.
Royal and noble titles and styles
William has been a British prince since birth, and was known as "Prince William of Wales" until 2011. On his wedding day, 29 April 2011, his grandmother Elizabeth II created him Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. The letters patent granting these titles were issued on 26 May that year.[1]
As the eldest son of the monarch, William automatically became Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland on the accession of his father on 8 September 2022.[2] [3] From 8 to 9 September, William was styled as "His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge".[4] On 9 September, Charles III announced the creation of William as Prince of Wales. William has since been known as "His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales", except in Scotland where he has been styled as "His Royal Highness The Duke of Rothesay", since the accession of his father.[5] [6] The letters patent formally granting him this titles of Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester were issued on 13 February 2023. The usage of the title Prince of Wales has been subject to some controversy over the past decades.[7]
Surname
As a British prince, William does not use a surname for everyday purposes. For formal and ceremonial purposes, children of the Prince of Wales use the title "prince" or "princess" before their forename and follow it with their father's territorial designation. Thus, before becoming a duke when he married, Prince William was styled "Prince William of Wales". Such territorial designations are discarded by women when they marry and by men if they become peers in their own right,[8] such as when Prince William was made a duke.
Although the name of the royal house is Windsor, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor belongs to all the children and male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and is used, if needed, by those who do not have the style of Royal Highness and the title Prince or Princess;[9] when a female descendant marries, she traditionally takes her husband's surname from that point onward, and their children take their father's. Both Princes William and Harry used Wales as their surname for military purposes; this continued to be the case for William after his creation as Duke of Cambridge.[10]
Military ranks
Commonwealth realms
Appointments (Shown in order in which appointments were made, not order of precedence)
Decorations and medals (Shown in order in which appointments were made, not order of precedence)
Foreign honours
Decorations
Wear of orders, decorations and medals
The ribbons worn regularly by William in undress uniform are as follows:
With medals, William normally wears the breast stars of the Garter, Thistle, and Bath. When only one should be worn, he wears the Order of the Garter star, except in Scotland where the Order of the Thistle star is worn.
Honorary military appointments
- Canada
- United Kingdom
Non-national titles and honours
Country | Date | Organisation | Position |
---|
| 6 July 2009 – present | | Royal Bencher[29] |
| 23 June 2010 – present | | Fellow (FRS)[30] [31] |
| 1 March 2017 – present | | Royal Honorary Fellow (HonFRSE)[32] |
| 17 January 2018 – present | | Honorary Fellow (FRSM)[33] |
| 2018 – present | | Honorary Fellow[34] |
| 25 January 2020 – 28 February 2022 | | Lord High Commissioner[35] [36] | |
Honorific eponyms
Awards
Buildings
Flowers
Scholarships
- : HRH Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Legacy Scholarship[40]
Arms
William, Prince of Wales outside Scotland |
Notes: | The coat of arms of the Prince of Wales, as used outside Scotland, is the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with the addition a three-pointed label and an inescutcheon bearing the arms of Wales. For the arms of the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, see royal coat of arms of Scotland. |
Escutcheon: | Quarterly first and fourth Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langed Azure second Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counterflory third Azure a harp Or stringed Argent, with over all a label of three points Argent, and on an inescutcheon quarterly Or and Gules four lions passant guardant counterchanged, ensigned by the coronet of his degree.[41] |
Symbolism: | As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The first and fourth quarters are the arms of England, the second of Scotland, the third of Ireland. The inescutcheon represents Wales. |
Previous Versions: | Prince William was granted a personal coat of arms on his 18th birthday, differenced by a white (or silver) label with three points, the centre point bearing a red clam shell (an "escallop"), to distinguish it from the arms of other members of the Royal Family.[42] The escallop (seashell) alludes to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whose Spencer coat of arms includes three Escallops Argent.[43] |
Other Versions: | In February 2013, Queen Elizabeth II approved the conjugal arms of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, consisting of their individual arms displayed side by side, beneath a helm and coronet denoting the duke's status as grandson of the sovereign. These were released in September of the same year.[44] |
