# Kate Middleton Pregnant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201 "2011-11-17T03:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/41 "2011-11-18T06:33:14Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > She is technically a princess. Her husband is a prince\*, which is enough to make her a princess. It came up before, when they were wondering what would happen in the relatively novel situation of a commoner (Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in that case) marrying a prince. Eventually the palace released a [statement](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/prince_highness.htm#After_1917) saying that “in accordance with the settled general rule that a wife takes the status of her husband, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on her marriage has become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York, with the status of a Princess.” > > \*[From George V’s letters patent of 1917:](http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/prince_highness_docs.htm#1917_2) “The children of the sons of any such Sovereign…shall have and at all times hold and enjoy the style title or attribute of Royal Highness with their titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their respective Christian names or with their other titles of honour.” Well, marrying Elizabeth didn’t make Philip a prince at the time; he was prince of Greece and Denmark already, but renounced those titles. It took a special order by Elizabeth II in 1957, five years after she took the throne, to make him a Prince of the United Kingdom (see here: [Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh#Titles.2C_styles.2C_honours_and_arms)). Marrying Anne didn’t make either of her husbands princes, either. And the former Ms. Middleton isn’t herself one of “the children of the sons of any such Sovereign.” I think that, if Kate is now “technically a princess,” it would be mentioned _somewhere_ on the British monarchy’s own website. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/42 "2011-11-18T07:49:31Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Well, marrying Elizabeth didn’t make Philip a prince at the time; he was prince of Greece and Denmark already, but renounced those titles. It took a special order by Elizabeth II in 1957, five years after she took the throne, to make him a Prince of the United Kingdom (see here: [Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh#Titles.2C_styles.2C_honours_and_arms)). Marrying Anne didn’t make either of her husbands princes, either. That’s right, and my citation notes the “general rule that a **wife takes the status of her husband**.” > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And the former Ms. Middleton isn’t herself one of “the children of the sons of any such Sovereign.” But her husband is, and that makes him a prince, which makes his wife a princess. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/43 "2011-11-18T11:43:29Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The Princess of Wales is, but not HRH. But I meant in terms of like…a name. Isn’t HRH the Princess of Wales more of a title than a name? Her name was still Diana. I imagine that those close to her would have called her that. After she and the Prince of Wales divorced, her official title was changed to Diana, Princess of Wales - no HRH as she was technically no longer royalty. Which does lead to the interesting observation that when married to Charles she was a princess due to the marriage, but after the divorce she was a princess in her own right. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/44 "2011-11-18T13:29:23Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Her name was still Diana. I imagine that those close to her would have called her that. After she and the Prince of Wales divorced, her official title was changed to Diana, Princess of Wales - no HRH as she was technically no longer royalty. Which does lead to the interesting observation that when married to Charles she was a princess due to the marriage, but after the divorce she was a princess in her own right. As a term of the divorce settlement. The Queen or King gets to determine those things. Diana was so associated with the word Princess and the title Princess of Wales that it would have looked petty to have stripped it. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/45 "2011-11-18T14:35:51Z")
I saw the thread title and thought _who cares?_, thinking _who’s Kate Middleton_, and then I thought _oh, [that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine,_Duchess_of_Cambridge) Kate Middleton_, thinking _third in line of succession, future King or Queen of England…_ ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/46 "2011-11-18T14:44:14Z")
Princess Catherine is too easily confused with Princess Caroline, the sad and normal Monaco princess. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/47 "2011-11-18T15:03:57Z")
I assume that these days, they’ll do a quiet DNA test to make absolutely certain of paternity. To make sure the kid doesn’t, you know, belong to the gardener or something. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/48 "2011-11-18T16:08:49Z")
For a time they made English queens and princesses give birth virtually in public. That was a result of the belief that one of the King’s wives had tried to fake a pregnancy and bring an heir to her pregnancy bed via a chamber pot. If Cathy Cambridge is going to give birth I certainly hope she’s afforded more privacy. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/49 "2011-11-18T20:09:02Z")
BTW just what is so bad about peanut butter for pregnant women? Is this a new discovery? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/50 "2011-11-18T20:09:13Z")
