Duchess of Cornwall
The Duchess of Cornwall is a title held by the wife of the heir apparent to the British throne. The Duchess of Cornwall is usually also the Princess of Wales, and she uses that title. The current title-holder is Catherine, whose husband, Prince William, became the Duke of Cornwall on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. Previously, Catherine's stepmother-in-law, Queen Camilla, was known by this title.
Duchesses of Cornwall
Until her husband's accession to the throne, Camilla, the second wife of the then-Prince of Wales, used the title "Duchess of Cornwall" rather than "Princess of Wales", as the latter was still popularly associated with Charles's first wife, Diana, who died in 1997.Literary references
- Arthurian legend depicts Cornwall with its own ducal family. Notably, King Arthur's mother, Igraine, would have been Duchess of Cornwall from her first marriage to Duke Gorlois; in some stories, the title is then passed on to their daughter, Morgan le Fay.
- Shakespeare's King Lear includes the character of Regan, Duchess of Cornwall, the second daughter of Lear.