Every time that there is an event where Kate is present, especially ones where she is wearing gowns or tiaras, there is intense media coverage. Those large media outlets then share stories about everything they can think of about the event, with headlines like “Kate Middleton Literally Dazzles in What Might Be Her Prettiest Gown Yet” or “The real reason Prince William is so skinny has a lot to do with Kate Middleton’s cooking”
You’ll note one thing in common with almost every single media reference of Kate… They refer to her as either Kate Middleton or, if you’re People Magazine, Princess Kate. This often infuriates Kate fans, who are quick to reply with correction notices of her full correct title and cries of disrespect. We often see these messages and wanted to try and follow up on our 2013 article about Kate’s name on a couple of reasons why although we all know she’s the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate is most often called Kate Middleton in the media and then asking, as we do, what Kate would do about the confusion.
Kate Middleton Forever Reason #1: Name Changes, Past & Present
When we as an adoring and curious public first met Kate, the girl who had captured the heart of the future King of England, we came to know her as Kate Middleton.
The press began to cover her more intently and she became an international phenomenon on November 16, 2010 when Clarence House announced her engagement to Prince William. At that time, the media interest in Kate became more intense than ever – all while she was still, legitimately, Catherine Elizabeth (Kate) Middleton.
Becoming a Duchess
On April 29, 2011, the Kate Middleton we had come to know and love married her Prince Charming and received the title of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn and Lady Carrickfergus. She dropped the Kate moniker – which she’d only been using since adolescence – entirely and Catherine became the newest member of the Royal Family. Unofficially, Kate can even be called Princess William of Wales – as reported, if Kate hadn’t been given the Cambridge title, that would be her only title.
As spouse to the man who will one day be King though, Kate will not remain formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge for the rest of her life. It’s also worth pointing out here that part of the confusion comes from the couple themselves. On Charlotte and George’s birth certificates, Kate is known as Catherine Elizabeth, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge. Kate’s occupation is listed as a “Princess of the United Kingdom”. It’s worth pointing out that this is just royal custom.
Becoming a Princess?
Will Kate ever be an “official” Princess? Yes and no. No- because, as she was not born a Royal, she can never be a Princess of her own right, like her daughter Princess Charlotte. That being said, when Prince Charles succeeds as King, William will inherit the title of HRH The Duke of Cornwall (the hereditary title of the heir to the throne). As our friend Cepe points out, it is likely that his initial official title will be HRH The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge. The title of Prince of Wales is at the discretion of the King, and many things have changed politically since Prince Charles was last bestowed the title. Cape points out that the last time this situation occured was back in 1901 and the heir (later George V) was given the title 7 months after his father came to the throne, so it will likely just take a little time and not be “automatic”. When William does inherit the title, he will be HRH The Prince of Wales – and Kate will become Her Royal Highness Catherine, Princess of Wales. But she will not be Princess Catherine of Wales. Can you see why there is confusion yet?!
Similarly, Diana was the same – she was never formally Princess Diana… But we all know how the media (and in turn, all of us) remember her.
The Duchess of Cambridge title will become a distant memory to the Princess title she will come to be associated with. I think we can be assured that the general public will likely embrace her as Princess Kate – as People Magazine already does – when this happens.
Becoming a Queen
After we have gotten used to her as Princess Kate, we will see one more name change for the former Kate Middleton. As wife to the man who will one day be King, Kate will also one day likely become known as Queen Kate.
When William ascends to be King, she will become Her Majesty Queen Catherine the Queen Consort. She will likely be known simply as Queen Catherine… Or Queen Kate. Definitely something we will all have to wait and see. Perhaps William or Charles will change the rules and this will all change!
Changing Names = Confusion
So Kate Middleton became Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge who will one day become Catherine, Princess of Wales and then eventually Catherine, Queen Consort. And that’s assuming nothing changes in the middle and does not include any of the other stylings of their names (for example, Kate’s title as Countess of Strathearn).
