Kate & William

[HermioneGranger]

And another book, Sex with the Queen, which explains the difference between queen regnant and one who was "merely" the wife of a king.  In the former, say Empress Catherine the Great of Russia (who was a nobody German princess sent to Russia to marry the imbecile heir to the throne),she had real power and loved whomever she darn well pleased.  In the latter, she was risking a convent or all the way to execution.  

Let's face it, in many royal families after generations of cousin marriages, the heirs became...not right.  Who could blame an unhappy spouse who wandered?

gui

Got that one too Really want her to write another book!

I have them both, and they're even autographed.  The author is lovely, and was happy to sign them both and chat for a moment.   

[Ferrets]

What would one buy as a wedding gift for the royal couple? A few place settings of china, crystal, kitchen towels?

The traditional wedding list with the complete set of Tupperware and the twelve-piece dining set looks a bit out of place when you’ve already got a castle with so many furnished rooms that have been closed up for so long that the spiders have evolved into distinct species in accordance with strict evolutionary principles. And you can’t simply multiply it all up and ask for An Army in a Red and White Motif to match the kitchen wallpaper. Royalty, when they marry, either get very small things, like exquisitely constructed clockwork eggs, or large bulky items, like duchesses.

 ~ Lords and Ladies, Terry Pratchett

[DangerMouth]

What would one buy as a wedding gift for the royal couple? A few place settings of china, crystal, kitchen towels?

The traditional wedding list with the complete set of Tupperware and the twelve-piece dining set looks a bit out of place when you’ve already got a castle with so many furnished rooms that have been closed up for so long that the spiders have evolved into distinct species in accordance with strict evolutionary principles. And you can’t simply multiply it all up and ask for An Army in a Red and White Motif to match the kitchen wallpaper. Royalty, when they marry, either get very small things, like exquisitely constructed clockwork eggs, or large bulky items, like duchesses.

 ~ Lords and Ladies, Terry Pratchett

Marry me?

[Ferrets]

Marry me?

Only if the ceremony's in Westminster Abbey, and is marked by a national bank holiday.

[DangerMouth]

Marry me?

Only if the ceremony's in Westminster Abbey, and is marked by a national bank holiday.

Yeah, I don't think I could pull that off even if I changed my name to William, sorry

[HushHush]

So here's a question.  Say William becomes King.  Kate is now the Queen?  If so and William dies, does she remain the Queen as long as she doesn't remarry?

[Outdoor Girl]

No, the next in line to the throne would become King/Queen.  If it is William and Kate's child, Kate would become the Queen Mum.  Kate will be Queen to William's King but never in line for the throne herself.

[Dindrane]

So here's a question.  Say William becomes King.  Kate is now the Queen?  If so and William dies, does she remain the Queen as long as she doesn't remarry?

Kate will be Queen when William becomes King.  If she survives William, and one of their children inherits the throne, she would then be called the Queen Mother.  If for some reason they have no children, or none of those children inherit the throne, she would be a queen dowager.

Basically, she only gets the title Queen through her husband, but its hers for life unless they divorce (and even then, if they happened to divorce after he became King, she might get to keep the title, a la Princess Diana).

You have to keep in mind, also, that there are different types of queens.  The wife of a king is a queen consort.  The queen who holds power in her own right is a queen regnant.  The widow of a king is a queen dowager.  The widow of a king whose child is on the throne is a queen mother.  All of those titles include the word "queen" somewhere, but only the wife of a reigning monarch or the monarch herself is ever the Queen.

[Winterlight]

So here's a question.  Say William becomes King.  Kate is now the Queen?  If so and William dies, does she remain the Queen as long as she doesn't remarry?

She would be the Queen dowager, but she would not rule. She might end up with Queen Catherine The Queen Mother as a title, assuming they have kids.

[HushHush]

Ok I see.  But she has the ability to become queen by virtue of marrying the heir to the throne even though she's not nobility?

This stuff is so interesting!

[DangerMouth]

So here's a question.  Say William becomes King.  Kate is now the Queen?  If so and William dies, does she remain the Queen as long as she doesn't remarry?

Kate will be Queen when William becomes King.  If she survives William, and one of their children inherits the throne, she would then be called the Queen Mother.  If for some reason they have no children, or none of those children inherit the throne, she would be a queen dowager.

Basically, she only gets the title Queen through her husband, but its hers for life unless they divorce (and even then, if they happened to divorce after he became King, she might get to keep the title, a la Princess Diana).

You have to keep in mind, also, that there are different types of queens.  The wife of a king is a queen consort.  The queen who holds power in her own right is a queen regnant.  The widow of a king is a queen dowager.  The widow of a king whose child is on the throne is a queen mother.  All of those titles include the word "queen" somewhere, but only the wife of a reigning monarch or the monarch herself is ever the Queen.

