Prince William and Kate Middleton have formally registered the birth of their daughter, Princess Charlotte. The Registrar from the Westminster Register Office witnessed William sign the birth register at Kensington Palace.
As with Prince George‘s birth certificate, William wrote Kate’s occupation as “Princess of the United Kingdom”.
Just to clarify again. Kate has the courtesy status of a Princess as the wife of a Prince. Kate could be called Princess William of Wales. Kate does not have the title Princess and cannot be called Princess Catherine/Kate (side-eye to you, People Mag). While Kate could be called Princess William, she has other titles that supersede that one (though those titles are also courtesy as the wife of the person who holds them; Kate holds no titles in her own right). Kate has the titles: The Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, and Lady Carrickfergus. Kate is styled Her Royal Highness as a member of the British royal family. Kate’s full title and style is Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, and Lady Carrickfergus.
The Queen arrived in London today and visited the Cambridges at Kensington Palace at around 2:30PM GMT. She stayed for about half an hour.
Hello KMR !
I agree with everything you said about how she is styled. But the thing is, you always call her Kate Middleton, which she is not anymore, and I think it’s a bit unfair considering that she has 2 children. Maybe you could call her just Kate (as you do with Camilla) or Kate Cambridge (i.e. Sophie Wessex) or duchess Kate (princess Mary, princesse Victoria, princess Charlene…) ? I like your blog because it’s not always praise and glory about Kate, even if I find the comments sometimes harsh, but I think it’s not very fair on that point, and I had the impression that you always try to be just and to praise what is to be praise and critic what has to be critised.
So, as she is no maiden anymore, she should be called by her married name.
Just my opinion ! 😉
Have a nice day !
I was just about to comment on ‘Kate Middleton’ and glad to see French Girl’s take on this. I totally agree with you, while I enjoy this blog I feel it’s a bit unfair to Kate being called by her maiden name.
That’s the downside to ten years of waitying. She’ll be a Middleton again after the divorce. Not technically, but in practice.
I have the impression that you would be very happy if they should divorce ? For my part, I hope she will improve and become a great “princess of the UK” but I would never wish a divorce : poor George and Charlotte ! Could you ever wish for two children to see their parents argue, fight and finally divorce ? As a child of divorcee, I’m pretty sure William will do everything to avoid it !!!
I don’t want them to divorce, I just expect it will happen eventually. I hope she will become a great princess too; she could do so much good in and for the UK and the world. Based on the last four years, this seems unlikely.
Red….”the downside to ten years of waitying”….best line ever. Ever.
Thanks! *hair flip*
If you were going to be correct in the first place you would call her Catherine. She prefers the name Catherine. Kate is the name the media invented for her therefore she does not like it. In all the interviews William only refers to her as Catherine indicating that he prefers it.
If you were going to be correct you’d know that she’s been called Kate since she was a child. In their engagement interview William calls her Kate throughout. Her so-called desire to be known as Catherine is a pretentious “fetch” that’s not happening. The same as the desire to suddenly portray her a princess, which she is not.
Hi Mri, I’m wondering why you think she prefers “Catherine”? If that were so, wouldn’t she have used that name during the first 26 years of her life?
What is with all of the people suddenly showing up insisting Kate be called Catherine? Have the PR trolls from KP found us?
Yes india i think they are reading this blog!!!
Well put, French Girl. We all know who she used to be, but technically, that person no longer “exists”. Even if there were to be a divorce, (Diana did not go back to being a Spencer) Kate will never be a Middleton again.
Has she ever quit being a Middleton? 🙂
I know, I know, that’s why I said technically 🙂 It’s “Middleton” as a verb now (conjugate that and use it in a sentence 3 times, quick!). To Middleton or not to Middleton, that is the question ;)…for George and Charlotte
Tee hee. Mummy lives with her, so NO.
I agree with this too – it’s deliberately disrespectful to refuse to acknowledge her married name.
This blog is better than that.
Respect is something that has to be earned.
it has nothing to do with respect and eveything to do with the law : she’s married !
There is one particularly stupid and nasty french blog about Princess Mary where they are proud to call her Mrs Donaldson, which I always found stupid because she is not anymore ! And you don’t make a point by calling Kate by her maiden name, you just use something that doesn’t exist anymore…
While I understand what you’re saying, I wonder if you’ve taken the same argument with the mainstream media over them using Kate Middleton in their articles about her? Just curious.
Lisa, yes, I think that after 4 years of mariage and 2 children, everybody could stop calling her Kate Middleton… I don’t mind if she’s called Kate, Catherine, Kate Cambridge, Cathine Cambridge, duchess Kate or duchess Catherine, but just not Middleton anymore !
French Girl: Au contraire, it has everything to do with respect (which she is struggling to earn, and by all accounts, does not seem to even care to earn), and nothing to do with the law. Nobody went to jail for calling the Duchess of York “Fergie,” or calling William’s mum “Princess Diana” which is also technically wrong.
Why is it that calling her Kate Middleton is, all of sudden, equal to a derogatory term?
I refer to her as Kate Middleton and I guess it’s just because we’ve known her as such for the longest time, they clearly didn’t want her to be a princess, and perhaps I associate “duchess” as an older lady’s title.
No biggie.
It isn’t illegal to call her Kate Middleton. Also plenty of people use names that aren’t their legal names (nicknames, maiden names at work, etc.) Furthermore, people who deserve to be called by their titles due to the fact that they WORKED HARD for them sometimes even insist on not using the titles in non work related siutations (people with Doctorates.) The law has nothing to do with this. Now if we were living in the 1700’s in England it might be different …..
I agree with you Red Snapper. Perhaps Kate Middleton is seldom referred to by her proper name because of both her lack of work ethic and behavior befitting one with such a title. Her minimal work effort, inappropriate dressing and butt flashing is appalling and does not make her worthy of being referred to by proper name or title in my opinion. There are many names that have been applied to this woman but not many considered proper. She has only herself to blame.
