Quote:
Originally Posted by sharkbit
So maybe some of the Brits can fill in an American ignorant of how all the title stuff works.
The way I read it in the papers here in the States, the Queen gave the title of "Duke and Duchess of Cambridge" to them.
So, do they like rule, govern, etc. over the area around Cambridge or is it more or less a title?
Was there a Duke and/or Duchess of Cambridge prior to all of this and now they are unemployed?
Why aren't they Prince and Princess? Is't Duke and Duchess a "demotion"?
My wife was asking and I haven't got a clue.
Oh, by the way, Catherine's sister is pretty hot too. Somebody needs to scoop her up as well.

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AFAIK it works the same in the Netherlands, so I can answer this for you.
A title is just a title, they don't govern over anything at all. (which is one reason why monarchy is such a joke, we pay loads of money and get nothing in return)
A quick wikipedia search shows the last duke of Cambridge died in 1904, so no, there wasn't any other duke that now is unemployed (bad wording since duke isn't a job at all, with it come some privileges but no obligations that I'm aware of)
Titles can stack, so they're in no way demoted. As an example, our
beloved Her Majesty Beatrix, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld etc. etc. is also count, marquis, viscount, baron, hereditary lord and lord of much too many places.
Oh how I wish a huge hole opened up in the ground and they all fell in