And none of these queens are actually ruling queens anyway. They have certain ceremonial duties (like opening parliament, right?) but no actual governmental power?

[kareng57]

So here's a question.  Say William becomes King.  Kate is now the Queen?  If so and William dies, does she remain the Queen as long as she doesn't remarry?

Kate will be Queen when William becomes King.  If she survives William, and one of their children inherits the throne, she would then be called the Queen Mother.  If for some reason they have no children, or none of those children inherit the throne, she would be a queen dowager.

Basically, she only gets the title Queen through her husband, but its hers for life unless they divorce (and even then, if they happened to divorce after he became King, she might get to keep the title, a la Princess Diana).

You have to keep in mind, also, that there are different types of queens.  The wife of a king is a queen consort.  The queen who holds power in her own right is a queen regnant.  The widow of a king is a queen dowager.  The widow of a king whose child is on the throne is a queen mother.  All of those titles include the word "queen" somewhere, but only the wife of a reigning monarch or the monarch herself is ever the Queen.

And none of these queens are actually ruling queens anyway. They have certain ceremonial duties (like opening parliament, right?) but no actual governmental power?

I believe only a Queen Regnant would be opening Parliament herself.  A Queen Consort of course would very possibly be present at her husband's side while doing so, and a Dowager Queen might also be, along with other family members.  Dowager Queens can have many other duties, so long as they are willing and able to keep up with them.  The Queen Mother was still charging up staircases with her cane when she was in her mid 90s.

Speaking of which - I don't believe that the term Queen Mother has been used much, other than referring to Queen Elizabeth, the widow of George VI.  It was simply used to avoid confusion, due to herself and her daughter Elizabeth II having the same name.  For other dowager Queens - Alexandra and Mary being the most recent examples - they could simply continue to be referred to as Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary.

[Dindrane]

So here's a question.  Say William becomes King.  Kate is now the Queen?  If so and William dies, does she remain the Queen as long as she doesn't remarry?

Kate will be Queen when William becomes King.  If she survives William, and one of their children inherits the throne, she would then be called the Queen Mother.  If for some reason they have no children, or none of those children inherit the throne, she would be a queen dowager.

Basically, she only gets the title Queen through her husband, but its hers for life unless they divorce (and even then, if they happened to divorce after he became King, she might get to keep the title, a la Princess Diana).

You have to keep in mind, also, that there are different types of queens.  The wife of a king is a queen consort.  The queen who holds power in her own right is a queen regnant.  The widow of a king is a queen dowager.  The widow of a king whose child is on the throne is a queen mother.  All of those titles include the word "queen" somewhere, but only the wife of a reigning monarch or the monarch herself is ever the Queen.

And none of these queens are actually ruling queens anyway. They have certain ceremonial duties (like opening parliament, right?) but no actual governmental power?

That depends.  In the UK, I don't believe any monarch has any actual authority in government, but a queen regnant has exactly the same role as a king.  Queen Elizabeth II is a queen regnant -- she holds the title in her own right, rather than through her husband.  Which is why Prince Phillip is, officially, a prince consort and not a king.

If the monarchy still had a governing role, then a queen regnant would absolutely have governmental power.  Queen Victoria, for instance, was the reigning monarch, and did have an active role in government.

kareng57, Wikipedia agrees with you about why we call Elizabeth II's mother "The Queen Mother."  Other dowager queens would have just gone by "Queen Mary" (or whatever), but their official titles at that point would have had the queen mother bit tacked on.  What I found interesting is that, for about a year, Great Britain had three queens: Queen Mary (wife of George V), the Queen Mother (wife of George VI), and Queen Elizabeth II.

[kareng57]

So here's a question.  Say William becomes King.  Kate is now the Queen?  If so and William dies, does she remain the Queen as long as she doesn't remarry?

Kate will be Queen when William becomes King.  If she survives William, and one of their children inherits the throne, she would then be called the Queen Mother.  If for some reason they have no children, or none of those children inherit the throne, she would be a queen dowager.

Basically, she only gets the title Queen through her husband, but its hers for life unless they divorce (and even then, if they happened to divorce after he became King, she might get to keep the title, a la Princess Diana).

You have to keep in mind, also, that there are different types of queens.  The wife of a king is a queen consort.  The queen who holds power in her own right is a queen regnant.  The widow of a king is a queen dowager.  The widow of a king whose child is on the throne is a queen mother.  All of those titles include the word "queen" somewhere, but only the wife of a reigning monarch or the monarch herself is ever the Queen.

