Prince William and Kate Middleton switch social media titles as Duke and Duchess of Cornwall

Prince William and Kate Middleton adopt new titles after news of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

Shortly after Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that the 96-year-old queen had died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, the official Twitter @KensingtonRoyal and Instagram accounts were updated as belonging to “the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge”. The Duke of Cornwall is traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning British monarch, with his wife taking the title of duchess.

Prince William and Kate, both 40, are known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The titles were bestowed on them on their wedding day in April 2011 by the Queen, William’s grandmother.

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Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William; Kate Middleton

The couple are also expected to inherit the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales. King Charles III, who held the title Prince of Wales until the Queen’s death on Thursday, also previously held the titles Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, which was used in Scotland.

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Prince William and Kate recently visited Wales with their two older children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, in June as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend.

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The title of Prince of Wales is usually given to a male heir. Edward VIII held the title for most of his life before ascending (and, within months, abdicating) the throne.

However, the title of Prince of Wales will not immediately pass to William after his grandmother’s death: it must be given to him by the sovereign. King Charles himself received the title of Prince of Wales only 9 years after his mother. At an investiture at Caernarvon Castle in 1969, Queen Elizabeth officially crowned Charles as Prince of Wales.

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Prince William’s late mother, Princess Diana, previously held the title of Princess of Wales after marrying what is now King Charles in 1981. (The two divorced in 1996, and she died in a car crash the following year .)

The king’s wife of 17 years, Camilla, formerly the Duchess of Cornwall, will now take on the role of queen consort.

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Pool/Anwar Hussein/WireImage Queen Elizabeth II

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As Kate prepares for her upcoming role as Queen Consort, the Queen’s biographer, Sally Bedell Smith, told PEOPLE earlier this month that she “learned by observing” Queen Elizabeth.

“He knows what resonates. He will have absorbed a lot from this queen,” Smith said.

Although separated by 56 years, the late Queen and Kate share key qualifications for the job: quiet stoicism, unerring discretion and steadfast loyalty.

Their opinions on controversial political issues are never heard, their commitment to the throne is unwavering and their public images are tightly controlled. Kate also embodies the Queen’s unofficial motto for public life: “Never complain, never explain.”