It comes in waves, the royalist annoyance over people referring to the Princess of Wales as “Kate Middleton.” I get it, because I still get annoyed when people refer to the Duchess of Sussex as “Meghan Markle.” There’s a very obvious explanation for why the general public constantly refers to those two women by their maiden names: it’s simply because their premarital “brands” were so strong. In Meghan’s case, she was already a successful and famous actress with a SAG card and a lifestyle site under her maiden name. It makes perfect sense that many people still call her “Meghan Markle.” For Kate, it’s not that she was a successful career woman or anything like that, it’s just that she spent a decade waity-ing for the ring as Kate Middleton and that’s why the name stuck. In Kate’s case, we all knew that her titles would change several times as well, from the Duchess of Cambridge to the Princess of Wales, and eventually (cross your fingers, Carole) Queen Consort. You know what will never change? Her maiden name. Well, Becky English addressed the name questions in the Mail’s newsletter.
Question: Do you know if William calls Catherine her nickname Kate or her full name? When are various media going to stop using the name Kate Middleton?
Gosh, this has become a bit of a controversy, hasn’t it? While I have no idea what they call each other in private, William always refers to Catherine by her full name when in public now.
And while they won’t throw down a public diktat over the issue, there is definitely a desire from Kensington Palace gently to encourage people – particularly in the media – at least to drop the continued use of her maiden name, Middleton. I think this is absolutely proper and fair. It hugely annoys me to see that used too!
It’s worth noting, however, that it wasn’t always that way. Cast your mind back to the couple’s engagement interview in 2010 and you might notice that William referred to his fiancée as Kate. It’s most definitely what she was known as when she was younger.
In fact, I once knew someone who went to school with the princess at Marlborough College. I can reveal her nickname among students was, sweetly, ‘beautiful Kate’.
Personally, I refer to her as Catherine now. But you can understand why many people end up shortening it – newspaper headline writers included!
I appreciate this does annoy readers but as long as we don’t use Middleton, I think we are safe from the Tower.
[From The Daily Mail’s newsletter]
English totally retconned “Beautiful Kate” – that was not her nickname at Marlborough. The students actually called her Kate Middlebum, for well-documented reasons. Post-university, the Waity moniker stuck around for years and years as well. So does William call her Kate or Catherine in private? I bet… neither. I bet he calls her something else entirely, if he calls her at all. The thing is, I totally get why Kensington Palace has been trying to make “Catherine” happen for years now. They believe it’s more regal, more appropriate for the future queen. They’re trying to change up the Waity Katy/Middlebum/Baby Brain/Wigs Akimbo brand.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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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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- 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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- 79035, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Sunday June 3, 2012. Prince William and Catherine, Duchess Of Cambridge seen attending the Jubilee River Pageant on the River Thames to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. **FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE** **E-TABLET/IPAD & MOBILE PHONE APP PUBLISHING REQUIRES ADDITIONAL FEES**,Image: 527642786, 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: PacificCoastNews.com/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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- KATE MIDDLETON, THE GIRLFRIEND OF PRINCE WILLIAM, ATTENDS THE SECOND DAY OF THE GATCOMBE PARK FESTIVAL OF BRITISH EVENTING, HELD AT GATCOMBE PARK NEAR TETBURY IN ENGLAND. 6 AUGUST 2005. PICTURES: /,Image: 542495898, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Anwar Hussein / Avalon
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- North America Sales Only- London, Britain 7/19/12-Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge Visits Olympic Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery. The Duchess of Cambridge is the Patron of the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition showcase commissioned photographs documenting the preparations for London 2012 Olympics. -PICTURED: Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) -PHOTO by: Michael Dunlea/Startraksphoto.com -BAR_9326067 Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Featuring: Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) Where: London, Britain, United Kingdom When: 19 Jul 2012 Credit: Michael Dunlea/Startraksphoto.com **North America Sales Only**