William, Duke of Rothesay in Scotland |
Notes: | The coat of arms of the Duke of Rothesay are only used in Scotland. Outside of Scotland the coat of arms of the Prince of Wales is the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with the addition of a three-pointed label and an inescutcheon bearing the arms of Wales. |
Crest: | Upon the royal helm the coronet of the Prince of Wales, thereon a lion sejant affronté Gules armed and langued Azure, differenced with a label of three points azure, crowned with the coronet of the Prince of Wales holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a sceptre, both Proper |
Escutcheon: | Quarterly first and fourth Or fess chequy argent and azure second and third Argent a galley sable overall an inescutcheon Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second a label of three points azure |
Supporters: | Unicorns Argent, armed, crined and unguled Or imperially crowned proper, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lys a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or, differenced with a label of three points azure. Sinister holding the standard of Saint Andrew, dexter holding the royal arms of Scotland differenced with a label of three points azure. |
Compartment: | A compartment underneath from which issue thistles one towards each side of the escutcheon |
Orders: | The Order of the Thistle collar |
Symbolism: | The first and fourth quarters represent the title of the Lord High Steward of Scotland with the arms of Clan Stewart, the second and third quarters represent the title of Lord of the Isles, and the inescutcheon is the royal arms of Scotland differenced for an eldest son with a label of three points azure |
Previous Versions: | Coat of arms of Prince William in Scotland prior to becoming Duke of Rothesay.
|
Year Adopted: | 8 September 2022 |
Banners, flags, and standards
See main article: Royal Standard of the United Kingdom and Royal standards of Canada.
As heir apparent
The banners used by the Prince of Wales vary depending upon location. His personal standard is the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom differenced as in his arms with a label of three points Argent, and the escutcheon of the arms of the Principality of Wales in the centre. It is used outside Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, and Canada, and throughout the entire United Kingdom when the prince is acting in an official capacity associated with the United Kingdom Armed Forces.[45]
The personal flag for use in Wales is based upon the Royal Badge of Wales (the historic arms of the Kingdom of Gwynedd), which consist of four quadrants, the first and fourth with a red lion on a gold field, and the second and third with a gold lion on a red field. Superimposed is an escutcheon Vert bearing the single-arched coronet of the Prince of Wales.[45]
In Scotland, the personal banner used since 1974 is based upon three ancient Scottish titles: Duke of Rothesay (heir apparent to the King of Scots), High Steward of Scotland and Lord of the Isles. The flag is divided into four quadrants like the arms of the Chief of Clan Stewart of Appin; the first and fourth quadrants comprise a gold field with a blue and silver checkered band in the centre; the second and third quadrants display a black galley on a silver field. The arms are differenced from those of Appin by the addition of an inescutcheon bearing the tressured lion rampant of Scotland; defaced by a plain label of three points Azure to indicate the heir apparent.[45]
In Cornwall, the banner is the arms of the Duke of Cornwall: "Sable 15 bezants Or", that is, a black field bearing 15 gold coins.[45]
In Canada, a personal heraldic banner for the Prince of Wales was first issued in 2011, consisting of the shield of the Arms of Canada defaced with both a blue roundel of the Prince of Wales's feathers surrounded by a wreath of gold maple leaves, and a white label of three points.[46]
Former standards
Prior to the accession of his father, William used a banner derived from his arms, for use outside of Scotland and Canada. There was a variation of this used when in Scotland. In 2011, the Canadian Heraldic Authority introduced a personal heraldic flag for the Duke of Cambridge's use in Canada. It is the Royal Arms of Canada in banner form defaced with a blue roundel surrounded with a wreath of gold maple leaves and shells within which is a depiction of a "W" surmounted by a coronet. Above the roundel is a white label of three points, charged with a red shell.[47] [48] [49]
See also
Notes and References
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- News: Elston . Laura . 8 September 2022 . How the Royal Family's Titles Have Now Changed After the Death of the Queen . . . live . 10 September 2022 . https://archive.today/20220910134837/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-08/its-king-charles-iii-not-charles-111-royal-family-titles-change . 10 September 2022.
- Web site: Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge . royal.uk . 9 September 2022 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20220909173443/https://www.royal.uk/the-duke-of-cambridge . 9 September 2022.
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