The Princess of Wales' name has sparked fierce debate ever since she got engaged to Prince William.
Since joining the royal family, her official titles have been Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Catherine, Princess of Wales, as per the formal royal styling. But in headlines and among royal fans, she's become known in public perhaps more informally as "Kate Middleton" or "Princess Kate", using her university nickname rather than her birth name, Catherine.
After more than a decade, the debate has finally been cleared up by a royal correspondent who was briefed by Palace staff on the correct name to refer to the Princess. According to Channel 5 correspondent Simon Vigar, the Princess of Wales' name was reinforced to media as "Catherine" following her 2010 engagement interview with Prince William, in which he referred to his partner as "Kate".
© Getty ImagesSimon told GB News that royal correspondents and media outlets were advised to call the royal by her formal birth name, Catherine. "Kate obviously works in a headline, like Di and Meg, but in the years after, we were getting briefed that it's Catherine," he said.
Simon, who has authored the upcoming biography The Four Wives of Windsor: The Inside Story of the Power Behind the Crown, said that the royal is "definitely Catherine", and that her family have "always" called her by that name.
The royal has introduced herself as "Catherine" on numerous occasions in the past. In 2021, when a child asked her if she was a "Prince", she replied: "I'm not a Prince. I'm the Duchess of Cambridge," adding: "Lots of people call me Catherine." And in November 2022, she told a child, "My name is Catherine."
© GettyWhy does she keep getting called Kate Middleton?
The Princess of Wales has continued to be called "Kate Middleton" in the media, which an SEO expert explained to HELLO! is partly driven by search behaviour.
"Search behavior is kind of like how people are searching and the underlying intention behind those searches," Andrew Coco, senior director of web strategy and SEO at NBCUniversal, tells us. "For instance, her name, Kate Middleton, the behaviour there is just like typing that into a search bar. Their intention, I would say, is also part of that behaviour.
"Kate Middleton" has drawn more search interest in the US over the past five years than the more formal titles, "Princess of Wales" and "the Princess of Wales", according to Google Trends. Speaking of the Kate Middleton versus the Princess of Wales moniker, Andrew says: "It's probably search pattern and audiences' likelihood to understand that those are the same. In this specific example, a U.S. audience, maybe they're just unfamiliar with the official title and just know her as this celebrity figure.