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- STRICTLY NO UK SALES. January 11, 2013: The official portrait of HRH Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, London, UK. Artist Paul Emsley had two sittings with the Duchess and was asked by her to portrayed naturally – her natural self – as opposed to her official self. Mr Emsley found the Duchess to be “enormously open and generous and a very warm person” Mandatory Credit: Paul Emsley/Supplied by INFphoto.com Ref: inf-00 IMPORTANT NOTICE: The attached image is supplied by Insight News & Features, Inc. (INF). INF does not own, nor does it claim to own, the copyright or any license to the image. Any fees charged by INF for the image are for the supply of the material and do not, and are not intended to, convey to the user any copyright or license rights. By accepting submission of the image, the end-user accepts the full responsibility of obtaining copyright clearance from the copyright holder prior to publication. Also, the end-user agrees to fully indemnify INF from any and all legal claims, demands or causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the user’s use or publication of the image. If the end-user does not, or cannot, comply with all of the above restrictions, the image should not be used or published by that end-user. |sp| Featuring: Kate Middleton, Catherine Middleton, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge Where: London, United Kingdom When: 11 Jan 2013 Credit: INFphoto.com
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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
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- August 1, 2007: Kate Middleton training on the River Thames for the Cross Channel Challenge, taking place later this month. Credit: Goff/INFphoto.com Ref: kguk-04/95 Featuring: Kate Middleton Where: London, United Kingdom When: 01 Aug 2007 Credit: Goff/INFphoto.com
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- July 26, 2007: Kate Middleton spotted leaving Mahiki nightclub in London, UK. Credit: INFphoto.com Ref: kguk-81 Featuring: Kate Middleton Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jul 2007 Credit: INFphoto.com
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- Catherine Duchess Of Cambridge And Prince William At The Out-Sourcing Inc Charity Polo Match The Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge at in the Out-Sourcing Inc charity polo match at Guards Polo Club, Smiths Lawn, Windsor. The match is to raise funds and awareness for ten charities supported by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Featuring: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 06 Jul 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
And there’s that picture included in the group where keen dressed like j e c c a
Hilariously, ‘Beautiful Kate’ is the title of a (quite good) Australian movie with strong incest themes… not at all similar to royal lineages.
I find it sad and disturbing that anyone would be eager to bury a woman’s birth name. There’s something dystopian Handmaid’s Tale about it. And you have a point–Kate Middleton is going to go through a few titles in her lifetime. Why is it considered seditious and disrespectful to refer to her by the name she came into the world with, her family’s name?
I would agree with you but i am a 100% certain that the person leading the “pls don’t use my maiden name” campaign is Kate herself.
She wants to be known as Catherine not simply because it is her official name but because it sounds more regal. After all these years she is still desperately trying to fit in, instead of just being herself.
They want to be seen as middle class but we should’t call her Kate, that would be too middle class.
I think the continued use of a woman’s maiden name when that woman (both Catherine AND Meghan) have chosen to be known by their married name is just another form of misogyny, telling a woman they don’t own their own self and instead the media is going to dictate what you would be known by. Neither one of these women have indicated they want to continue to use their maiden names. As an adult, I go by my married name and if someone continued to use my maiden name, it would piss me off. I CHOSE my name. Eventually, I think, this might be seen as a generational switch though. Maybe in the future, more women will keep their maiden names. In either case, it is up to the woman to chose which she prefers and it should be respected.
“Middleton” definitely sounds middle-class and mid. She wants to get away from her mother’s tackiness, Uncle Gary, and the middle-class origins. It’s a shame she’s ashamed, but that’s what it is.