I agree Red Snapper. Kate hasn’t earned the respect yet. She is determined to do as little as possible to keep herself dining at the Windsor trough.
Sadly, William seems no better.
Keep calling her Kate Middleton. Let the fawners over at HRH Duchess Kate or What Kate Wore call her Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
India Andrews, these other blogs you mentioned all use Kate in their website titles LOL. Most media outlets and blogs still refer to her as Kate Middleton because that’s what people search in Google. It has to do with SEO. When the average Joe stops referring to her as Kate Middleton, then so will the press and blogs.
Just a question, and not to stir the pot, what do you expect KMR to do? Do you want her to rena me the blog?
This blog is named Kate Middleton Review for one reason only, she is still a Middleton because she has done NOTHING for us to call her otherwise (yeah I know she is married to Billy, so? This marriage is a farce with the separate lives they live). Therefore, KMR keep doing you and we keep reading you.
Love you!
Me love you too kmr!!!!
Amen! I love this blog too. KMR works hard and it shows on the quality of the blog.
I don’t understand why people get into a snit over titles and a person’s private name. If you really want to nitpick, then I fully expect you to call every single royal by their title, divorced or not. From Diana, Princess of Wales to Sarah, Duchess of York or even The Marquess of Pembroke (Anne Boleyn) and The Duchess of Cambridge. And every single Queen /King here on out, past and present is simply HM The Queen/King because according to your dictats calling them by their personal names is disrespectful. Pfft!!!
BTW: did you get in this much of a snit when the court papers William filed at the French court to sue those french paps listed her name as Kate Middleton whilst his was William Mountbatten Windsor?!
Well said Herazeus! I don’t understand people’s obsession with titles. The titles the royals bestow upon themselves is another way to make us commoners feel inferior. They have not done a damn thing to earn them but been born or marry into privilege.
Exactly. People who get themselves worked up over given titles either have a title or are degrading themselves in the process.
OR is it disrespectful to replace someone’s identity with their husband’s name or title? Or is it disrespectful to everyday hardworking citizens to have given titles that aren’t available to everyone else but are mainly based on birth and family and to insist that people use them? I don’t agree with your opinion.
I believe people call her Kate Middleton still is because for 10 years that was what she was to us and it’s what people know her by. If I could recall correctly, people in the uni called her Kate to. Kate refers to the not titled, sporty, somewhat outgoing human being William married; Catherine is the factory made, posh (or so she thinks she is) snooty upper class hoe no one wants. That’s how I personally see it.
“Catherine is the factory made, posh (or so she thinks she is) snooty upper class hoe no one wants.” Wow! That statement is spot on. It seems like one member of this community will say something that literally makes me laugh out loud. You certainly took the prize for the day.
There is a lot of substance to that statement. She was pimped out by her parents, she shunned other women and was whatever Will wanted. I often wonder what would have become of her if Will had not proposed. She was the easiest, literally and figuratively, woman around. But had she not married him, I wonder how her parents would have treated her?
It’s important too to remember that it was Carole, and not Kate, pushing Will to make a decision, and he reassured her. Will should have been privately assuring Kate, who then relays it to her mother. That story is well established and has nothing to do with this blog or any snark. It’s their relationship. Of course Carole was concerned because Kate was heading for the big 3-0, but that doesn’t mean she using her influence (which shows that Carole has influence over Will) to get him to propose. That one story tells volumes about KM relationship with W. A man in love with a woman, even a Prince of the realm, tells the woman, and she knows what’s going on. Without the cheese-and-toast Mommy’ing that Carole did, I don’t think Will would have proposed. Carole did a hell of a job crafting bait to catch a future King. But bait is only good for what it’s intended to trap. It has no other usage. And that’s why she will always be Kate Middleton.
I should add that she did very little to define herself since her marriage. It’s understood that she has to think about not overstepping, but with QE and DofE being patrons of 300 plus charities, they would have gotten her involved more early on if she’d asked or shown any initiative going with them to something she cares about. She could have shown them that she wouldn’t become an attention junky. So she remains Kate Middleton.
KMR, this is a load of bull sh$t. That idea that you are not being fair by calling someone by their birth name is absurd. Those titles are the ones the royals give themselves – they are not legally binding or official names. When complaining in a foreign court (France) they used the names Kate Middleton and William Mountbatten-Windsor — because those other titles have no meaning in foreign lands and cultures — which most of the world is to these two — the UK is roughly the size of Oregon in the U.S. to put it in perspective. The UK is 78 in terms of land mass size — http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/world_statistics_by_area.htm Those titles will change when folks die — they’ll move on to being Wales – so “Kate Cambridge” is transitory.
Anyway, I just wanted to speak up on this topic and tell you stand your ground – because French Girl apparently doesn’t know how folks are referred to legally in her own country. And I’m pretty sure Kate’s been no maiden – especially with William – since they lived together in college.
To be fair, French Girl did not, at any point, suggest that KMR should change the name of the blog itself. She would just like to see Kate referred to by her “married” name, rather than Middleton. It’s her opinion. In the end, it’s KMR’s blog, and she will decide how she wants to do things.
Spot on. Good comment.
I love that Kate’s occupation is listed as Princess How about unemployed, or at least under-employed?
EXACTLY! Any true princess of the realm doesn’t move in her mommy.
lol
BOOM!
I believe it is spelled Boomf. Fixed that for you. 🙂
Any sign of MarshMallow Boy visiting the palace? If the Middletons were such a united front that ClawHand Carole wants to portray then I would have thought we would have seen him and Donna by now?
Maybe they saw those articles about how nasty some beards are and banned him from seeing the new baby for fear of contaminating her.
eek! Lisa, you could have a good point. I thought Carole was more scared of Donna marrying into the Middleton family? (Don’t know why as Donna earns a living)
Oh, and I see that William is listed as Prince of UK as his employment. What about his coptering?