It gets confusing! And since we started out knowing her as Kate Middleton, this is one reason that it is habit for the media to revert back to it. Keep that in mind when we move to the next point…
Kate Middleton Forever Reason #2: Blame Google
Yes, blame Google. Remember how I mentioned that when we first met Kate she was Kate Middleton? That’s also when the media outlets began writing articles about her. Because the articles started as Kate Middleton, people began to type in searches for “Kate Middleton”… and the popularity of those pages grew. Media outlets survive because people visit their sites and Google’s Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimization (SEO in short) is how sites use keywords to get more traffic to their articles through the use of frequently used keywords that people type into Google. The search term “Kate Middleton” is about ten thousand times more popular than “Duchess Kate” or any other combination of her name. Because many sites out there are for-profit, they have to take these things into account when writing stories or they will risk having fewer readers, and conversely, smaller profits which will not allow them to keep providing the great coverage that they do.
We took a look at some of the searches which led people to our website over the last few months. Amongst the top queries? “Kate Middleton Makeup” and “Kate Middleton Dress”. There is no mention of the word Duchess until you get to the 4th page of search results. Imagine what that would look like for a publication much larger than ours.
And remember back to point #1 where we refer to the changing names of Kate that we will see in the coming years? That means even if the media wanted to start calling her by her title today and we got every single person in the world to stop typing “Kate Middleton” in their search bars and replaced it with “Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge”, her name would change! Articles written about Kate when she was Kate Middleton would be lost to the depths. It wouldn’t work.
To Sum It All Up… What Would Kate Do?
While we can not speak for others, we don’t see the use of “Kate Middleton” as being a sign of disrespect that some passionate royal fans have. We all know and respect her position as a member of the Royal Family and shortened versions of her name – including “Kate” itself – are merely shorthand for referencing the woman behind the name. We often use “Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge (the former Kate Middleton)” to try and respect her current title while referencing her previous name. There is no doubt that the Palace wants the Public to call her Catherine – just as they likely disliked “Lady Di” or “Fergie”- but the media have dubbed her Kate from Day 1 and I have strong doubts that she’ll ever be Princess Catherine or even Queen Catherine to the media, despite the Palace’s best attempts. It’s certainly not a lack of respect or sign of ignorance that the media continue to call her Kate – instead, I think it’s a sign of the extremely heightened digital times we’re living in and the importance of a keyword in an internet search string.
We know what the Palace wants (Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) and we know what the media want (Kate Middleton) but what about Kate herself? What would Kate do when looking at this issue? Well, we can deduce her thoughts based on limited verbal confirmation from Kate herself. For example, there was the story awhile ago about how she forgot her cash and cards at home when visiting a local shop in Anglesley- and said her name was Mrs. Cambridge. Or how she met a child who did not know her proper title and she graciously laughed and said “It’s just Catherine”. And while William now uses Catherine to the public, we’re also pretty sure that if he referred to her as Kate for the first 9 years of their relationship, she’s still Kate to him and her family and friends – but formally, it’s now Catherine.
So to those of you out there concerned with us and the media potentially using Kate’s name incorrectly, please rest assured that we know Kate’s name and formal title- and have the utmost respect for it. We have gotten to know her as Kate though, and until she comes out and says “I hate being called Kate!” we will likely continue to refer to Her Royal Highness Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus as just Kate.
Hate the use of “Middleton” when she is a married royal with 3 children. The media shows disrespect and seems like they always have (i.e. “Waitey Katie”). The media refuses to call her Duchess Kate which is a negotiation at best. All this hoopla about Meghan Markle is ridiculous.
Excellent article! 🙂
You are absolutely right with the media using the name for more search engines
Not so. Catherine will be “Her Majesty,” not “HRH.” This is a fundamental principle: “Majesty” is an enormous step up from “Highness,” and is reserved exclusively for sovereigns — a King and his Queen Consort, a Queen Regnant, and a dowager Queen or — the title the present Queen’s mother preferred — Queen Mother. There is no such thing as a dowager king; upon his abdication, Edward VIII was given the title HRH the Duke of Windsor, because he was still the son of a king, although no longer one himself. And Catherine can indeed sign “R” to her Christian name, as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother did, both as Queen Consort and as the widowed Queen Mother. You have only to look at her signature on guest books, Christmas cards and correspondence to see this usage. A modern exception to the rule that the wife of the King always takes the rank of Queen Consort is presaged in the statement made by Clarence House, on the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles [now HRH the Duchess of Cornwall], that her title upon Charles’ accession to the throne would be Princess Consort. This was to spare the feelings of those still grieving and angry at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and at Charles’ ongoing relationship with his first love. But the years may have assuaged this hostility and in “the fullness of time,” HRH the Duchess of Cornwall may perhaps be crowned Queen Consort when her husband becomes King; a semi-morganatic title like “Princess Consort” may not sit well with the English even now, just as the suggestion by King Edward VIII that he marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson morganatically did not sit well. I hope this information is helpful.
