Diana Princess of Wales

After Diana's Divorce From Charles why was she still styled as Diana, Princess of Wales?

After her divorce she was still called 'Princess of Wales' why is this? Also after Sarah Fergusons divorce she was called 'Sarah, Duchess of York '.??? Why are the still styled as this after leaving the Royal Family

Public Comments

1. Not sure about Sarah, but Diana made it part of her divorce agreement.
2. Prior to being married to the princes, those were their titles. Sarah was born the Duchess of York, and so she can retain that title after the divorce.
3. I don't know about Fergie, but part of Diana's divorce agreement allowed her to keep her title.
4. Good lawyers.
5. dunno i guess once u hav a title to ur name u hav it for life
6. Because she (they) are still the mother(s) of Princes and Princesses.
7. Diana was the Princess of Wales before marrying Charles. Fergie was Duchess of York before her marriage. They were born into the greater Royal Family.
8. sometimes they are able to keep the royal title esp. if it has become a part of their "official title" to ppl. as in diana's case she was known internationally by that title.
9. The Royal Title "Princess of Wales" was bestowed upon her when she married Charles, the Prince of Wales, and it was never removed from her.
10. Because.."Diana Princess of Wales" sounds better than "Diana Gold Digging Bytch" Gee what did I say?
11. When wives of peers, e.g. Sarah, divorce, they retain their title as "First Name, Title" instead of being simply known as "The Duchess of York" and continue so until they remarry. Similarly, when Diana divorced Charles, she kept her title as divorcée of a prince (which I believe was unprecedented). Both ladies lost the style of "Her Royal Highness" when they divorced their husbands but not their titles. The same happens for wives of non-royal peers when they divorce, simply becoming e.g. Mary, Countess of Somewhere instead of "The Countess of Somewhere". Had they remarried, they would have been simply known as Mrs. Joe Bloggs. P.S. - Sarah wasn't born Duchess of York and Diana wasn't born Princess of Wales, they became so after marrying their respective husbands.
12. Because they were the first ladies that both princes married. Even though both couples ended up divorcing, the ex-wives still retain the title that they got.
13. My remberance of the situation regarding diana is that they did take the title away from her but she got given it back when she died. She was very upset to lose the title but the royal family wanted to protect their repuation in case she did anything embarassing once divorced. That is the reason why diana asked to be called the peoples princess or the princess of peoples hearts as she knew she still had the respect of the people. She did ask to keep it in her divorce settlement but it was not granted. I think in Sarahs case it was because of the children and she was not in direct line to the throne.
14. She was allowed to keep the title Princess but not Her Royal Highness. The title prince and princess is frequently held by nobility in some countries not just royalty. Americans assume that if a person has the title Prince or Princess, they are royalty.
15. Cause their divorce degree has made these arrangements so that they can keep the titles. Also cause they all have children with the members of the Royals.
16. The Queen took Diana and Sarah HRH titles of them. When someone is divorce they are styled as Mary Countess of Moorland etc.
17. Its actually quite simple. THEY RETAIN from the divorce, the "styling" of "The Princess of Wales," and "The Duchess of York," EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT - at least any longer. So, if Princess Diana were alive today, she would still be called Diana, Princess of Wales (but she WOULD NOT ACTUALLY BE Princess of Wales, ITS JUST A TITLE LIKE NAME AND WOULD MEAN NOTHING). No one would have to curtesy or bow at any time, simply because she is NO LONGER a "HRH" Diana, Princess of Wales. So, if she were alive and Charles married Camilla; it would be HRH, Princess Camilla, The Princess of Wales (as it is today) even though Camilla CHOOSES to go by Charles title of HRH, The Duchess of Cornwall so that she isn't COMPARED to Diana as "The Princess of Wales." Lets face it, if she styled herself HRH, Princess Camilla, The Princess of Wales, people would be saying ALOT of rather unkind things (well, alot more) unkind things. The same for Sarah, the Duchess of York. If Prince Andrew remarried someone else, she would still BE "Sarah, the Duchess of York" IN NAME ONLY. Andrews' NEW BRIDE would BE THE ACTUAL DUCHESS. But, to be honest - why weren't Diana and Sarah called Princess Charles and Princess Andrew like they should have been? Was it because they were HRH, or because the press preferred to use female names. The Queens' own 1st cousins wife, Prince Micheal is married to Princess Michael because she was forced to take his first name as Princess, as was Prince Phillips mother, Princess Alice who when married was known as Princess Andrew.
18. In the announcement of her separation...the Princess of Wales said that she would continue to be styled as "Diana, Princess of Wales". She thought that the royal family would take that to mean she would ALSO keep the HRH title. She made the statement before Her Majesty or Prince Charles to force their hand (and not end up like Sarah, Duchess of York). In the case of Sarah, it was the style of the divorced aristocracy. For example, Freda, Dudley Ward. She was Edward VIII's mistress and divorced from "The Right Honourable William Dudley Ward." For Diana, Her Majesty took her verbatim at her word (essentially making her eat her words) and in the divorce settlement forced her to take the title she (Diana) had announced.
19. She was the princess of the people.
20. A royal divorcee keeps the title but loses the HRH. Sarah, Duchess of York is referred to as "Your Grace", Diana was probably still "Your Highness" but omitting the "Royal"
21. If you notice, both women kept part of their titles but not the Her Royal Highness. The Queen stripped them of HRH but they kept the rest.
22. That was part of the agreement.