I’m serious.
You’re right, he should’ve listed search and rescue helicopter pilot or whatever they call him at EAAA. Obviously he’s not giving up being called Prince anytime soon.
He is first and foremost a Prince and quite rightly put that as his occupation.
The criticism if he hadn’t would be an avalanche! Of course he’s Prince first – will always be a Royal from cradle to grave. The Air Ambulance is a temporary thing, which he well acknowledges.
Being a prince isn’t a job. There’s no job description as such. It’s long been accepted that royals have to carve out roles for themselves. Williams royal work has been patchy. He does things now and again but there’s been no consistency. He’s been inconsistent with his flying career also. Almost losing his wings, then quitting, a gap year, now the EAAA. Which he hasn’t even started yet. The only thing he’s ever done regularly is go on holiday. That’s not snark, sadly, it’s true.
Its on a legal document, so its correct.
When you say that it’s on a legal document, do you mean that he himself put it on a legal document? Because that doesn’t necessarily means that its correct, it might just mean he threatened to hold his breath and stamp his feet until he got his way. Our William is a bit petulant.
I would argue that “Prince of the UK” is not a job, it is a title. His job was SAR pilot in the RAF, then he was unemployed, then he took up an air ambulance pilot job at the EAAA (which he is still in training for). I don’t discount his time in school and the army training academy but that is school and still not a job. He did not have a job while at St. Andrew’s and Sandhurst.
FYI, I’ve seen Zara Tindall’s marriage license and Princess Anne listed her occupation as “HRH The Princess Royal” which I also find ridiculous.
I agree with you on the titles but it does make you wonder. What is supposed to be a royal’s job anyway? I mean, if the Queen were to fill out one such application for her child, what would she put in the job description? It would kinda make sense for her to put ‘The Queen of the United Kingdom’ on the certificate because it is an official position in the UK government. But what would Prince Philip put in? What would the Princess Royal or the Countess of Wessex put in? They do work for the government in some form. Should their job be ‘Member of the Royal Family’? What do you think KMR? What should the royals’ job description be?
As for Kate’s title, I think even calling her Duchess Kate or Duchess Catherine is wrong. For one, she hasn’t earned the title of ‘Duchess’. Secondly, she is the Duchess of Cambridge, just like she is Princess William. It would be politically incorrect to call her Duchess Kate. On that note, I should point out that Princess Mary and Princess Charlene aren’t princesses in their own right as well and if we are holding them to the same rules as Kate, they should be the Crown Princess of Denmark and the Princess of Monaco respectively. The same goes for Princess Diana – she is the Princess of Wales, despite what the media thinks. Although to be frank, I am more inclined to call these other royal ladies ‘princess’ than Kate. She honestly needs to earn the image of a Princess before she can be treated as one. Until then, she will be Kate Middleton, the girl who married a celebrity, to me and to everyone else.
Her role would be Soverign of the Uk and head of the CW.
Wouldn’t Phillip’s role as prince consort count? It is a constitutional position, as is the P and Prss of wales.
The other royals get funding at the grace of HM. Not sure what they would put, besides does anyone really pay any attention to them?
I think it’s pompous for willy to put prince/princess of the UK because we hear so often that they are just normal, everyday folks.
But hey thats w&k – full-time perks and privileges, minimal royal duties.
I wonder why he didn’t use Pilot – PT prince? ¡
Pilot is like the most ” normal” thing… Just saying, since he wants to be normal and all… :p
Correction: William registered the birth. Kate did nothing.
It only takes one parent to register the birth – my husband did all ours.
The Mum tends to be just a tad busy with feeding & catching up on sleep.
Prince Charles has just visited them all again at KP. Aww 🙂
Saw that. I love that he is getting in another visit before the Cambs head to Anmer. Clearly Charles is thrilled with his granddaughter.
How sweet, getting lots of cuddles in with his new granddaughter before they leave for Norfolk. Oh, and lots of block building with George 🙂 I sincerely hope the recent spat of press will knock some sense into all of them and that more effort is made by all parties to include Charles more often.
I love that he went to visit again.
I saw that too and it made me so happy. He always wanted a daughter and I think that Grandpa Charles is going to spoil this little one rotten. I don’t think that Corncob Carole will mind too much though, she will be too busy with PG to care about the little one.
I also think it is lovely that PC went to visit the baby and PG again.
I read a while back that this registrar recieve death threats for her sloppy hand writing on Prince George’s birth certificate. Lol some people are bat sh×t crazy
Omg. Isn’t it against the law to threaten a public official?
Rhiannon,
I assume it would be against the law to threaten anyone’s life, but more so a public official. I cant believe somebody would threaten to take someone else’s life because of that.
I think I remember that. So stupid.
People be crazy!!!
I think that normally if a person gets married, I would call them by their married name, but Kate’s new name represents a status and it’s disrespectful to hard working royals to lump her with them when she does nothing. IMHO
I totally agree.
Out of curiosity, I wonder which is more Googled: Kate Middleton or Catherine Duchess of Cambridge? I realize that they are not celebrities per se, but they are famous. How many women who were fairly famous before they got married were/are still referred to as their maiden names?
People were talking about Kate Middleton for ten years before she and Will got married. Perhaps it will take the same amount of time for the public to transition to Catherine Duchess of Cambridge. I think most seem to still refer to her as Kate and not Catherine.
Although, just to stir things up a bit, it is interesting that under the mother’s section, in the box that says “Surname at marriage if different than maiden name,” is left blank. I realize that the royals do not have a specific surname, which is a whole other debate. But according to the document, would her surname still be Middleton, or would it be Cambridge or Mountbatten Windsor (which would be considered her married surname)?
That question is for divorced women whose surname has already been changed from their maiden name.
