Prince William Named Prince of Wales


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I think that Diana started out as Lady Di and when she married the Press moved on to Princess Di. Kate and Meghan were both known to the press for ssome time before their marriage, as single girls and known by their maiden names.

According to a family member it was more common to hear people in real life refer to "Lady Di" after her marriage than newspapers and magazines who moved on to Princess Di.

Kate was obviously around as Kate Middleton for 10 years so people got used to referring to her as that. And that leads to people search for "Kate Middleton gold dress" for example rather than "Duchess of Cambridge Gold dress". Thus more online media use her maiden name for SEO etc. This wasn't an issue when Diana married in.

I think we'll see a lot of "Princess Catherine/Kate" from here on out and some "Catherine/Kate, Princess of Wales" because even though it's for a divorced woman it is recognisable since Diana and Fergie both use/d it as does Meghan somewhat "officially".
 
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I keep seeing Catherine referenced as Catherine, Princess of Wales. This is incorrect, no? She is Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales?

The same British press that used to call her The Duchess of Cambridge will presumably now call her The Princess of Wales, but everywhere else, you're more likely to get any variant of that, including "Princess Kate".
 
I think so too, but I hope there isn't too much Princess Kate. I don't think it sounds quite right and as far as I understand she has always been called Catherine by those who know her.
 
According to a family member it was more common to hear people in real life refer to "Lady Di" after her marriage than newspapers and magazines who moved on to Princess Di.

Kate was obviously around as Kate Middleton for 10 years so people got used to referring to her as that. And that leads to people search for "Kate Middleton gold dress" for example rather than "Duchess of Cambridge Gold dress". Thus more online media use her maiden name for SEO etc. This wasn't an issue when Diana married in.

I think we'll see a lot of "Princess Catherine/Kate" from here on out and some "Catherine/Kate, Princess of Wales" because even though it's for a divorced woman it is recognisable since Diana and Fergie both use/d it as does Meghan somewhat "officially".

Not in my experience. I collected all newspapers and magazines that featured Diana during the entire era from engagement to death. As soon as she was married, at least in the UK and USA she instantly became known as Princess Diana or Princess Di. "Lady Di" was only really continued in non English speaking press like France and Italy. As far as what people in their own homes called her, I don't know. But at least in all English speaking media, the overwhelming majority was Princess Diana. Which she was called even after her divorce.
 
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"Princess Diana" was the most used form, even though it was incorrect, but that followed on from calling her "Lady Diana". I think we'll continue to see "Will and Kate" used by the media, just because it's snappier than "the Prince and Princess of Wales".
 
I don't know why Anglosaxon media are so keen on Will and Kate. Imagine Belgian media calling their royal couple Phil and Til or Dutch media calling theirs Lex and Max.

And the use of last names as Parker-Bowles or Middleton. No media uses Tjessem Hoiby or De Lannoy to the Norwegian resp. Luxembourgian counterparts.

Very peculiar habits in Anglosaxon media!
 
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I don't know why Anglosaxon media are so keen on Will and Kate. Imagine Belgian media calling their royal couple Phil and Til or Dutch media calling theirs Lex and Max.

And the use of last names as Parker-Bowles or Middleton. No media uses Tjessem Hoiby or De Lannoy to the Norwegian resp. Luxembourgian counterparts.

Very peculiar habits in Anglosaxon media!

It's all for clicks or sales. They want the add revenue from the most clicks or the most sales. They assume people are morons and won't know that "The Duchess of Cambridge" or "Princess of Wales" is the same person as "Kate Middleton"and won't get them the maximum web traffic or sell the maximum newspapers or magazines. It's really that simple.
 
According to a family member it was more common to hear people in real life refer to "Lady Di" after her marriage than newspapers and magazines who moved on to Princess Di.

Not in my experience. I collected all newspapers and magazines that featured Diana during the entire era from engagement to death. As soon as she was married, at least in the UK and USA she instantly became known as Princess Diana or Princess Di. "Lady Di" was only really continued in non English speaking press like France and Italy. As far as what people in their own homes called her, I don't know. But at least in all English speaking media, the overwhelming majority was Princess Diana. Which she was called even after her divorce.

I think that is probably what Heavs's family member meant in regard to newspapers and magazines moving on to "Princess Di". If I've understood the comment correctly, the family member was saying that it was during in-person conversations that they heard "Lady Di".
 
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I don't know why Anglosaxon media are so keen on Will and Kate. Imagine Belgian media calling their royal couple Phil and Til or Dutch media calling theirs Lex and Max.

And the use of last names as Parker-Bowles or Middleton. No media uses Tjessem Hoiby or De Lannoy to the Norwegian resp. Luxembourgian counterparts.

Very peculiar habits in Anglosaxon media!

Many years ago the Swedish princesses sometimes went by Vickan and Madde in the press but I feel like it, for the most part at least, stopped when they got married and had families of their own.
 
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Many years ago the Swedish princesses sometimes went by Vickan and Madde in the press but I feel like it, for the most part at least, stopped when they got married and had families of their own.
The press tried to make these constructed nicknames a thing but they never caught on and eventually their use fizzled away. They're rarely used nowadays, but it does happen in the gutter press.
Neither of the two are used by family and friends who use Oja and Len.
 
People Magazine in the US has an article posted today regarding how they will refer to HRH. https://people.com/royals/the-great-kate-debate-princess-duchess-kate-middleton/ To summarize, they will use "Princess Catherine" or "The Princess of Wales" BUT will also include "Kate Middleton" in the first paragraph for those who search that phrase. Sigh. At least they acknowledge that she prefers "Catherine"...
 