If a married woman choses to change her name to her husband’s name, it is her choice and what she should be called. It is sexist and classist not to follow her wishes whether she changes her name or not. On the other hand… when I was a wee lass of about 7 or 8 I told my fundamentalist evangelical, elderly grandmother that if I ever got married I would keep my name because it was MINE. (Ah. My liberalism, feminism and cult rejecting started very, very young. 🙃 Fun times) Her meltdown was delightful and even to a little kid her argument that I had to change my name made absolutely no sense. I personally never would change my clunky last name, but to each her own in that regard. I think Willy and Kate have too much time on their hands and needs their feet held to the fire to accomplish ANYTHING more meaninful than day drinking/pill popping/exercise @#$%$#@, accepting “gifted” perks from oligarchs and leaking tripe to the rota. Anyone remember the song Fancy (Reba has the most famous version)? Keen is the real life British version. Keen did anything and everything to get that cursed blue ring and title. They were close to divorce pre-KeEneR has cancer and some extreme stunts were/are involved in keeping up appearances. On a level she will always be the grasping peasant who did whatever Willy wanted whenever he wanted it and the rota using her maiden name is a reminder of her cringe desperation to marry an absolute trashy bully because he was rich and titled and she was too lazy to work an actual job to earn money legitimately.
#AbolishPatronymy
This has been an SEO thing from day one. It is not what she’s called in person or in her correspondence so it’s not a travesty for feminism that the woman who chose to join the most racist patriarchal institution out there is referred to her birth name on occasion. It is far far less than what Meghan gets referred to in the media as well.
So weird. What difference does it make? It’s always been Kate, probably always will.
I know she’s hanging on to be queen but honestly, “Queen Catherine” reminds me of Henry VIII’s first wife that he divorced in order to marry his mistress.
And another of Henry’s 6 wives, Catherine Parr.
And another one he executed, Katherine Howard.
The former Duchess of York was almost always called Fergie in the tabloids, it’s nothing new.
And there was no soul-searching from the tabloids about it.
My goodness, how her face has changed over the years! Is that just from weight loss, aging or some type of plastic surgery? Or a combination of all 3?
A combination of illness and aging. But she still looks OK when she smiles.
It’s a combo of all three. Theres some stuff that’s changed that can only be explained by plastic surgery.
She had an upper bleph to make the eyes less hooded. That can only be explained by surgery. Weight loss would not affect it and in fact it would get worse over time not better.
Upper bleph, lower bleph and two rhinoplasties. She doesn’t seem to have gone for a lift yet, but I’m sure it’s on the list.
I remember it came out, before the wedding, that she had her teeth done, and the tip of her nose “refined” as she was going to be “the most photographed woman in the world” now 🤮🤢
She had work done when she was at school, then several times after. She’s had her eyes done, two nose jobs. Something with her lower face. Look at old pics.
There seems to be bots on discussion boards all upset that keen isn’t called by her proper name as they call it
I wonder who was the person that insisted that she be known as Catherine instead of Kate?
Probably kate herself with encouragement from her mother.
It is William.
There is a video where she was asked and she said William prefers Catherine but she was ok with Kate.
Without all the work that she start doing immediately after her engagement (teeth facings, facelifts, etc.) Kate Middleton was just an ordinary looking girl in her teens/twenties – noting special- not with her style/clothes, not how she kept herself (nails, accessories, etc.). She always had a man-like posture and an inelegant way of walking. Oké, she had beautiful brunette hair, but that was it. Not in a million year would she be selected at the time, to participate in a real beauty pageant with real beauties.
Kate’s “competitors” (before and during courtship) at the time, ánd after, were much better looking.
She literally said when asked during her engagement period if she was Kate or Catherine and she said “very much still Kate.” Personally I think Queen Kate sounds cuter than Queen Catherine LOL.
People still refer to Camilla by her married name. Fergie is still Fergie and always was. Meghan still gets Markle. It’s all about name recognition and SEO. KP needs to calm down.
Plus, even now, many people still hear Princess of wales and think of Diana.
Seeing as how Queen Catherine got dumped and divorced you would think she would go for Queen Kate.
To this day, some people still refer to Diana as ‘Lady Di.’
…and I probably always will.🤷♀️
Your point about Queen Kate vs Queen Catherine is at the heart of their dilemma. On the one hand they seem to want to present as ‘normal’ folk just like their peasant subjects (Queen Kate) while also holding on with a death grip to all the nonsense trappings and formalities of monarchy (Queen Catherine). The Catherine stuff is their inherent snobbiness coming through, they can’t help themselves.