I assumed it meant what their married surname is. Since some women may keep their maiden name instead of changing it. I went back to re-read it and realized that I had read it wrong.
I’m willing to bet Kate Middleton is googled more.
Ah…google trends lets you compare two searches to see which is googled more. The result was Kate Middleton.
https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Catherine%20Duchess%20of%20Cambridge%2C%20Kate%20Middleton&cmpt=q&tz=
“Kate Middleton” is Googled more than both “Duchess of Cambridge” and “Duchess Kate”.
The only famous person I can recall to change their name after they got married and have it stick in public is Aaron Taylor-Johnson. He used to be Aaron Johnson before he married Sam Taylor-Wood, then changed his name after the marriage. His married name has stuck, though he wasn’t super famous before his marriage. People still refer to Sam as Sam Taylor-Wood sometimes even though her name is Sam Taylor-Johnson. Most celebs who were famous pre-marriage are still referred to be their maiden names in the press.
“Surname at marriage if different than maiden surname” refers to say if a woman was married previously and divorced but didn’t change her name back to her maiden name, then married the man she had a child with. It does not refer to her married surname. The married surname if different from maiden name (so if a woman took her husband’s name) is taken care of in the “Name and surname” of the mother section.
Here is the same comparison for a shorter time line (oct 2010-may 2015), to show the graph a bit more clearly.
That’s a huge difference between Kate Middleton and her other aliases!
The first that comes to mind is Kim Kardashian. She will always be Kim Kardashian, no matter how many hundred more times she gets married, lol…
I hate to compare her to Kate but this is the way the media labels them and it sticks with us. I personally did not start following Kate until she was engaged and had literally no interest in them while they were dating. I was really busy in my party years, partying obviously and could have cared less. I only actually referred to her in my own mind as Kate Middleton for a little while and now just think of her as “Kate”. But when I talk about her to other people, I do actually call her Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. If they do not know who I am referring to (I am in the USA) I say Prince William’s wife and they know who I am talking about instantly.
I love this blog for many reasons. One is because we all have differing opinions abut Kate and what she does. But, I would find it a bit off putting if KMR changed the name to Catherine DOC Review. She has been known as Kate Middleton for a long time and many publications refer to her as such. It is well known that she wanted to be referred to as Catherine when she got engaged.
All valid reasons and to my way of thinking, since this is KMR’s blog she gets to name it however she wants.
I agree. I just don’t understand what the first few responses want her to do. And I’m not sure if they understand what this blog is truly about…
These are probably the same people who post in the DM with these exact same sentiments. Whatever is the big deal, I wonder, unless it is pure class consciousness? This is KMR’s blog; she gets to choose what it’s called. I must say, it’s hard to get Middleton out of that girl.
Bahahaha!! I love it, with all the talk lately about how William is becoming more middle-class than Kate is becoming royal, “it’s hard to get Middleton out of that girl” is perfect!!!
Pure class consciousness is my thought too.
They (w + k) are both clearly enamored with the Middletons lifestyle and family structure. Why should we try to eliminate every trace of that by no longer mentioning *that* last name.
I just don’t get why her last name is an insult to so many
Amen to this. KMR started this blog based on the media label already existing. Her blog first, hence her authority first.
Every sycophant (or Team KP members reading this, including you, Jason!) trying to have a go at Kate Middleton Review should be happy she didn’t name this “Where’s Waity?”
I agree. It’s one thing to be conferred a title upon marriage; it’s another to earn the respect of people for them to acknowledge your title (and your preferred name).
KMR, please do not change the name of this blog.
Kate Middleton used that name for the first 29 years of her life, so it is logical for you to use it.
One of the most important “rules” of good writing is that the writer effectively communicate the subject. “Kate Middleton Review” says what this is about. There can’t possibly be any question in anyone’s mind about the subject of the review. The same logic applies to the blog “What Kate Wore”, which praises the woman. There’s probably very few people in the world who could read those blog names and then scratch their heads and ask, “Who’s Kate Middleton?”
It isn’t disrespectful. And, as RedSnapper pointed out, respect must be earned.
People who knowingly, consciously put themselves in the public eye should have no surprises or complaints about what people call them.
I don’t think you need to worry Dag, it just wouldn’t be the same. It’s KMR. No question
Exactly. Like I said in an earlier comment above, I actually refer to her as Kate, Duchess of Cambridge but few here in the USA know who that is. The minute I say Prince Williams wife, they realize who I am referring to. That is because they still think of her as Kate Middleton in their minds because she was in the media as that for 10 years.
She has been married now for a few years, maybe as she gets older they will start to refer to her as the Duchess more but like you and RedSnapper pointed out, the respect is not yet there. She comes off as a little girl in a woman’s body and since Willy wants them to do as little duties as possible, she has not made any major impact on society, thus leading to her lack of respect.
Back in the day, people were mostly respected by class and titles. This is no longer the case with most people in modern society. If you are not directly putting yourself out there to be seen as a respectable, successful, influential person that works very hard, it is rare you will really be respected, royal or not. Money and titles cannot buy public popularity. All the DM articles and trolls in the world cannot force people to respect her. It is not common in our modern society to respect someone just for their title or class. That is one thing Kate WILL have to work for.
I personally don’t care one way or the other how the Duchess of Cambridge is referred to. However, I’ve noticed that all the publications I’ve read refer to her as Kate Middleton and if they do refer to her as the Duchess of Cambridge, it’s always followed by “nee, Kate Middleton”.
I did notice that William referred to her as Kate throughout the engagement interview and only started to call her Catherine after the wedding. I suspect that Kate thought Catherine sounded more regal and asked that he refer to her by that name.
This reminds me of how Tom Cruise always called his then-wife Katie Holmes, Kate. He probably thought Kate sounded more grown up and more fitting for the wife of a major star. But alas, the name, like the marriage did not stick.
