Talk:Princess Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

Title

“Princess Catherine of Wales” is a lower, subsidiary style; her correct order is “Catherine, Princess of Wales,” which is a direct parallel to “Charles, Prince of Wales.” This order, which is the official form used by the Royal Family etc. carries with it the implicit definite article (i.e., “Charles, [THE] Prince of Wales). This is in contrast to the order of Prince[/ess] Forename of Place (e.g., Prince William of Wales), which indicates a child of a person who holds a suo jure title. For example, before they were given dukedoms on the occasions of their marriages, William and Harry, the children of Prince Charles (formally "Charles, Prince of Wales," or "The Prince of Wales") were known as Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales (commonly called Harry). The ordering of the name matters because there can be multiple people called Prince [Forename] of Wales, but there is only one [Forename], Prince of Wales at a time. Thus, the ordering of the name is important, as it enables someone to tell just by listening whether the person mentioned is The Prince of Wales (the heir apparent to the throne), or a prince of Wales, viz., a child of The Prince of Wales. A similar example may be found in the children of the current or indeed former Dukes of York. The previous Duke of York, later King George VI, was known at birth as Prince Albert of York, because his father (later King George V) was The Duke of York. Albert himself was later created Duke of York in 1920, which is why his children were known at the time of their births as Princess Elizabeth of York (the current Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret of York.

In the book, Henry is "Prince Henry of Wales." His mother, apparently the eldest child of the reigning monarch, is The Princess of Wales, and must be styled as "Catherine, Princess of Wales," "The Princess of Wales," or more informally, "Princess Catherine." She can not correctly be styled as "Princess Catherine of Wales," which is a lower, subsidiary title of the one she holds suo jure. DragonEditsArticles (talk) 14:28, 15 December 2021 (UTC)