And none of these queens are actually ruling queens anyway. They have certain ceremonial duties (like opening parliament, right?) but no actual governmental power?

That depends.  In the UK, I don't believe any monarch has any actual authority in government, but a queen regnant has exactly the same role as a king.  Queen Elizabeth II is a queen regnant -- she holds the title in her own right, rather than through her husband.  Which is why Prince Phillip is, officially, a prince consort and not a king.

If the monarchy still had a governing role, then a queen regnant would absolutely have governmental power.  Queen Victoria, for instance, was the reigning monarch, and did have an active role in government.

kareng57, Wikipedia agrees with you about why we call Elizabeth II's mother "The Queen Mother."  Other dowager queens would have just gone by "Queen Mary" (or whatever), but their official titles at that point would have had the queen mother bit tacked on.  What I found interesting is that, for about a year, Great Britain had three queens: Queen Mary (wife of George V), the Queen Mother (wife of George VI), and Queen Elizabeth II.

They did indeed, because the Queen Mother was widowed at quite a young age.  Elizabeth II was never expecting to inherit the throne when she was only in her mid 20s, but about a year previously it became clear as to how critically ill her father was.  She had, quite rightly, expected that she'd be spending a few fairly carefree years as a Naval wife; nevertheless when she and Philip were in Africa they were prepared and had the appropriate paperwork with them.  She had also expected to be able to spend much more time with Charles and Anne when they were young, but unfortunately it did not work out that way.

It's true that a monarch (or his/her representative, such as the Governor General in Canada or Australia) does not have a regular/recurring role in day-to-day government - but he/she might, in some cases.  If there is a vote of non-confidence, then he/she has the authority to direct the government to call an election.  However, there have been a few complicated situations where a coalition has been deemed necessary, instead.  So the monarch/Governor General is not always simply a figurehead.

[LadyR]

So here's a question.  Say William becomes King.  Kate is now the Queen?  If so and William dies, does she remain the Queen as long as she doesn't remarry?

Kate will be Queen when William becomes King.  If she survives William, and one of their children inherits the throne, she would then be called the Queen Mother.  If for some reason they have no children, or none of those children inherit the throne, she would be a queen dowager.

Basically, she only gets the title Queen through her husband, but its hers for life unless they divorce (and even then, if they happened to divorce after he became King, she might get to keep the title, a la Princess Diana).

You have to keep in mind, also, that there are different types of queens.  The wife of a king is a queen consort.  The queen who holds power in her own right is a queen regnant.  The widow of a king is a queen dowager.  The widow of a king whose child is on the throne is a queen mother.  All of those titles include the word "queen" somewhere, but only the wife of a reigning monarch or the monarch herself is ever the Queen.

And none of these queens are actually ruling queens anyway. They have certain ceremonial duties (like opening parliament, right?) but no actual governmental power?

That depends.  In the UK, I don't believe any monarch has any actual authority in government, but a queen regnant has exactly the same role as a king.  Queen Elizabeth II is a queen regnant -- she holds the title in her own right, rather than through her husband.  Which is why Prince Phillip is, officially, a prince consort and not a king.

If the monarchy still had a governing role, then a queen regnant would absolutely have governmental power.  Queen Victoria, for instance, was the reigning monarch, and did have an active role in government.

kareng57, Wikipedia agrees with you about why we call Elizabeth II's mother "The Queen Mother."  Other dowager queens would have just gone by "Queen Mary" (or whatever), but their official titles at that point would have had the queen mother bit tacked on.  What I found interesting is that, for about a year, Great Britain had three queens: Queen Mary (wife of George V), the Queen Mother (wife of George VI), and Queen Elizabeth II.

They did indeed, because the Queen Mother was widowed at quite a young age.  Elizabeth II was never expecting to inherit the throne when she was only in her mid 20s, but about a year previously it became clear as to how critically ill her father was.  She had, quite rightly, expected that she'd be spending a few fairly carefree years as a Naval wife; nevertheless when she and Philip were in Africa they were prepared and had the appropriate paperwork with them.  She had also expected to be able to spend much more time with Charles and Anne when they were young, but unfortunately it did not work out that way.

It's true that a monarch (or his/her representative, such as the Governor General in Canada or Australia) does not have a regular/recurring role in day-to-day government - but he/she might, in some cases.  If there is a vote of non-confidence, then he/she has the authority to direct the government to call an election.  However, there have been a few complicated situations where a coalition has been deemed necessary, instead.  So the monarch/Governor General is not always simply a figurehead.

I'm Canadian and our Governor General had to get involved last year as Parliment got very ugly for a while, but it's the only time in my lifetime that I can recall such a thing happening. So it does happen, but very rarely.