Tom really tried to make “Kate” happen, but people just weren’t having it. She had been Katie Holmes for so long that no one was willing to change how they referred to her.
Like Kathryn Hepburn, very rarely was she referred to as Kate. I think you hit the nail on the head “… no one was willing to change how they referred to her”, is the same issue with our Kate.
I think i remember reading somewhere that it was the Queens request that she be called Catherine. Sometimes i call her Catherine and sometimes i call her Kate…im sure Catherine would call me peasant instead of my real name;-)
For some reason, I remember the name change being initiated by William. But I could be wrong about that.
I doubt the Queen would ever insist on a name change from Kate to Catherine. What was probably more important to HM was that William was happy and that Kate did SOMETHING!
If my memory is correct, the name change was driven from the Middleton camp. That is was Kate’s desire to be called Catherine.
we associate her with doing nothing, and middleton fits that. If she was hard working, hrh fits that. It’s not like we would say hrh is going to the farm or hrh is shopping again. Kate can change this, but she doesn’t want to. And if she won’t then why should we?
I have been reading this blog for quite a while and I wanted to put my 2 cents in today. I tried earlier, but I think my computer stalled.
Prince Charles said in more than one interview, that he actually wouldn’t have to do anything. He jsut thought it would be pretty boring to do nothing and therefore started the Prince of Wales trust. So, one could argue, that Prince William, since he is not even Prince of Wales, just follows his passions and does just the minimal work for the RF required. I do agree that both Prince William and Kate seem to be idle, I do wonder however how much it is her doing and how much she is pressured or feels pressured to oblige. Prince William is known to be very controlling, and we saw that again on the steps of the Lindo wing, when she was willing to say a few words and he didn’t want her to. It appears to me that she is trying to fit in and do anything to please her Prince. I actually do believe that she adores him, whereas he probably needed a future wife that was compliant enough. Not one seeking a role or spotlight for herself. He is obviously damaged and just wants to control his environment. The problem is as the future King, he has to live with the Press. At one point they will not be pacified anymore. In the past the Royal Court was very open, people knew everything. Even the bowl movements of the King or Queen were openly discussed, people had to know if their King or Queen were healthy. All this craving for privacy came much later, when they didn’t want people to know what a lavish lifestyle they actually lead. So he has to accept that he gets that lifestyle, with Halls and prime accommodation in London, with Range Rovers and shooting parties, only when he gives the pubic something in return. The Queen agrees to several documentaries about her life over the years, I doubt that William will ever allow something like that. He wants to go back to the Royal mystique era, but sadly for him, that has passed. I do think that Prince Charles is happy for William and Kate to retreat to privacy because he is known for not wanting to share the spotlight. So, there are several things tugging on all of them from several sides. The Duchess of Cambridge seems to just tag along for now. One can only hope that she will find the will and courage to carve a meaningful role for herself. She should become more independent and assertive, perhaps the shots of George were her doing. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t mind sharing a few snaps of George. It’s interesting to see how it will all play out. Prince George has been sheltered and it shows. Perhaps it is the right thing to keep him away from it all when he is young. One last thing, when one King was particular strict, their offspring usually ran wild. So if William tries to close the RF off, his offspring might turn out to be very open and outgoing. Ying and Yang.
Great blog, by the way. Chapeau to all the work you all put into it.
Well stated!!
Thank you. Doesn’t have anything to do with the name though, that was so hotly discussed. I would think, both Prince William and Kate, Catherine or Duchess are pretty relaxed about the name. It could well be , that some courtier came up with the ” She would like to be known as Catherine” line, thinking it might be better that she is known as that. Princess Kate of Wales doesn’t sound as grand as Princess Catherine of Wales, and that will be her future title. They probably assumed that “Catherine” would still be readily accepted by the media and the public at the time of the engagement. I’ve heard they are both pretty relaxed about the HRH and curtsying. In fact, it looks like she herself finds it very awkward when she has to do it, and looks a bit uncomfortable when people curtsy to her. Especially older women. I’ve kept my maiden name, some of my friends readily gave theirs up, one friend changed hers only after she had a child.
Again, Well stated!!! When it’s all said and done, they both need to get out there and work!!!
Sorry but Kate will not be Princess Kate (or Catherine) of Wales ever. She could be styled as Princess William of Wales and when HM dies, Charles is King and William is Prince of Wales then Kate will be “Princess of Wales”. It’s a courtesy title. It’s like we have Princess Michael of Kent. Diana was known as Princess Diana but that is incorrect. She was Princess of Wales and after the divorce she was Diana Princess of Wales. Putting the first name before the title shows she is divorced, it also helps to distinguish between wives if the title holder has another wife. So Diana was Diana Princess of Wales and if Camilla had used that title then Camilla would have been called “Princess of Wales”. The English system is very strict with the naming rules with titles unlike European and Scandinavian titles. So Kate is not entitled to be called Princess Kate, Catherine etc she is not the one who is royal blood. And a Royal Duke is higher than a Prince, that is why HM gives the Royal Duke title on their wedding day.
Yes, technically she will be Catherine Princess of Wales, you are absolutely correct. But, the media will make Princess Kate out of that. Diana Princess of Wales was basically always called Princess Diana or Princess Di And she would still be called that. To be totally correct Camilla IS Camilla, Princess of Wales because every wife of the heir to the throne, and therefore Prince of Wales, carries that name. She just doesn’t use it because Diana, PoW was so popular and they feared a massive public backlash. So they do bend the rules a bit and the media and public will do what they want with that name. Whatever sounds best. I do think that played a role in this whole Kate and Catherine name change. Kate Princess of Wales doesn;t sound that great either. But you are absolutely right about the official title. I should have been more specific from the start.
