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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jennifer Newton

Prince William and Kate Middleton's new titles and roles as Charles becomes King

The death of the Queen aged 96 has seen Charles proclaimed as King - shaking up the top of the line of succession. The heir to the throne is now Prince William, who like his father, is set for major title changes and a new role.

And of course, that means life-changing new titles for his wife the Duchess of Cambridge too, as well as for their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. So what will these title changes be? What will their new roles entail? And how will this affect their three children? Here we take a look...

New titles

Read the latest on the Queen's death here

As the heir to the throne, William now automatically assumes titles including Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester and Duke of Rothesay for use when in Scotland.

As his wife, Kate gets the female equivalent of these titles - Duchess of Cornwall, Countess of Chester and Duchess of Rothesay.

However, they are not losing their Duke and Duchess of Cambridge titles - these new titles will be additions.

This means they are now styled the TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.

In addition, George is now Prince George of Cornwall and Cambridge, Charlotte is Princess Charlotte of Cornwall and Cambridge and Louis is now Prince Louis of Cornwall and Cambridge.

Prince of Wales title

Prince William with his father Charles (Getty Images)

Since the age of nine until his mother's death, William's father had the title of Prince of Wales.

However, this is one title that has not automatically been passed on to William - it is only given to the heir apparent at the discretion of the monarch.

Should Charles bestow this honour on William, and it is likely that he will at some point in the near future, William will become the Prince of Wales.

Kate therefore will become the Princess of Wales - a title held by her late mother-in-law Princess Diana - and George will become Prince George of Wales.

Charlotte will become Princess Charlotte of Wales and Louis, Prince Louis of Wales.

Duchy of Cornwall

William and Kate with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Not only has William now inherited new titles, he has also inherited the £1billion Duchy of Cornwall estate.

The estate is made up of around 134,000 acres of land in more than 23 counties in the UK.

It reportedly generated £20.5million in 2019, which Charles used to fund his public, charitable and private activities.

In a documentary from the same year, Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy of Cornwall, William talked about taking on the estate one day.

William and Kate with Charles and Camilla (Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

He said: "I’ve started to think about how I will inherit the Duchy one day and what I do with it.

"I think it’s really important, about the family angle, I really do.”

He added he'd also thought about passing the estate onto his own children when the time comes, many years down the line.

Afterwards, it was revealed that Charles was incredibly moved by his son's words.

He said: "When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it ‒ I was deeply touched and moved by what he said.

The Queen with her family at the G7 summit in Cornwall in 2021 (Getty Images)

"It did really because I suddenly thought well, just hearing that from him made the last 50 years worthwhile."

In 2020, the Court Circular revealed that William had started attending meetings about the Duchy of Cornwall.

Charlie Proctor, editor of Royal Central, previously told Daily Star Online : “Just like Prince Charles is preparing to become King, William is already preparing to become Prince of Wales ready for the duties and responsibilities he will have to take on."

And in May this year, he attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time ever, accompanying his father Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.

Prince William and Kate Middleton (via REUTERS)

During the event, William took his place in the procession behind the Imperial State Crown and sat at the side of Charles, who had the responsibility to read the Queen's speech.

At the time, Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers, it shoed how William is being primed already to be a future king as he learns the ropes with his dad.

He said: "William is emerging as a trusted lieutenant of the Queen, especially over the last couple of years.

"With the ongoing Sussex saga and the tawdry scandal surrounding his uncle Prince Andrew, William has been involved in top-level conversations regarding their futures, so it shows it is not just Charles but William also being prepared for kingship."

You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here

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