People Magazine in the US has an article posted today regarding how they will refer to HRH. https://people.com/royals/the-great-kate-debate-princess-duchess-kate-middleton/ To summarize, they will use "Princess Catherine" or "The Princess of Wales" BUT will also include "Kate Middleton" in the first paragraph for those who search that phrase. Sigh. At least they acknowledge that she prefers "Catherine"...

Ugh, there are so many errors in that. Including from the supposed "expert" at Debrett's!
 
Ugh, there are so many errors in that. Including from the supposed "expert" at Debrett's!

I don't see a reason to be bothered by the Princess of Wales being called Princess Catherine or even Kate. Many people are still referring to the King and the Queen Consort as "Charles" and "Camilla". Could you imagine Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, or her parents, or grandparents, being called by their given names? Times have changed and people are no longer deferential to royalty as they used to be.
 
At least they acknowledge that she prefers "Catherine"...

She stated in 2011 that she had no preference between Kate and Catherine.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110405145543/http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/static/faqs


Should I use Kate or Catherine?

Miss Middleton uses both names equally, and she has never expressed a preference for either Catherine or Kate since her engagement to Prince William. Catherine is the name that Miss Middleton grew up with in her family, and Kate is the name that she tends to use in a work context.​
 
Since I learned William calls her Catherine and that in fact he wasn't being pompous about it (originally I believed everyone did call her Kate), that's what has made the most sense to me. I may throw in an occasional Kate, but I'm not calling her Princess Catherine. Those are my views.

Does anyone know when the "divorced" style became everyday usage for married royals, as Debrett's is seemingly saying? Was that pioneered by the Sussexes?
 
Since I learned William calls her Catherine and that in fact he wasn't being pompous about it (originally I believed everyone did call her Kate), that's what has made the most sense to me. I may throw in an occasional Kate, but I'm not calling her Princess Catherine. Those are my views.

Does anyone know when the "divorced" style became everyday usage for married royals, as Debrett's is seemingly saying? Was that pioneered by the Sussexes?

No, because I can remember even before "Megxit," I saw Catherine referred to (in print) as "Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge." Same as I'd see "Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall." So, I don't think it has anything to do with them.

Also, as a side note, I know a lot of people who don't like being called nicknames of their given names. My name is Elizabeth, and that's what I prefer to be called. Not Liz or Lizzie or Beth or Betty or Liza or Eliza or whatever else. So, it's not that strange to me that she prefers "Catherine" to "Kate."
 
So, it's not that strange to me that she prefers "Catherine" to "Kate."

But according to her own statement (the above link and quotation are from her official wedding website in 2011), she does not have a preference.
 
This is from her uncle's wedding where she's bridesmaid and at 6:45, if my ears right the emcee calls her as "Catherine, Kate".

https://youtu.be/k0PdIauHmVQ

During their engagement interview, William also referred her as "Kate" at least once (also as "Catherine")

2:50: "I'd been asking Kate's dad ..."

During their guest appearance at BBC Radio One to promoted Head Together, it's mentioned that Harry calls (ed?) her as "Cath" and she just laughed (10:55).


At high school, I was called something which basically means "auntie", I didn't like it in the beginning, but by the 2nd year I recognised that it's not a fight worth fighting for (it stuck to the point that by graduation everyone from underclassmates to some of the teachers call me by that nickname).

Back to PoW, personally I'll refer her by "Catherine", but I understand if she herself doesn't really care anymore whether people call her "Catherine" or "Kate".
 
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Since I learned William calls her Catherine and that in fact he wasn't being pompous about it (originally I believed everyone did call her Kate), that's what has made the most sense to me. I may throw in an occasional Kate, but I'm not calling her Princess Catherine. Those are my views.

Does anyone know when the "divorced" style became everyday usage for married royals, as Debrett's is seemingly saying? Was that pioneered by the Sussexes?

When Diana became Diana, Princess of Wales.

The media and general public weren't properly educated about the difference in the terminology and so continued to use the format for married ladies rather than only for divorced ones.

To confuse thing BP then said, after Megxit that that format was what Meghan was to use and had to backtrack to Meghan The Duchess of Sussex.
 
Yes, it seems that the proper terminology may be missed by those unaware of the nuances of their titles. Moreover, what someone is called in their private home amongst their closest friends may not be anything close to what their formal name is.
 
It occurred to me today that if Charlotte becomes Princess Royal one day, her name will flow in a pattern of princesses royal:
Mary, daughter of Charles I
Anne, daughter of George II
Charlotte, daughter of William IV
Victoria, daughter of Victoria
Louise, daughter of Edward VII
Mary, daughter of George V
Anne, daughter of Elizabeth II
...next up could be Charlotte

I wonder if George will have a daughter Victoria and a granddaughter Louise to keep the pattern going.
 
It occurred to me today that if Charlotte becomes Princess Royal one day, her name will flow in a pattern of princesses royal:
Mary, daughter of Charles I
Anne, daughter of George II
Charlotte, daughter of William IV
Victoria, daughter of Victoria
Louise, daughter of Edward VII
Mary, daughter of George V
Anne, daughter of Elizabeth II
...next up could be Charlotte

I wonder if George will have a daughter Victoria and a granddaughter Louise to keep the pattern going.

Charlotte of Clarence (?), daughter of William IV, was never Princess Royal. I believe she passed away as an infant.
 
Charlotte of Clarence (?), daughter of William IV, was never Princess Royal. I believe she passed away as an infant.

True - by the time William IV became King he had no living legitimate children and his heiress presumptive was Victoria.

Charlotte, who was Princess Royal, was the daughter of George III, sister of William IV although deceased before he became King.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Royal Includes the full list of Princesses Royal
 
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