All The Titles William & Kate's Children May Have In The Future

Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales have been married since 2011, and during their marriage, Catherine has given birth to their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Although they go to school, take vacations, and spend time with their families, these royal children live incredibly different lives from normal children, and they always will. George, Charlotte, and Louis will live their lives under a microscope with the entire world curious about their choices and hurling their opinions their way whether warranted or not. 

While George, Charlotte, and Louis could grow up to reject their royal duties and live as a commoner a la their uncle Prince Harry, if they follow a typical path for a child in the British royal family, much of their life has already been predetermined. One such aspect is the titles these children will hold. Although they're not set in stone, we have a pretty good idea of what titles George, Charlotte, and Louis may have in the future.

Prince George is Prince William and Princess Catherine's eldest child. With this birth order comes future responsibilities and lots of title changes. George has already experienced one title change, which happened when his grandfather, King Charles III ascended the throne after Queen Elizabeth II's death. "The first day Charles is king, the children will be Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis of Cornwall and Cambridge," royal expert Marlene Koenig told Express a year before the queen's death. "Once their dad is Prince of Wales, they become George of Wales, Charlotte of Wales, Louis of Wales." As it stands, Prince George's official title is His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales.

But that's not the only title change George is set to incur. As Koenig explained, "Then when their dad is king, George will become Duke of Cornwall and then, of course, Prince of Wales." However, the latter title is not something George will automatically receive. The title must be bestowed upon him by his father, just as William was named Prince of Wales by his father, King Charles.

Prince George will not stay Prince George forever — he is destined to one day become king. George is currently second in line to the throne, with his father, Prince William, first in line, and his sister and brother behind him. "There is nothing to prevent William becoming king, other than his own premature death," Professor Robert Hazel told Insider of the royal succession, and the same presumably goes for George. "If William were to die before Charles, then on the death of Charles, Prince George would become king," Hazel added. Because of the future title George will most likely hold, much of his life is pre-determined. That is, as long as the monarchy persists — and not every expert thinks it will.

"Before you can assess how William, and later George, might work out, you have to allow for the way the monarchy will look under King Charles, and whether under him it can survive," royal expert Clive Irving told Express. "All polling shows that younger Britons don't find the monarchy relevant," he added. Nevertheless, if things continue as they are, George is expected to rule.

Princess Charlotte, the middle child and only daughter of Prince William and Princess Catherine, is in a unique position. Charlotte currently holds the title Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Wales, and we can look to her grandaunt, Princess Anne, for guidance on what title she will likely hold one day. 

Princess Anne is the Princess Royal — a title bestowed by the monarch to their eldest daughter. Charlotte could one day become Princess Royal, but as royal expert Marlene Koenig told Hello!, "William will need to be king and Princess Anne dead for Charlotte to be named Princess Royal." This is why Queen Elizabeth II never held the Princess Royal title. "Queen Elizabeth II was never princess royal because George V's eldest daughter survived her brother [Elizabeth's father] George VI's reign and died in 1965, by which time her niece was queen," historian Tony McMahon tells Reader's Digest. If Charlotte were to receive this, she would become only the eighth woman in history to hold the Princess Royal title.

Charlotte may also be given another title. Per Koenig, "Now with gender equal succession, I think it would be more possible to grant a peerage to Charlotte. Prince Louis will get one when he marries, so it would only be fair if Charlotte was named a duchess on her wedding day." Like with her brother Louis, the decision for what titles Charlotte one day does or doesn't receive belongs to the reigning monarch.

Prince Louis, Prince William and Princess Catherine's youngest child and second son, currently holds the title His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Wales. The royal succession in England is purely a matter of birth order, and because he's the third-born child and second-born son, Prince Louis' future titles are a little bit harder to determine than his older siblings' future titles. Furthermore, his titles are up to whoever is the reigning monarch. For example, Louis was not even supposed to be a prince when he was born, but Queen Elizabeth II, who was reigning at the time, gave him the title despite a prior law stating he was too far away from the throne to be called "prince."

It is most likely that Louis will one day become a duke. According to the Mirror, he could become the Duke of Edinburgh, but that would not be until the current Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, has died, and it would be up to the reigning monarch to give him that title. Louis could also be given a different dukedom entirely, or none at all — though he likely will be given one. He could become king one day, but that is quite unlikely as he is currently fifth in line to inherit the throne, and his older siblings' future children will be ahead of him in succession just as he and his siblings are ahead of Prince Harry in line.