Assuming she becomes queen consort one day, won’t she become Her Majesty like Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother?
Please see my post about this matter. It is also worth noting that there can be, at one time, only one woman who is referred to as “the Queen.” A Queen Regnant is “the Queen.” So is a Queen Consort while her husband is living. Upon the death of King George VI, his elder daughter instantly became “the Queen” and his widow became “Queen Elizabeth.” To avoid further confusion, because mother and daughter shared a Christian name, the widowed queen also chose to be called “Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother” [some less than kindly observers noted that she thus was able to be called “Queen” twice over]. When King George V died, “the Queen,” his wife, became Queen Mary. She did not wish to use any title like “dowager Queen,” but the change in her status was signified simply by referring to her thereafter as “Queen Mary” rather than “The Queen.”
If and when she is queen, She won’t be Catherine R as she won’t be Queen Regnant :), only Queen Consort. And, you get this right once and wrong once: As Queen, she will be HRH Queen Catherine the Queen Consort, not HRH Catherine the Queen Consort. Of course, should she outlive William, and should George succeed George VII?), she will then be HRH Queen Catherine the Queen Mother.
Just to make it all more confusing :).
I’ve always found it a bit amusing that people get so worked up over this. Royals have been popularly known by nicknames (both affectionate and less so) since the dawn of time. The Black Prince, Bluff King Hal, Good Queen Bess… and on and on and on. As long as the nickname isn’t derogatory, it usually ends up being good (and free) PR.
Though I will agree with Laura that People’s forever calling her Princess Kate is annoying.
Thank you! This is such an eloquent post that sums up a lot of my feelings on this. One I saw awhile ago that was really annoying to me was an article that referred to her as the Duchess of Cambridge….but she was in Scotland. So, in come fans who have to tell the author she was being disrespectful because in Scotland, she’s the Countess of Strathearn. It was WAY too much to me.
I try not to get too invested into what sites call her as long as it’s respectful. And SEO is definitely a must for website survival, so I don’t blame any site that uses Kate Middleton. I have to say People’s constant use of Princess Kate is a bit jarring to me, but it’s only mildly annoying, not anything I get offended by.
You explain the situation very well. Except that Kate will never sign as Catherine R. Unlike the current queen, Elizabeth R, where the R stands for Regina, Catherine will only be a Consort, therefore signing as Catherine (without the R)
Frankly, “Kate fans” wouldn’t get so upset about it if the pack of howler monkeys on various royal fora and twitter didn’t get so excited every time it happens, insisting that it’s a sign of disrespect by the press.
Hi Emi!
Great question.
“Kate” is definitely not a name that the media made up. Back in March of 2011, Kate and William made a trip to Northern Ireland before their wedding. When a woman asked her what name she preferred, Kate responded with “I’m still very much Kate.”
After the engagement announcement, wedding, and the appointment of her formal title with Catherine attached, we stopped hearing references of her as “Kate”, but I don’t think this is because she stopped using the name – I think it’s just because she stopped using Kate in public. It is assumed that the Palace recommended the use of her full name (Catherine is admittedly more regal sounding than Kate).
As for the Catherine versus Kate debate from childhood, I think it’s likely the same situation as my son. While he has a formal full name which everyone uses, our immediate family (myself, my husband, his brother) often refer to him by a nickname. As he grows up, I can see him going off to University and perhaps choosing to re-invent himself as his nickname, or choose to go by it if there are other kids with his formal name he wants to differentiate himself from. I would guess that this is what likely happened to Catherine/Kate.
Hope that helps answer your question! Let us know if you have any more.
– Amanda
Hello, can I ask you if “Kate” is really how Kate is called by her family and friends?
I was sure she was called Kate by William and her parents but I read somewhere that she’s been called Catherine during her lifetime since when she was born and that “Kate” is just a moniker used by the media. Is that true?
Hi Emi! Hopefully you can see our full reply, below. Thanks for asking a question!