Elspeth said:
When Charles is king, William will automatically become Duke of Cornwall, so Camilla can't use the title Duchess of Cornwall. The title Duchess of Lancaster would be available for her, though.
Ah I see someone else thought of that too. That was my thinking.
But there are difficulties I'm told. Why is it possible for Camilla to now be known as Duchess of Cornwall; yet as Queen it would not be possible for her to be known as Duchess of Lancaster?
How does the Lancaster title as a susidiary title for the monarch differ from the Cornwall title that is a subsidiary title for the Prince of Wales?
Or, as Warren says, is this opening up another can of worms?
edit: Below is britannica.com's explanation of the Duchy. I find it fascinating. It appears that the original Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, married into the title rather than being created Duke by his father Edward III.
This prince, the fourth son of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, was born at Ghent (or Gaunt) in Flanders, in 1340. In his infancy, he was created Earl of Richmond and, by that title, admitted into the Order of the Garter upon the death of Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, one of the original knights. In 1359, at Reading Abbey (Berks), he married Blanche, the younger of the two daughters and co-heirs of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, and upon the death of his father-in-law, in 1361, he was advanced to that Dukedom. He held also, in right of his wife, the Earldoms of Derby, Lincoln and Leicester, and the high office of Steward of England.
wikipedia.com's explanation
There were several
Dukes of Lancaster in the 14th and early 15th Centuries. See also
Duchy of Lancaster.
There were three creations of the Dukedom of Lancaster. The first Duke of Lancaster was
Henry of Grosmont (c.
1306–
1361), a great-grandson of Henry III; he was the 4th Earl of Lancaster before he was created the 1st Duke of Lancaster on
March 6,
1351. His daughter Blanche married
John of Gaunt, a son of King
Edward III, and on
November 13,
1362 John became the 1st Duke of Lancaster of the second creation. Upon John of Gaunt's death on
February 4,
1399, the title passed to his son
Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, who became the 2nd Duke of Lancaster. Later that same year, Bolingbroke usurped the throne of England from
King Richard II, ascending the throne as Henry IV. On
November 10,
1399, the new king created his eldest son,
Harry of Monmouth Duke of Lancaster. When Harry ascended the throne as Henry V in 1413, the title merged with the crown, with which it has remained ever since. The
Duchy of Lancaster, however, continues to exist as a separate entity, one of only two Duchies in the United Kingdom.
It doesn't explain how the two duchies, Cornwall and Lancaster, are different though. So I'm still confused why Camilla can't be known as the Duchess of Lancaster upon Charles' accession.