Hi Chanelchen. Once William becomes Prince of Wales then Kate would be called Princess of Wales. She would NOT be called Catherine Princess of Wales. Now if they divorce after William becomes Prince of Wales then Kate would be Catherine, Princess of Wales. Otherwise her first name never precedes the title. that is why Diana was Princess of Wales and after divorce her CORRECT title was Diana, Princess of Wales.
I hope the information below makes it clear:
A peeress retains her legal right to the peerage style following divorce and even upon her remarriage to a non-peer. A convention has developed whereby her Christian name is added in front of her title to distinguish her from any subsequent wife of her former husband. Hence, “Her Grace The Duchess of London” becomes “Mary, Duchess of London”. In written forms, she is not entitled to the use of the address “Her Grace…” but may be addressed as “Duchess”. “The Rt Hon. The Lady London” becomes “Mary, Lady London” and may be addressed as “Lady London,” or “My Lady”.
On 21 August 1996 letters patent changed titles of divorced wives of British princes, depriving their former wives of the style of Royal Highness. For this reason Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales after divorce became Diana, Princess of Wales. The same happened to Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York who became Sarah, Duchess of York.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy_titles_in_the_United_Kingdom
As for Charles – He couldn’t be prouder of Harry, who is incredibly charismatic and popular. I’d think he would certainly do the same for will and kate should they get it together. His days of jealousy seem to be mostly left behind.
The thing that irks many people about will and kate – they need the biggest apt at kp and they need a massive country estate, both expensively renovated. But they will not be full-time royals anytime soon. It’s a double standard that is going to bite them in the ass.
I agree with you, Kate is the lesser of two evils, however, her “waitying around” has done her no favors. If she had accomplished anything before she got married and tried harder to assimilate herself into the BRF, maybe people would go lighter on her now.
I’d like to see will and kate change for the better, but I find it highly unlikely. They will both have a hard time when the excuses run dry.
I think that is so true, Kip. I don’t feel we’ll see a heavy philanthropic swing until the babies are older and in school. It could be 8-10 yrs. If the British public has to wait that long though, I don’t think there’d be much good will left for the Cambridges. Or, things will change once Harry settles down. They wouldn’t want him taking the lead too much (almost too late for that, though, he’s the real deal!)
I feel like Harry is in limbo, in regards to his future.
I am sure he would love to move to Africa and be free. However, his grandparents are in their 90s, his father is almost 70, and his brother is too busy being normal.
In this documentary, which was made prior to the engagement, Camilla Tominey makes a great point at 42:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfJzNBb5b5Y)
William and Kate don’t engage well with the public.
Her prediction is coming true. Both cambridges come off as disengaged, stilted, and fake.
And not only are people are losing interest in them, things are increasingly negative. It’s astounding, how much goodwill they have lost from the wedding.
Past actions are indicative of future behavior. I am not sure if we’ll ever see a genuine commitment to charities. It’ll be a miracle, if william ever decides that they will become full-time royals!
It’s incredible to think that Diana was only three years older then w&k are now, when she died.
She accomplished a lot in 16 years… Modernizing the way the royals interacted with the public, destigmatizing aids, making land mines a huge humanitarian effort etc. etc.
Will and Kate married at 30 and are parents to two kids. How Normal!
I just get the feeling William doesn’t believe the UK will have a monarch by the time he gets to be king. I seriously think this is why he has so little regard for royal duties, the peasants, etc.
Either that, or he will abdicate. I can’t believe someone who is destined for the role of KING would have such disdain for everything royal related.
And Diana had a real job when she was 19 years old until she became engaged to Charles. Has Kate ever held down a real job?
The notion of ‘noblesse oblige’ has no meaning in the court of the lamebridges.
Ultimately, w&k are responsible for themselves, but the BRF and the media share some blame.
The BRF for coddling two fully grown adults.
And the press has to walk a tight rope (knowing willy’s media love it’s probably a literal tight-rope!), if they want any access.
However, the honeymoon is over, they need to start holding william and kate accountable and stop selling the public a lie.
I like the idea of the monarchy, but w&k are just as bad as politicians!
He eats bees before any boring engagement. And she can’t give a speech at 33. It’s pathetic.
They churn out two kids, want to be normal, yet charles & the taxpayer are on the hook for all of their whims. This WillNot end well.
I don’t think William wants to be king, but he doesn’t want anyone else to be either. What a putz!
I would say with all this name buisness it comes down to a mix of time and the media. If I think about the way other royals are known to me it makes perfect sense that Kate is still just Kate Middleton to most people. Because the main media outlets still report on her as Kate Middleton, she’ll occasionally get a Duchess of Cambridge but seeing as she’s not allowed to be called Princess Kate (which is all fairy tale and exciting, while DoC is boring) they stuck with KM.
Mary Donaldson has been in it longer but I would say most people refer to her as Princess Mary or CP Mary. 1.Because it’s allowed by royal protocol and 2.Because she’s somewhat earned it. But Sofia Hellqvist (who isn’t yet titled at all) might still remain Sofia H for a few years, or if the media are on board and she works hard she might be primarily known as Princess Sofia by the end of the year.
Other examples include
-Daniel Westling/Prince Daniel who I refer to as both.
– Sophie Countess of Wessex who gets a variation of her proper title depending on the reporter but never Sophie Rhys-Jones, because that isn’t her name anymore.
– Sarah Ferguson/Fergie/Duchess of York depending on when you knew of her. My mom knew her as Fergie as that was what she was called around the time of her marriage and into the 90’s but as people are less affectionate towards her now sometimes they’ll use her maiden name or her duchy.
The list goes on and it’s mostly a media/royal rules/time dilemma.
I’ve thought for a while about this name debate and how I wanted to respond. And here’s my answer:
When I started this blog I named it and called Kate “Kate Middleton” for two reasons: 1) The press were still rarely calling her “Duchess of Cambridge” at the time so I heard the “Kate Middleton” name more and it was more natural for me to call her that; and 2) There was a bit of “Kate has not earned the respect of me calling her a Duchess”.
