In Spare, Prince Harry described the moment in 2017 when he spoke to his father and brother about wanting to marry then-Meghan Markle. Then-Prince Charles asked after Meghan, and then asked if she planned to “carry on working” because, as Harry quoted his father, “you know there’s not enough money to go around…I can’t pay for anyone else. I’m already having to pay for your brother and Catherine.” Harry flinched at the mention of Charles using the name “Catherine” because, in Harry’s words, “I remembered the time he and Camilla wanted Kate to change the spelling of her name, because there were already two royal cyphers with a C and a crown above: Charles and Camilla. It would be too confusing to have another. Make it Katherine with a K, they suggested.” Well, you know how all of the royalists read Spare and have spent the past three years retelling Harry’s stories with their own keen twists? Well, here’s Christopher Andersen’s version of the “Catherine should be Katherine” story.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla requested Kate Middleton — who spells her name Catherine — change her name ahead of her wedding to Prince William, according to a new biography.
“Charles and Camilla each had a royal monogram that consisted of interlocking C’s beneath a crown,” Christopher Andersen explained in “Kate! The Courage, Grace and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen.”
The author alleged Charles, 77, and Camilla, 78, were concerned a third royal cypher — a personalized monogram or emblem representing a royal family member — with a C “was overkill.”
The duo reportedly asked Middleton, 44, whether she minded changing the spelling of her first name from “Catherine” to “Katherine.”
Andersen wrote in his book, out Tuesday, that Camilla pointed out Middleton was already known to most of the world as “Kate.” Middleton was reportedly “offended” by the inquiry.
A “fuming” William allegedly replied on his then-fiancée’s behalf, calling the request “insulting … not only to Kate but to her entire family.”
The matter was subsequently dropped, according to Andersen.
I still don’t know why the British tabloids ever started writing her name as “Kate” when it always should have been “Cate.” It’s possible that the British media just assumed she was Kate-with-a-K (the far more popular spelling) and by the time anyone realized how her name was actually spelled, the papers were simply too invested in spelling her name with a K. As for Camilla and Charles bringing up a possible spelling change… since Harry said it in Spare, I believe it. What I don’t believe is that Kate was “offended.” Please. She waited a whole decade to get to that point. If Charles and Camilla ordered her to change her name to Waity Wigs-a-lot, she would have done it. I do believe that William was probably the one who shut down all of that talk though.
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- Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, London, during their wedding service.,Image: 503711186, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries call London + 44 (0)20 7421 6000 , New York + 1 646-329-6242 or Hamburg + 49 (0)40 530 240 5959, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: /Avalon
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- Prince William and his bride Kate leave Westminster Abbey, London, after their wedding.,Image: 503721139, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries call London + 44 (0)20 7421 6000 , New York + 1 646-329-6242 or Hamburg + 49 (0)40 530 240 5959, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: /Avalon
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- Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, who has been given the title of The Duchess of Cambridge, wave to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, following their wedding at Westminster Abbey.,Image: 503747929, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries call London + 44 (0)20 7421 6000 , New York + 1 646-329-6242 or Hamburg + 49 (0)40 530 240 5959, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: /Avalon
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- The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at Machan Coffee bar in the centre of Birmingham which was ransacked during the recent looting riots.,Image: 521579273, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries call London + 44 (0)20 7421 6000 , New York + 1 646-329-6242 or Hamburg + 49 (0)40 530 240 5959, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- 16941, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Thursday August 09 2007. **UK OUT** Wearing a striking black and white figure hugging dress, Prince William’s on/off girlfriend Kate Middleton arrives home after a night of clubbing with friends in London’s trendy nightclub Bijou. Earlier this week Kate abandoned plans to take part in a cross-channel boat race for security reasons. Photograph:©Focus Pictures, PacificCoastNews.com ***FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE*** UK OFFICE: +44 131 225 3333/3322 US OFFICE: 1 310 261 9676,Image: 523204057, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Focus Pictures, PacificCoastNews.com / Avalon
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- BURTON-UPON-TRENT, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 09: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge look on during the official launch of The Football Association’s National Football Centre at St George’s Park on October 9, 2012 in Burton-upon-Trent, England.,Image: 538067107, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 646 717 6785 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: /Avalon
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- – Kate Middleton – Cheltenham Gold Cup Festival 2007 Day 4 – 16th March 2007 20185 – Only,Image: 542337412, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries call London + 44 (0)20 7421 6000 , New York + 1 646-329-6242 or Hamburg + 49 (0)40 530 240 5959, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jules Annan / Avalon
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- North/South America Rights-London, Britain – 11/12/2006 – Ket Middleton gets herself into a tight spot as she comes back home on Sunday morning. She realizes she’s forgotten her keys. She waits around 40 minutes until Prince William comes to her rescue. He was at the Remembrance Day Service nearby and rushed to her side. -PICTURED: Prince William and Kate Middleton -PHOTO by: Javier Mateo/startraksphoto.com -Startraks_KATE-MIDDLETON-PREGNANT-FILE-PHOTOS-31 Editorial – Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.startraksphoto.com for licensing fee Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Featuring: Prince William and Kate Middleton Where: London, Britain, United Kingdom When: 12 Nov 2006 Credit: Javier Mateo/startraksphoto.com **North/South America Rights**
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- September 5, 2007: Kate Middleton seen out and about in London today. Credit: N/C Ref: kguk-81 Featuring: Kate Middleton Where: London, United Kingdom When: 05 Sep 2007 Credit: N/C
I always believe that Camilla is the main driver of all the awfulness that comes out of this family from the moment she stalked Charles to today…”What, somebody else’s name begins with C? Off with her head!”
In my experience until recently all Kates are Kates with a K regardless of how they spell their real name.
Well Cate Blanchett has been spelled with a “C” forever.
My grandmother was Katie with a K although formally she was Catherine with a C. And one of my daughters is Katie with a K although she is also Cathleen with a C. I am also aware that my personal experience isn’t the same as someone else’s but I’ve never known any Kates spelled with a C. Maybe I don’t get out much. lol.
Edited to add that Cate Blanchett must fly under my radar. lol
I went to school with a Catherine who went by Cayte, but insisted it was pronounced like “Katie”. It made the future Linguistics major in me irrationally angry, lol.
My grandmother was Katie with a K although formally she was Catherine with a C. And one of my daughters is Katie with a K although she is also Cathleen with a C. I am also aware that my personal experience isn’t the same as someone else’s but I’ve never known any Kates spelled with a C. Maybe I don’t get out much. lol.
Oh shoot I have been spelling it Can’t with a C instead of Kan’t with a K. My bad.
🤣
I only know of two “Cates” – Cate Blanchett being one of them lol – and another daughter of a friend. Every other “Kate” or “Katie” that I know uses a “K” whether their name is Katherine or Catherine.
Anyway, what I have found interesting is that its clear she’s Kate – when they made the initial push to Catherine, one of the defenses of it was that she was actually always Catherine, no one called her Kate – but harry clearly did in Spare (and he wouldn’t have if he had always called her Catherine, and the name wouldn’t have made him “flinch”), and Meghan called her Kate without missing a beat in the Oprah interview. Kate herself said in 2011 that “she was still very much Kate.” So they can miss me with all this Catherine stuff. I think Queen Kate sounds better anyway, more fun.
My god, can Charles and Camilla be any pettier?
Watch this space. It won’t be long.