I think all of the hype around _is she or isn’t she_ is rather ridiculous. However, I will say that if I were her, and assuming that some day she will get pregnant, it must be such an amazing feeling to think “I’m going to give birth to a boy who will be the future king of England”. Talk about pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/51 "2011-11-18T20:39:48Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I think all of the hype around _is she or isn’t she_ is rather ridiculous. However, I will say that if I were her, and assuming that some day she will get pregnant, it must be such an amazing feeling to think “I’m going to give birth to a boy who will be the future king of England”. Talk about pressure. Well “child who will be the future ruler (sort of) of England” - they just changed the rules so that first born (boy or girl) gets the throne (for anyone not yet born). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/52 "2011-11-18T21:09:14Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > I saw the thread title and thought _who cares?_, thinking _who’s Kate Middleton_, and then I thought _oh, [that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine,_Duchess_of_Cambridge) Kate Middleton_, thinking _third in line of succession, future King or Queen of England…_ Nitpicks: She’s not in the line of succession; only her husband is (and her child or children would be). If any child of hers takes the throne, that person would be King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not of England, as such. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/53 "2011-11-18T21:33:07Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > BTW just what is so bad about peanut butter for pregnant women? Is this a new discovery? There’s some concern (not proved officially) that eating peanuts during pg can give your baby a tendency to nut allergies. No proven link, of course, or there’d be more out there about it. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/54 "2011-11-18T23:50:10Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > As a term of the divorce settlement. The Queen or King gets to determine those things. Diana was so associated with the word Princess and the title Princess of Wales that it would have looked petty to have stripped it. That and the fact that she was probably the most popular member of the royal family at the time, and there were fears of a public outcry if she wasn’t granted the title. I don’t think there’s a precedent for a major royal divorcing (Henry VIII was never divorced, contrary to popular belief), so in true British style we made it up as we went along. It’s interesting to speculate on what would have happened if she have outlived Charles - would there have been two Princesses of Wales? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/55 "2011-11-18T23:57:13Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > That and the fact that she was probably the most popular member of the royal family at the time, and there were fears of a public outcry if she wasn’t granted the title. I don’t think there’s a precedent for a major royal divorcing (Henry VIII was never divorced, contrary to popular belief), so in true British style we made it up as we went along. > > It’s interesting to speculate on what would have happened if she have outlived Charles - would there have been two Princesses of Wales? I suspect she would have become the Dowager Princess of Wales ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/56 "2011-11-19T00:13:56Z")
There wasn’t really anything innovative about what Diana was called after the divorce. It was basically the same as what happens to divorced peeresses. (Her Grace the Duchess of Wherever becomes Firstname, Duchess of Wherever on her divorce from the Duke of Wherever.) ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/57 "2011-11-19T05:58:09Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I suspect she would have become the Dowager Princess of Wales Possibly not, as she held the title of Princess in her own right after the divorce, not due to being married to Charles. She would have been neither a widow nor a Dowager. > [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > There wasn’t really anything innovative about what Diana was called after the divorce. It was basically the same as what happens to divorced peeresses. (Her Grace the Duchess of Wherever becomes Firstname, Duchess of Wherever on her divorce from the Duke of Wherever.) A non-royal Princess was, I believe, unprecedented. That’s enough of a change to be worthy of note. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/58 "2011-11-19T14:54:58Z")
So what would happen should the kid have Down syndrome? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/59 "2011-11-19T15:06:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > So what would happen should the kid have Down syndrome? Depends how serious it was - some Down’s syndrome people\* can function pretty normally. It also depends on the likelihood of him outliving William, as life expectancy is shortened dramatically. If they do come to the throne, there are a few options. First, allow them to reign if they are capable. Second, a Regency, presumably with Catherine (if she’s still alive) or a younger child of William as the regent. Thirdly, an Act of Parliament declaring the not to be in the line of succession. This, I suspect, is extremely unlikely, as it would require similar acts in all the Commonwealth countries, and would probably be extremely unpopular, leading to the end of the Monarchy in some if not all countries. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201/60 "2011-11-19T15:32:16Z")
Well, this is the first I’ve heard of any pregnancy rumours. I think there must be some gentleman’s agreement in the British press not to wildly speculate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kate-middleton-pregnant/603201.md?page=4)