Prince George Might Inherit This Special Family Title When Prince William Becomes King

"I'd be stunned if it disappeared, only because the monarchy is built on tradition."

Prince George wears a navy suit and striped tie and waves while watching Wimbledon next to dad Prince William, who is wearing a gray suit
(Image credit: Getty Images/Karwai Tang/WireImage)

When Prince William becomes King following his father's death, his children will likely inherit special titles. But what exactly will Prince George be known as once he becomes the heir apparent?

During an appearance on The Sun's "Royal Exclusive" show, royal expert and author Huw Thomas suggested that George may well inherit Prince William's current familial title. "I'd be stunned if it disappeared, only because the monarchy is built on tradition," Thomas said. "It may not be an inherited title, but it is the tradition that the monarch gives their son the title Prince of Wales."

King Charles held the Prince of Wales title from 1958 until 2022, when he acceded the British throne. Since then, Prince William has been known as the Prince of Wales. As such, it makes sense that once William is on the throne, his eldest son will assume the traditional title.

Prince George wears a navy suit with a white shirt and blue tie and is followed by dad Prince William

"I'd be stunned if it disappeared, only because the monarchy is built on tradition," the expert said of the Prince of Wales title.

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Discussing the possibility that George won't become known as the Prince of Wales, Thomas said, "It would be quite stunning if they didn't...History tells us they stick to tradition."

Thomas also noted how quickly King Charles bestowed the Prince of Wales title on his eldest son, saying, "Charles barely waited 24 hours before passing it on to William." Thomas explained, "And you would be surprised that if in future William thought, 'Now I'm going to kind of ditch this one.'"

However, Thomas did also reveal that William will "probably" want to "show that he isn't his dad" by making some changes to the monarchy. But that doesn't mean he'd eliminate the Prince of Wales title altogether.

King Charles and Queen Camilla walking to church on Christmas wearing long coats with Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince George walking behind them and a crowd of fans

"Charles barely waited 24 hours before passing it on to William," the expert noted.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Recent reports have suggested that Prince William and Princess Kate have spent a lot of time debating where Prince George should attend school. While William allegedly favors his own alma mater of Eton College, Princess Kate had hoped to send her son to co-ed school Marlborough College.

As well as debating where George should study, Princess Kate has apparently been focused on "slowly preparing" her eldest son for his future. In an interview with The Sun's Fabulous magazine, royal expert Phil Dampier explained, "Most of the time he is enjoying the life of someone from the upper middle classes, and spends a lot of time with Kate's family, the Middletons." Dampier continued, "However he is growing up fast and William and Kate are slowly preparing him for his role."

Amy Mackelden
Contributing Editor

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.