From vulnerable child brides to steely politicians and machinating murderesses, there have been only TEN Princesses of Wales. But, boy, have they made a difference! CHRISTOPHER WILSON ranks them through history…

Astonishingly, in the nearly 700 years since the title of Prince of Wales was created, there have been only TEN princesses of Wales.

Some were pledged to their fate as early as the age of two, and very few married for love. 

Some lived through bloody battles and equally murderous political machinations back home – and for many, tragedy was never far away.

Adornments they certainly were, but often significant figures in their own right. Here, royal historian CHRISTOPHER WILSON ranks the princesses by their contribution to royal history.

JOAN – Princess of Wales from 1361 – 1385

Child bride, bigamist, kidnap victim – you could never say life was dull for Joan, the grand-daughter of King Edward I.

 Life started badly when her father the Earl of Kent had his head chopped off and she was imprisoned in Arundel Castle. 

Finally released, at the age of 13 she secretly married soldier Sir Thomas Holland, 26. He went off to war and she remarried – but Holland returned home after seven years, and demanded his wife back.

 Joan’s second husband, William Montagu, kidnapped her but eventually had to give her up. 

By the time she was 34 Holland was dead, she’d inherited great wealth and titles, and at shocking speed married her cousin Edward, the Black Prince. 

Their son became King Richard II, and when she died aged 59 Joan ordered that, though she’d had three husbands, she wanted to be buried next to Number 1.

VERDICT: Pretty astonishing achievements for one so young. SCORE 8/10

ANNE NEVILL – Princess of Wales from 1470-72

The shortest-serving Princess of Wales, Anne held the title only briefly from the day she married, aged 14, the 17-year old Edward of Westminster, son and heir of King Henry VI. 

Edward was killed less than six months later at the Battle of Tewkesbury, one of the most decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses.

You didn’t hang about if you were widowed in those days, so at the age of 16 she eyed up the future King Richard III and prepared herself for a second marriage. 

But like Princess Joan before her, Anne was kidnapped – this time by a brother-in-law who was jealous of her love and, more importantly, the vast wealth she’d inherited. 

By giving up her estates she was able to marry Richard and was crowned alongside him in 1483. 

Alas they were not long, her days of wine and roses – she died less than two years later at the age of 49.

VERDICT: Placid, uncomplaining, she lived valiantly through a brutal period of history. SCORE 4/10

CATHERINE of ARAGON – Princess of Wales 1501-1509 (‘dowager PoW’ 1533-36)

A similar fate to Anne’s awaited Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the King of Spain, who’d ‘married’ Arthur, son and heir of King Henry VII, when she was only 11. 

Their marriage was a dynastic alliance in which the children had little say, designed to join together England and Spain against France. 

The couple didn’t meet for another four years when Catherine arrived in England to discover she and her future husband couldn’t understand a single word the other said. 

Nevertheless they married, aged 15, ten days later. 

But Arthur died five months later and Catherine married his younger brother, King Henry VIII, as the first of his many wives. 

Henry had the marriage annulled after 15 years and from then to her death, Queen Catherine resumed her previous title as Dowager Princess of Wales – she may have lost her crown, but at least she didn’t lose her head.

VERDICT: Shrewd, magnificent, brave. SCORE 7/10

CAROLINE OF ANSBACH – Princess of Wales 1714-1727

German-born Caroline, the first Princess of Wales in over 200 years, had a novel approach to marriage.

Make your husband’s mistresses your ladies-in-waiting – that way, you can keep an eye on them! 

But Prince George Augustus, son and heir of King George I, had other troubles besides his sex life. 

Part of the new Hanoverian dynasty imported to keep the British throne Protestant, George despised his father, and his politically-gifted wife helped undermine the reign of a king who couldn’t be bothered to learn English, despite being laden down with riches, titles, and a crown. 

Caroline was much-loved by the people, and so trusted that she was appointed Regent in her husband’s place when he attained the throne in 1727 and disappeared off back to Hanover. 

But she died aged 54 of a ruptured bowel – and her devoted if mistress-laden husband pledged that when the time came, they would have his’n’hers coffins with the sides taken out – so they could lay together in death.

VERDICT: One of the most influential consorts in British history. SCORE: 8/10

AUGUSTA of SAXE-GOTHA – Princess of Wales 1736-72

Another child bride – this time aged 16 – drawn into the reigning house of Britain to marry the dislikeable 29-year old Prince Frederick, son and heir of King George II.

The marriage was a fix, but Fred didn’t care as long as Parliament voted him an allowance. 

So childlike was Augusta when newly-wed that she was often spied at the window of the royal residence cuddling her doll. 

