Why King Charles & Queen Camilla Asked Kate Middleton To Change Her Name

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There are several royals who have made confusing name changes, but King Charles III and Queen Camilla apparently wanted Kate Middleton to make one of her own to avoid confusion when she first became a member of The Firm. Obviously, Princess Catherine hasn't undergone any kind of name change, so what happened? Well, her brother-in-law provided some answers in Prince Harry's tell-all memoir "Spare." According to the royal defector, Charles and Camilla thought it would be a good idea for Catherine to change the spelling of her name so it began with a "K" instead of a "C." "There were already two royal cyphers with a C and a crown above: Charles and Camilla. It would be too confusing to have another. Make it Katherine with a K, they suggested," he disclosed (via Marie Claire). 

Clearly, the Princess of Wales vetoed that idea. The story was corroborated by Christopher Andersen in his book, "Kate! The Courage, Grace, and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen." The royal expert claimed that the suggestion had William a bit hot under the collar. "The request was nothing less than 'insulting,' he told his father, not only to Kate but to her entire family," Andersen penned. "The bizarre suggestion that 'Catherine' become 'Katherine' simply to make Charles and Camilla happy was summarily dropped." The author also alleged that tension still remained between Catherine and Camilla long after this incident occurred, with the queen consort not hesitating to take swipes at the newbie.

A palace staffer suspected Camilla saw Catherine as her competition. "Maybe she felt threatened by Kate, or perhaps more by William and Kate as a team," they surmised. Luckily, Kate Middleton and Camilla have reportedly formed a tight-knit bond since.

Before Prince William finally got down on one knee, Kate Middleton seemingly had an inkling that he was about to do so, even emailing her friends and telling them that she would henceforth prefer to be known as Catherine instead of by her well-known nickname. At least, that's what Robert Jobson claimed in his tome, "Catherine, the Princess of Wales." The royal author noted that no one was entirely sure whether the commoner wanted to drop the nickname because she'd come to loathe it or because she knew William was about to propose and requested the change as "part of a bigger preparation for her formal public role as Prince William's future wife." Either way, Catherine was clearly determined to go by her given name rather than Kate.

It wasn't the only thing that was up for discussion as she and William readied to get married either. The prince reportedly didn't want his new wife to be referred to as a duchess, instead preferring the title of princess. He brought this request to Queen Elizabeth II, asking her not to give him the title of duke, per sources who spoke to The Telegraph in 2010. However, this would have resulted in Catherine being referred to as Princess William. That obviously wasn't ideal, and she and William were known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge until Her Majesty's death, in 2022, after which time Catherine was given the Princess of Wales title.