Originally Posted by Babe Rainbow:
“I would have thought so too. But that would mean he got demoted on the day he got married. Prince Edward will inherit DoE when Phiip goes so it must be a promotion. And senior title will always prevail so he they wouldn't be referred to as D & D formally if P & P were higher rank.”
William's formal title is Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (plus several subsidiary titles); similarly, Edward is currently Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and will be Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.
The title "Prince" on its own simply denotes that the person is a descendent of a monarch. The associated territorial designation comes from their father's most senior title if the relation to the current or apart monarch is paternal, e.g. Prince Michael of Kent was the son of the Duke of Kent, who was the son of George V.
Dukedomes are usually conferred on marriage to allow the new wife to have a title. Had William not been made Duke of Cambridge, Kate would have been officially styled as HRH Princess Catherine of Wales, the wife of HRH Prince William of Wales, who in turn is the son of the Prince of Wales. Still with me?
Anyway, giving a dukedom to a soon-to-be-wed ensures the new wife sort of has a title of her own - Duchess of Wherever.
The in exception is Wales. It's the only Principality and therefore is the only territory whose ruler is a Prince not a Duke (or Earl or whatever). And while it is not automatic, when the heir apparent is male (actually, the heir
apparent has thus far always been male but let's not go there) they have almost always been given Wales to govern. How fun for them.
Long story short - should Charles ascend to the throne, he will almost certainly appoint William Prince of Wales. Which trumps all other titles, making him: HRH The Prince of Wales (plus other subsidiary titles, including Cambridge). Kate becomes HRH The Princess of Wales; the kids become HRH Prince George of Wales and HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales.
Harry loses his "of Wales", but will likely get a dukedom of his own, as a younger son of the monarch, if he's not already married.
Simple, really!