Prince William Reportedly Wanted Kate Middleton To Be Known As 'Princess Catherine,' Not 'The Duchess of Cambridge'
When Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot in 2011, the latter became a member of the royal family and was given the title "The Duchess of Cambridge."
However, it's claimed that William was more fond of a different moniker for his wife.
In a 2010 resurfaced article from The Telegraph, it's stated that the father-of-three actually wanted "Kate to become Princess Catherine," but doing so would've broken protocol since William had already been named as the Duke of Cambridge and Kate didn't come from a royal family.
"Kate is a commoner and could not be known as 'Princess Catherine,'" royal historian Kenneth Rose told the Telegraph. "However, it is up to the Queen what title she gives her and there have been one or two exceptions. 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."
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Rose noted that if William got his way, it would have had a ripple effect: "Princess Michael of Kent, for example, would ask to become Princess Marie-Christine. I should think that there will be some pressure put on [William] not to change the system."
The article also noted that "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge" title was supposed to be reserved for Prince Edward, but after hearing the title "The Earl of Wessex" while watching the movie Shakespeare in Love, "he liked the sound of it and asked the Queen if he could have that instead."
Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have continued to use their titles as "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex" despite leaving the royal family — a move that's angered some Brits.
However, experts believe that Queen Elizabeth will allow them to do so in order to avoid more drama.
"I don’t think removing the titles would make much difference and it would look very petty," royal biographer Ingrid Seward told the Daily Express. "I also don’t think it is something the Queen would want to do at this stage of her reign. It would be far more insulting just to ignore them. Even excluding them from the Jubilee next year gives them ammunition to criticize the monarchy."