At the time I started this blog, I was used to calling her “Kate Middleton” since that was the most common name associated with her; and the only people who were regularly calling Kate “Duchess of Cambridge” were fans on other blogs (who had been rude to me – which is why I started my own blog). So there was an element of “I’m going to go against the grain, she hasn’t earned my respect” to me referring to her as “Kate Middleton”.
Since then, the press has been more apt to call her “Duchess of Cambridge” – the example that is at the forefront of my mind is the Daily Mail who used to never refer to her as DoC and only as KM, but now refers to her more by DoC than KM. So I’ve read the term more and it is more natural for me to call her that now than it was in 2013. In terms of respect, she still hasn’t earned my respect for all the reasons we talk about all the time, but I care less about what name I refer to her as (I went through a “Duchess Kate” phase as a middle ground between Kate Middleton and Duchess of Cambridge – though Duchess Kate is also wrong in terms of her actual title). I’m no longer trying to stick it to her by calling her “Kate Middleton”.
So why do I still call her “Kate Middleton”? 1) “Kate Middleton” is still the most natural name for me to call her. When I think of her, the name “Kate Middleton” comes to my mind before “Duchess of Cambridge” or “Duchess Kate”. 2) Consistency. I’ve called her “Kate Middleton” in every part of this blog and it makes sense to continue to call her that for consistency’s sake. And of course this blog is called “Kate Middleton Review”, so there’s that. 3) More people know her and refer to her as “Kate Middleton”. More people search for that term than “Duchess of Cambridge” or “Duchess Kate”.
The reason I call her “Kate Middleton” is pretty much the same reason the press still calls her “Kate Middleton” (or at least has that name somewhere in their articles about her). Kate built a “brand” for years as “Kate Middleton” and once one has built a “brand” it is difficult to change it.
Let me tell you a story. I watched the Queen’s diamond jubilee thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s on TV in June 2012 (before I started really following the royals or blogging about Kate), and when the royals were arriving back at Buckingham Palace the news person referred to the Duke of Cambridge, and I had no idea to whom they were referring. At the time, I had never heard Prince William referred to as “Duke of Cambridge”. I had to look it up because I literally had no idea to whom they were referring, and then went “Oh” when I realized who that was. William had been the Duke of Cambridge for over a year and still his “brand” was Prince William (I would argue that his “brand” is still Prince William and most people probably refer to him as such).
For better or worse, Kate’s public “brand” is “Kate Middleton”. And it is hard to change one’s brand. As Lauri pointed out, Tom Cruise tried to change Katie Holmes’ “brand” when they were married. The press and public just wouldn’t accept it. Katie Holmes had been Katie Holmes for so long that no one was willing to refer to her as Kate Holmes.
In the real world, I have met a lot of professional women who kept their maiden name for their public work life – because they had built a “brand” as that name – and used their married name for private life. It happens all the time. A lot of celebrities do that, too.
It is possible that Kate’s “brand” will change to be “Duchess of Cambridge” and people will stop referring to her as “Kate Middleton”, but that will take time. It took Camilla ten years to really be referred to as Duchess of Cornwall, and there are still people/press who call her Camilla Parker-Bowles. And I’ve seen Sophie still referred to in 2015 as Sophie Rhys-Jones – though only a time or two. I’ve seen Princess Charlene still referred to as Charlene Wittstock. Kate’s “brand” will change, but it will happen gradually. It’s already been happening, as it is more common now than it was even two years ago for the press to refer to her as “Duchess of Cambridge”. It’s slow going, but it will happen at some point.
Because people still know her as “Kate Middleton”, they still search for her as “Kate Middleton”, and the press still refers to her as “Kate Middleton” because of searches and keywords and clicks and whatnot. I posted the graphs showing Google Trends comparison of the search terms “Kate Middleton”, “Duchess of Cambridge”, and “Duchess Kate” above, but I will post it again below to show how much more “Kate Middleton” is searched for over the other two. That graph illustrates why the press still refer to her as “Kate Middleton”.
In terms of this blog, it is “branded” as “Kate Middleton Review” and it would be difficult and annoying to change. Getting a new domain name and going back and relabeling every single article would be a major hassle, for one. For two, in terms of keyword searches, people know this blog as “Kate Middleton Review” and search for it by that name. For three, same as the reason the press still call her “Kate Middleton”, the majority of keyword searches have the name “Kate Middleton” in them. I get some “Duchess of Cambridge”‘s and some “Duchess Kate”‘s, but mostly “Kate Middleton”‘s.
I will not be changing the name of the blog.
I will compromise and refer to Kate as both “Kate Middleton” and “Duchess of Cambridge” in articles (and will do the same for William in order to be fair, though no one mentioned him). I have no problem with that. In fact, I have both names in the description of the blog at the top under the name.
I am still going to call her Kate Middleton, though. It has nothing to do with trying to stick it to her or anything like that. It has everything to do with consistency with the name of the blog and how I’ve referred to her in the past, and search terms.
I hope you guys can understand that. It’s really nothing personal, which is why I’m fine with adding “Duchess of Cambridge” in along with “Kate Middleton”.
Here is the Kate name graph I mentioned (timeline is Oct 2010 to May 2015):
For fun, and to compare with Kate, I did one for William with “Prince William” and “Duke of Cambridge” (timeline is Oct 2010 to May 2015):
You are too kind. You are more gracious than I would have been.
Agree 100%. You explained this beautifully, KMR and are most respectful of everyone’s feelings. Your willingness to use Duchess of Cambridge, as well as KM in your writing says a great deal. Everyone has an opinion and you are acknowledging that and staying true to yourself, too.
Rhiannon and Mary Elizabeth just said it all….KMR, you are a class act.