Yeah, I completely agree. Gotta maintain that hierarchy in all its aspects.
If she had any sense, she’d want to be known as Queen Kate, the people’s queen.
Totally! Eleanor Roosevelt will always be known by her maiden name, right?
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That was a joke. Happy Friday, everyone!
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(Or maybe not a joke – what I mean is, it doesn’t matter what you’re called if you do something of worth in the world.)
No, she will always be Kate Middleton, or more unkindly, Kate Middlebum. The second name she earned all by herself with her college stunts.
I can’t think of anything more hoity-toity and grand and carrying airs than demanding, after all these years and after insisting on being Kate, of demanding to be called Catherine.
While it is tempting to follow those specific instructions on how to annoy Rebecca English, I will continue calling her KKKate, because it fits her actions.
When I want to be extra formal, I can add Duchess of Tights, or HRH Stalker of Meghan’s Style..
And William? He doesn’t call her anything at all.
Or he doesn’t use her name at all, just ‘her’ or ‘she’.
The British monarchy does not formally recognize the first name of any married in woman. The name only gets added to the divorced version. Even Camilla is technically HM The Queen, no first name added. Kate is HRH The Princess of Wales no first name anywhere. Same when she was HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.
So adding Catherine anywhere is already not following the exact formal name.
So anything that throws in Catherine isn’t accurate and frankly using Kate Middleton is just as accurate.
Also notice how the judges on Australian masterchef were using Meghan Markle and she didn’t pitch a fit or demand to be edited.
This. “Catherine” is not part of her “correct” name/title anyway, so it’s equally incorrect as any other name people call her.
Maybe they are pushing Catherine because it’s harder to rhyme than Kate.
Waity Katie, Kate the Late, Kate’s weight, KKKhate …
Well we never referred to Diana as Diana Spencer once she married. They never refer to Duchess Sophie as Sophie Rhys whatever either.
I think like Kaiser said they married in so soon after they became public.
No, but she was often called Lady Di or Lady Diana after marriage, for a long time.
Sophie was called Sophie Rhys Jones for a long time and some people still say Lady Di but whatever. Many people are still going to call her Kate Middleton simply cause they want to. Sophie did a media push to start referring to herself as Sophie Wessex.
While I do think there is misogyny at play here, I also think that there are other factors at play – mainly, that Diana was rarely referred to as “Diana Spencer” after marriage (as opposed to Sarah Ferguson, Kate Middleton, and Meghan Markle) is that as soon as Diana married, she became “Princess Diana.” Its easy for everyone – journalists and us common folk – to use when discussing her. Since its not proper to say “Duchess Catherine” or “Duchess Sarah,” the maiden names just… stuck. I remember there was a big discussion back in 2011 that People Magazine elected to refer to her as Princess Kate after they were married, and when William, on George’s birth certificate a few years later, listed Kate’s profession as “princess” of the United Kingdom. Prince William and Prince Harry still got to be Prince William and Prince Harry after their marriages, although they were also now dukes. We also aren’t as formal as a society as people were years ago, so I’m not going to go around talking about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, I’m going to say Prince Harry and Meghan. (I’ve also never understood why British wives of princes don’t become princesses upon marriage the way they seem to in most other countries. This happens in Spain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Monaco, and others.)
The entire British monarchy is misogyny and that is the system Kate chose to enter. I think if we learned anything from Meghan’s experience it is that the monarchy is sexist, racist and impossible to reform.
Also when you have to cursty or bow to people… it is a formal system.
Technically, they do. They are Princess William and Princess Henry. (one who uses that title the most would be Princess Michael of Kent).
LMAO They are such A Jealous, petty and spiteful family, they won’t even share names.
Yes Princess William is the only time she gets princess anything, which goes back to my earlier comment that the British system does not give a married in woman a name.
