People Are Fed Up With Kate Middleton Not Being Called By Her Royal Name

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For many of us, Kate Middleton will always be, well... Kate Middleton. It's the name we all knew before Prince William put a ring on it and old habits die hard. Even now, although the Duchess of Cambridge now goes by the Princess of Wales, "Kate" continues to stick. But her most devoted stans? They're not having it.

To be fair, Kate isn't just Kate. She's got a Rolodex of titles that can be hard to keep track of. Along with Duchess of Cambridge and Princess of Wales, she inherited Duchess of Cornwall from Camilla Parker Bowles, and in Scotland, she's the Duchess of Rothesay and Countess of Chester. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland knows her as Countess of Carrick and Baroness of Renfrew. And she has quite a handful of military titles, too, like Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards (which is pretty cool if you ask us). With all these grand titles, some fans feel it's downright disrespectful to stick with plain old "Kate." In fact, her loyal supporters often jump to her defense, correcting people — media outlets included — who dare use the name. "There is NO Kate Middleton! Please use her correct name & title which is HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales." one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Another drew comparisons to the late Princess Diana, pointing out, "did you call the late Princess of Wales – Di Spencer? NO FFS how hard is it?"

As for Kate herself, she's never publicly expressed a preference for how she's addressed and seems unbothered by the casual use of her pre-royal name. But among her closest circle? It's a different story entirely.

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Apparently, Kate Middleton's close friends and family know better than to call her "Kate." Back in 2008, word got out that she politely asked her inner circle to start using her full name, Catherine. Yes, even before Prince William popped the question, she was reportedly going on a major rebrand. According to royal biographer Rob Jobson's book, "Catherine, the Princess of Wales," Kate was already setting the tone for her posh future with the name upgrade. Maybe she was hoping the name upgrade would eventually trickle down to the rest of us?

According to Jobson's book, Sunday Express columnist Adam Helliker wrote, "I hear that in the past few weeks, the former accessories buyer has quietly informed friends that she would like to drop the informal 'Kate' and in future wishes to be known by her full name: Catherine" (via People). Jobson also posited that it was perhaps "part of a bigger preparation for her formal public role as Prince William's future wife," and it appears she "had a genuine desire to go by her full name."

And besides, once Prince William ascends the throne (which he highly likely will be), Kate's stans will have a field day, because from then on, she will henceforth be known as Queen Catherine. "The wife of the king is by tradition a queen," royal historian Marlene Koenig told Hello!, noting that it was the opposite of what happened with the late Prince Philip. "A husband does not share a wife's rank and the same goes for the husbands of Princesses." And so while everyone still calls her Kate now, it's only a matter of time until she's Queen Catherine.