Meanwhile nasty Fred took advantage of her unworldliness to instal his mistress Lady Archibald Hamilton in the house as the (appropriately titled) First Lady of the Bedchamber. 

He died when Augusta was 32, leaving behind nine children, and she promptly disappeared from public view, dying from throat cancer aged 52.

VERDICT: Pretty, elegant, gracious – unhappy. And soon forgotten. SCORE: 4/10

CAROLINE of BRUNSWICK – Princess of Wales 1795-1820

Famously remembered as the woman who angrily rattled the doors of Westminster Abbey as her husband was being crowned inside, Caroline of Brunswick is the longest lasting of all princesses of Wales – though the marriage was over almost before it began.

Stupid Prince George – Prinny – agreed to the union without ever having met Caroline, and when they did, hated her on sight.

Illegally married to Maria Fitzherbert, he was expected to put his house in order before inheriting the throne as George IV. 

Separated after just over a year of marriage, George sought to have the marriage annulled but Caroline clung tenaciously on until his Coronation. 

She died the following year, having been de facto Queen Caroline of Great Britain for just 18 months.

VERDICT: Awkward, unbecoming, promiscuous (19 known lovers) – but a lot of fun. SCORE: 6/10

ALEXANDRA of DENMARK – Princess of Wales 1863-1901

Her future husband, later Edward VII, was chosen for her when she was 16. 

‘Tum-Tum’, as he was known, was always getting into scrapes with girls and his mother Queen Victoria wanted him married off quick.

 It changed nothing – one estimate puts the number of lovers he’s known to have enjoyed at 70, while Alex had none. 

Affectionate and jolly, she got on with life, revelling in her children and enjoying outdoor sports including ice-skating and hunting. 

Edward was a fond husband but negligent – he did little to support her when she had a life-threatening bout of rheumatic fever. 

She was extremely popular with the public, having broken new ground in supporting charities and organisations – something we take for granted today with the royals. 

She devoted herself to her husband; he did not entirely return the compliment.

VERDICT: Brave, adored and adorable, she put up with a great deal. SCORE: 9/10

MARY of TECK (‘May’) – Princess of Wales 1901-1910

Dull, stuffy, and ‘not really royal like the rest of us’ as Princess Margaret once snootily sniped, May was plucked from relative obscurity to be the wife of Prince Albert Victor, the troublesome son and heir of King Edward VII.

When he died from a lifetime of excess (they called it flu) at the age of 28 it looked like May might, at 25, find herself on the shelf – until the prince’s younger brother George stepped up and offered to take her hand in marriage. 

However unlikely this couple were – he only cared about stamp-collecting and shooting pheasants, she shopping – they founded a solid base for the modern-day royal family. 

May produced six children, though the whole process – from start to finish – was abhorrent to her. And she was criticised for being a chilly mother. 

But for steely-spined, toque-wearing lordliness, for being the last true Empress, she could not be beaten.

VERDICT: Dull, dull, dull. SCORE: 5/10

DIANA – Princess of Wales from 1981– 1996 (Diana, Princess of Wales 1996-7)

Until recent times, the most famous of all Princesses of Wales.

Her arrival in the Royal Family dramatically changed the way the country’s first family regarded itself. 

Its style and presentation radically altered as Diana began to dominate the headlines and front pages, bringing her caring touch to the fore and causing other Windsor members to realise there was a new way of reaching out to the people, both at home and abroad. 

Unquestionably improved the House of Windsor’s interface with the public. Emotional, capricious, demanding and vengeful, she wasn’t all sweetness and light – but she was a miracle.

VERDICT: There’ll never be another like her. SCORE 10/10

CAMILLA – de facto Princess of Wales 2005-2022 (*but did not use the title)

Overcame considerable public opposition to become a tried and trusted asset to the monarchy – something that could never have been imagined when her affair with Charles was exposed by writer Andrew Morton back in 992.

 Amiable, brave, dependable and dedicated to the cause.

VERDICT: Tough, brave, charming – solid as a rock. SCORE 9/10

CATHERINE – Princess of Wales September 2022-

Took the best of Diana and left the rest. No traumas, no dramas, and a great dollop of the common touch which has reached deep into public sympathy. 

Effortless fashion sense without some of the toe-curling early Diana experiments, and a level-headed work/life balance which means the children’s happiness is more important than how she looks in a tiara. 

Fully in support of her husband as he struggles to bring a new relevance to monarchy in a social media age. 

Her middle-class upbringing in a secure family environment means she is grounded and stable, a rock for her husband, and a needfully reassuring figure on the public stage.

VERDICT: All you could hope for in a Princess of Wales, and more. SCORE: 11/10