For starters, she wasn’t Diana Spencer, she was Lady Diana Spencer, which they shortened to Lady Diana or Lady Di. And neither she nor Charles called up the rota rats to insist on Diana.
I think Katie Keen’s issue is that she was in the public consciousness for 10 years because she waity’d so much.
I can’t think of anyone named Catherine who actually uses their full name. They’re all Kate, or Katie, or Cat, and I know some older women who go by Kathy or Kath or Kitty.
My nephew’s gf uses her full “Catherine”. Her choice, that’s what we call her. She teaches pre-school, and the kids call her “Teacher Cat” which I think is freakin’ adorable!
I’ve always loved the name Catherine but hated every nickname and shortened version that I knew would end up happening, so I used it as my daughter’s middle name so it would always be just Catherine.
Why change it when he’ll be back to it in a moment… 🙂
I don’t understand why they insisted on Catherine…wouldn’t her nickname then be Cate?
Or if her nickname is Kate, then isn’t her name Katherine? I think if they had gone with Katherine vs Catherine, the connection would have been more solid, and thus the ‘renaming’ would have been smoother. There’s a real disconnect in my brain between Kate and Catherine. There’s no consistency…oh, wait….never mind.
I purposely use Kate and Wills when I troll the DM commenters and like clockwork they respond. It is so inane. Kate has not one drop of “royal” blood for which she ought to be grateful lol but we are supposed to believe she has been reincarnated from Kate the athletic college girl into “Catherine” who must be delicately handled. It’s such a big joke to me. Even Meghan says call me Meghan when she is out and about though they act like she introduces herself as “hi I am Duchess of Sussex nice to meet you”. It’s all such a joke to me.
Beautiful Kate? Apparently the boys at Marlborough ranked her 2 out of 10 (gross that they ranked the girls). Then she returned from vacation looking much improved. The speculation was that Carole got her a nose job. But who knows about any of this, it’s The Mirror, after all.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/kate-middleton-given-brutal-ranking-33941601
Sure, I’ll stop calling KKKhate by her maiden name as soon as the rota and tabloids stop referring to Meghan as Markle. What’s good for one should definitely apply to the other, right?
Are we voting…I’m voting…Queen Keen.
This is entirely the courtiers fault. They’ve known about this problem for decades and never fixed it. It showed up when Charles married Diana. Her titles were either Diana, Princess of Wales or Princess Charles. No outlet anywhere was going to call her Princess Charles, so Princess Diana she became, with occasional complaints that this was not correct.
When Sarah Ferguson came along, the problem magnified, because she was a Duchess and Duchess FirstName isn’t a thing. Princess Andrew was a nonstarter, so Sarah Ferguson she became and remained.
Blame Philip as well. If he hadn’t demanded the clunky hyphenation of Mountbatten-Windsor, we could simply have Kate Windsor today.
So no attempt was made to update married in naming conventions in time for William and Harry’s wives. So we are stuck with Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, because no one is going to use Princess William or Princess Harry, their “correct” titles.
This had nothing to do with branding or anything but newspapers and the like rummaging through the possible names for these women and ending up using their maiden names because the Royal Family can’t be arsed to find reasonable ones the newspapers will print.
As much as I think those two are ridiculous this is something that has always bugged me! I font like the references to Meghan Markle either. Either the royal rules apply or not.
They didn’t go around referring to the Duchess of York as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon before she was Queen Consort or Diane Spencer. In Catherine’s case it seemed classist and in Meghan’s both classist and bigoted.
They called her her nickname ‘sweetly’?!?!??! 🤮. And what’s with the ‘I don’t know what they call each other in private’ stuff? Y’all are always pretending to know their deepest inner thoughts & actions, but nicknames? Nicknames you don’t know?
Kaiser overlooked one more – mattress;)
Waity Katy/Middlebum/Baby Brain/Wigs Akimbo/Mattress
She hasn’t done anything noteworthy as Duchess of Cambridge or Princess of Wales to cement her with those names.
It’s as simple as that.
She known as lazy kate