She has not earned the respect of the people and therefore they still think of her as plain old kate middleton; her middnions should be thankful that referring to her as waity-katie is not as notorious as it once was.
Like you said, People don’t refer to PWillyWonka as The Duke of Cambridge. Where are those complaints?
I don’t think it’s really “wrong” to call her Kate Middleton. Historically, Queen Consorts are still referred to using their maiden names. Anne Boleyn ring a bell?
This argument is nitpicking at it’s best. The way she and her husband hide out, they should be surprised the public remembers their names at all.
Great summary, KMR, but as I said before: it’s your website, and you get to call it what you want. No explanation needed and you shouldn’t bow to any pressure from others discontent with nomenclature, but it was gracious of you to put this out there.
I have a confession to make…I am addicted to your blog KMR!
Although I do not contribute much to the discussions here, I find myself visiting your fantastic blog several times a day. I just hope this habit will not turn into an obsession(*^-^*)
Hats off to you KMR!!! Your dedication, devotion and time spent researching on your posts say a lot about
your character. You even devoted time to post an explanation “defending” why your blog should not be
renamed for the sake of one poster.
I am one for you to keep this blog’s name as it is. Kate Middleton will never be a duchess or anything else in my eyes as I fail to see time and again why I should respect her. For a start, she has not utilized her education/degree and platform to promote worthy causes or highlight issues needed to be addressed.
Most of all, she doesn’t seem to have the people’s skills or compassion and empathy for her “subjects” due
to her privileged upbringing and lack of working experience in the real world.
Respect needs to be earned…I will not curtsey or call her a duchess just because she is a royal by marriage.
The followings are for you KMR! Thank you so much for starting this blog and I look forward to reading more
posts from you!!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11188498_803856866359290_4352045731330474266_n.jpg?oh=7251750883667358bc3b4f8c5a879706&oe=55CB62BF&__gda__=1439123157_575030bafb587c54e45d69317057fa52
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1470_404646572946990_1232782232_n.jpg?oh=4af68880d0efd7fef96aff349273679c&oe=55DB37CF
King Solomon couldn’t have made a wiser decision, KMR. I call her Kate Middleton sometimes, the Duchess other times, for me it kind of depends on how much I want to type.
Imho, this whole debate is much to-do about nothing but it’s very kind that you took the time to explain your stance to your readers and are willing to make some compromises.
Thank you for all the hard work you do editing, researching and writing this blog. The number of comments generated reveal how much you blog is read and enjoyed. It is by far my favorite Kate-centric blog and look forward each day to reading new comments and articles.
Thank you Lauri, I really appreciate you saying that.
I agree woth you Lauri. I look forward to reading her blogs and the commentary.
Yes thank you!! This is a great (and kind) reality check for everyone who worships at the feet of bratty entitlement wrapped in tiaras and diamonds.
I loathe the day if Will ever ascends the throne. We will be hearing Queen Catherine 24/7. I’m looking at you People magazine.
William will be the end of the monarchy on his current path.
Maybe not…
He’ll just have a wax figure made and placed on the throne – While he reads the speech at the state opening of parliament through a loud speaker.
Problem solved.
http://cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/472241570-wax-figures-of-catherine-duchess-of-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=GkZZ8bf5zL1ZiijUmxa7Qf7r0w%2BBD3GpgjNbauZKGBOHLMHRZjj1nlgzBggPK7XB0utBw0fCia84H8YKFTCa5Q%3D%3D
lol
If Kate Dolittle earns a Doctorate, I would use that title out of respect. However, I have absolutely no respect for granted titles. I might respect the person behind them for what they do. I might follow ettiquete rules regarding titles when around people with titles out of respect for a country and culture. However, I see no moral highground in insisting on using a given title in the media. In fact I see a moral low ground in placing importance on things that don’t matter when there are plenty of things that do matter to fight for and care about.
Right, and isn’t what matters that Duchess Kate’s clothes sell out in minutes? Who cares what she’s called, she’s a success right?
I just did a quick search of the recent posts and a few from April and March and to my surprise it appears that French Girl has never posted on this site before this post asking that KMR stop referring to Kate Middleton as Kate Middleton, or if she has it has been quite some time ago.
I guess my whole point with this comment is that I feel it’s a bit unfair to KMR that this whole Kate Middleton/Kate Cambridge debate became such a big deal when it was started by someone who appears to not be a regular commentator.
That’s a really good point. Thanks for sharing!
It only became a debate, because we all chose to debate it, and it ended up being a great debate! She stated at the bottom of her post that it was “her opinion :)”. And why does it matter if she’s never posted before? I thought this was an open forum. We were all first time commentors at one point. Let’s not chase away those who actually have something relevant to add! Now if Konrad comes sniffing around again, blast away!!
Hi Ray,
It wasn’t the subject that she was debating that I thought was unfair to KMR it was that she wanted KMR to change the way she does things. I wouldn’t like it anymore than someone new coming into my office and asking that I change the way I do things, without first finding out a bit more about the place. That’s all, not trying to keep anyone out or silence anyone, no malicious intent.
I understand that, and your comment didn’t come across as malicious at all. I get it, we all want to protect KMR, it’s a great space for all of us. I love the fact that it’s not so black and white here; either pure sugar or total hate monger. Some days we like em and some days we don’t, depending on what they’re doing. KMR (herself) really reiterated that when she responded to the “name changing” debate. I always feel comfortable commenting here, it’s a great little “community”.
French Girl is an unfamiliar name to me as well and I don’t recall ever seeing it, either.
I do recall French Girl or French Gurl posting before although infrequently.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Don’t know about the sweet part to most of us here though!!! :)))
I’ve seen posters elsewhere mentioned this and wasn’t sure what the hoohah was! She was born a Middleton and will always be one. I never changed my last name when I got married and never thought of changing my name (unless I come to inherit a huge sum of money hahaha..). My parents gave me my name and that’s who I am.