Perhaps, optimists might also hope, the British feel a twinge of collective remorse over the short, pitilessly scrutinised life of Prince William's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

And for want of a father the fifteen-year-old Princess had been born posthumously, months after a cricket ball fatally injured her father, Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1751 her brother William Henry, Duke of Gloucester gave her away.

NPR: Excerpt: Princesses

William might choose to simply remain Prince of Wales.

FORBES: Connect

In his meeting with the Prince of Wales this afternoon, will the President express any interest in meeting Prince William and Kate Middleton on his visit to the U.K. later this month?

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing