The Prince of Wales has a string of titles and his visit to Chester to support his friend, the Duke of Westminster, at his wedding to Olivia Henson put one of the lesser known ones in the spotlight.
The heir to the throne acted as an usher at the ceremony in 2024. However, Prince William actually has a different title in the city that straddles England and Wales. For there, he is known as the Earl of Chester.
Dating back to 1301, the Prince of Wales is also granted the title of Earl of Chester. While the titles have not merged, they have both been given to the heir apparent of the English throne since the late fourteenth century.
The Earldom of Chester was first created in 1067. It was first held by Gerbod the Fleming from 1067 to 1070. It was then recreated in 1071 for Hugh D’Avranches, and recreated again in 1254 and 1264.
It was in 1301 that it was recreated for Edward of Caernarvon who would go on to become King Edward II in 1307.
In 1312, Edward Plantagenet, the future King Edward III, was made Earl of Chester. Going forward, all Princes of Wales have been also made Earl of Chester.
King Charles III announced that his son, Prince William, would be Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 9 September 2022.
Since then, William has been Earl of Chester which means that his wife, Kate, is also the Countess of Chester.
It was reported that, during her marriage to the now King Charles, Diana was particularly fond of being known as Countess of Chester.
However, Prince George can’t inherit this title directly from his father. It will return to the Crown and it will be up to the next Monarch to decide whether he wants to create his heir as Earl of Chester.
William, as heir to the throne, has a wide range of titles reflecting the history of the Crown. As soon as he became heir to the throne, on September 8 2022, he automatically took the title of Duke of Cornwall, an honour that has been given to the heir to the English throne for centuries.
That evening, William and Kate changed their social media title to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and of Cambridge.
However, William actually held a third dukedom by then. The heir to the Scottish throne has long been known as Duke of Rothesay and the Prince took that title, too, when he became first in line.
William and Kate also remain Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the titles by which they were known for 11 years after their marriage in April 2011.
Queen Elizabeth II made William the Duke of Cambridge on his wedding day, April 29 2011. He also became Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus meaning Kate is also Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus.
