Kate Middleton Is Inaccurately Addressed By The Media — And It’s OK

The public dearly calls the Duchess of Cambridge as Kate Middleton, but the famous wife of Prince William and the mother of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis was born as Catherine Elizabeth Middleton. Catherine was called Kate during her college years at University of St. Andrews, and she has been addressed inaccurately for years.

The Queen officially bestowed Prince William and Kate the title Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they got married in 2011. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge is also called the Countess of Strathearn in Scotland and Baroness of Carrickfergus in Ireland.

Prince William fondly calls his wife Catherine, and Prince Harry calls her Cath. The palace refers to her as duchess, never Kate or Princess Kate.

So why does the public still call her Kate? She was introduced by the media to the public as Prince William’s longtime girlfriend from University of St. Andrews. The media called her Kate, and since then the Duchess of Cambridge was known by this more relatable name.

After Prince William and Kate’s wedding, the palace informed the public of their official title. The media referred to her as Kate simply because everyone got used to it.

But calling her Kate Middleton instead of Catherine works to her advantage too in terms of her public image. The names Kate and Middleton, both of middle-class origins, add to her more approachable appeal. Kate Middleton sounds more relatable and empathetic and is more charismatic compared to calling her by her official title. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, may be the appropriate name but is too detached and formal.

Vanity Fair further explains that the public, especially those who casually know about the British royal family, may have preferred to stick with Kate. The reason might be trivial, but it’s pretty valid. The numerous and long titles are hard to stick by, on top of the fact that they are confusing and difficult to remember.

Kate is also widely known as Kate Middleton. When using the Google search engine and typing Kate Middleton, it produces 114 million results, as opposed to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, which has only 27 million results.

However, while not using Kate’s official royal title may sound disrespectful and demeaning to her fans, Kate may not take offense when referring to her in her “celebrity” name as it adds to her charm and gives her a more humble appeal.