The Princess of Wales is the most talked-about woman in the world, particularly this month, with Kate Middleton returning to public duty.
The 42-year-old mother of three had taken a temporary step back from her role in 2024 to focus on her recovery, confirming her cancer diagnosis earlier this year. And now, with her soft return in progress, she is back at the forefront as one of the leaders of the royal family.
However, despite her senior status in the royal family, the Princess of Wales is not entitled to one particular privilege, and it all surrounds her title.
According to royal experts, Kate Middleton goes by the ‘Princess of Wales’, but not simply ‘Princess Catherine’, despite Prince William’s wishes when they got married.
“He says he was born Prince William and wants to continue to be known as that,” a royal courtier previously explained to The Telegraph. “He wants Kate to become Princess Catherine.”
This however did not come into fruition, despite exceptions being made in the past, with royal historian Kenneth Rose explaining via The Telegraph that the Mountbatten-Windsors would have wanted to avoid shaking up the system.
“Kate is a commoner and could not be known as ‘Princess Catherine’. However, it is up to the Queen what title she gives her and there have been one or two exceptions,” Rose previously explained. “When Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester died, the Queen gave the Duchess of Gloucester the title Princess Alice. This was, though, to reward her for years of loyal service.
“If this happened, I am pretty certain that Princess Michael of Kent, for example, would ask to become Princess Marie-Christine,” the royal expert continued, adding: “I should think that there will be some pressure put on [Prince William] not to change the system.”
Instead, Kate Middleton received the title of ‘Duchess of Cambridge’, with her role elevating in 2022 to ‘Princess of Wales’.
We will continue to update this story.
