Princess Kate had a “genuine desire” to change her name ahead of her royal engagement, a commentator has claimed.
The Princess of Wales reportedly told her close friends she would be going by a new name before she got engaged to Prince William.
The future Queen is said to have wanted to ditch “Kate” for “Catherine”, and sent a “humorous email” to her pals informing them of the change.
In a new biography about the Princess of Wales, Robert Jobson claimed the name change occurred in 2008 as speculation about the couple’s engagement reached new levels.
Kate had ‘genuine desire’ to change her name ahead of royal engagementGettyShe reportedly told her inner circle that she would be known going forwards by “Catherine”, rather than “Kate”.
Jobson wrote: “It was unclear if she did not like being called ‘Kate’ or whether it was part of a bigger preparation for her formal public role as Prince William’s future wife, but it appears that she had a genuine desire to go by her full name.”
The name change “only added to the speculation” that Prince William was about to pop the question.
William eventually proposed to Kate in 2010 and they tied the knot in April 2011 at Westminster Abbey.
William and Kate first met at St Andrews University in Scotland in 2001PAFollowing the nuptials, Kate became formally known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
She used this title until September 2022, when she was given the new title of the Princess of Wales, following the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Princess Diana famously held this title for 16 years between 1981 and 1997.
According to Prince Harry, there was a debate over Kate’s name when she married Prince William.
Princess Kate pictured at a disco in 2008 while she was Prince William’s girlfriend
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Princess Kate joining William at his RAF Cranwell graduation in 2008
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In his memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex claimed the monarch wanted “Catherine” to be changed to “Katherine” so it didn’t have the same initial as Charles and Camilla.
He explained: “This was because there were already two Royal cyphers with the letter C in them – and they didn’t want another.
“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. I wondered now what came of that suggestion. I turned to Willy, gave him a look that said ‘You listening to this?’ His face was blank.”