Prince William is well known for his royal role as The Prince of Wales now, however, there was another royal title he held before this. Under the reign of his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, William, 42, held the royal title of The Duke of Cambridge. The prince was the eighth person to hold this title, which was first created during King Charles II's reign in 1660.

While William succeeded in his royal role with this title, it had previously been a royal dukedom associated with sadness. This is because within the first 17 years of the title being created, four different royals who held the title experienced tragedies.

As reported by MyLondon, the first Duke of Cambridge was the eldest nephew of King Charles II - Charles Stuart. Charles, who was the son of the future King James II, tragically died at the age of just six months old.

The title was then passed down to his younger brother James Stuart, who was given the title in 1664. Like his brother, James died very young and was just three-years-old at the time of his death. It is believed the royal had either smallpox or the bubonic plague.

After this, the King then made his third oldest nephew Edgar Stuart the Duke of Cambridge, however he also died at the age of three. The fourth title holder was their younger brother Charles, who passed away 35 days after he was born.

Following this string of tragedies, the title was not used again until Queen Anne made George Augustus - the future King George II - the fifth Duke of Cambridge in 1706. The title was then reissued by King George III to his seventh son Prince Adolphus in 1801, before being passed to the prince's son Prince George in 1850. It became extinct after his death in 1904 as his marriage had violated The Royal Marriages Act of 1772, as reported by MyLondon.

Before the title was given to Prince William in 2011 on his wedding day by Queen Elizabeth II, it is believed it was first offered to his uncle Prince Edward ahead of his 1999 wedding. However, Edward turned down his mother’s offer and instead requested to become The Earl of Wessex.

After the late Queen’s death in 2022, William’s title was changed from the Duke of Cambridge to the Prince of Wales - a title previously held by his father, who had become King Charles III.

Since then, the royal title has not been reissued, with William’s eldest son Prince George potentially set to inherit it when he becomes older. However, this will depend on who is on the throne when he eventually marries, as if his dad is King by that time, George is likely to adopt the title of The Prince of Wales.

This means that instead of George, Prince Louis - William’s second son - could become the next Duke of Cambridge when he is also older. This could depend on a number of factors, as if William is King at the time, Louis could inherit the title of The Duke of York - a dukedom traditionally held by the second son of the monarch. This title is currently held by Prince Andrew, and would only be available for Louis if Andrew was either stripped of his title or passed away.

At the moment, George, 11, and Louis, six, do not have any dukedoms and instead use the name ‘Wales’ as a surname - a nod to the royal titles currently held by their parents.