As they navigate life in the royal spotlight, Prince William and Princess Catherine strive to maintain as much normalcy as possible for their children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. However, this dynamic could change dramatically when Prince William ascends to the throne, leaving Charlotte at risk of losing her title and her place within the House of Windsor.

Currently, if Prince William’s eldest child, Prince George, decides to have children one day, they will automatically inherit the title of HRH Prince or Princess. However, this is not the case for his younger sister, Charlotte. According to celebrity broadcaster Ossa, Charlotte’s future will shift significantly once her father becomes king. At that point, life as she knows it will look very different, and there’s a possibility she could lose her titles.

By the time William is king, George will hold the title of Prince of Wales, which would effectively render Charlotte without a title. The rules surrounding royal titles dictate that titles are inherited through sons, not daughters. Charlotte received her title because her mother, Catherine, married Prince William in 2011, allowing the young royal to inherit her princess status from the future monarch. However, once George becomes the Prince of Wales, Charlotte’s right to the title will diminish, as a royal lady can only be a princess if she is married to a prince or the daughter of a prince.

Etiquette expert Deb Lucy Hume explained that while Charlotte’s children would not automatically inherit the titles of HRH Prince or Princess, the monarch could choose to bestow a royal title upon them. Historical precedents exist, such as when the late Queen offered royal titles to Peter and Zara Phillips upon their births, which were declined by Princess Anne and Captain Phillips. Similarly, Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex opted out of royal titles for their children, Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, reflecting their desire for a more private life for their offspring.

Notably, Charlotte is the first female member of the royal family to retain her place in the line of succession ahead of a younger brother. This change came after the late Queen Elizabeth gave royal assent to the Succession to the Crown Act in 2013, which replaced the system of male-preference primogeniture with absolute primogeniture for royal children born after October 28, 2011. This change ended the tradition where elder daughters could be leapfrogged by younger sons in the royal line.

As of now, Charlotte is third in line to the throne, following her father, Prince William, and her older brother, George. In a situation where a male child is born after her, he would become the heir, pushing Charlotte down the line of succession. Queen Elizabeth herself became heir presumptive when her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, had no sons; otherwise, a male child would have taken precedence over her and her sister, Princess Margaret.

When Prince William was named Prince of Wales in 2022, Charlotte was designated as Princess Charlotte of Wales. Experts suggest that she might emerge as the next Princess Anne and could potentially receive the title of Princess Royal in the future.