Princess KateMax Mumby/royal Indigo’s titles are broken down here – Getty Images
Kate Middleton, now Catherine, Princess of Wales, joined the British royal family when she wed Prince William. Since then, she has taken on a few (and occasionally a few morsels) of official royal titles, denoting her senior royal obligations across the Commonwealth, and the list keeps increasing.
With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II this year, the British line of succession underwent a significant change that resulted in a plethora of new titles being bestowed onto Kate.
The princess was promoted to her first-ever position in the British Army only this past December, taking over a title formerly held by her husband, Prince William.
The Princess of Wales has held each of the formal titles listed below during her time serving in the British royal family.Kate transitioned from being a duchess to a princess after Queen Elizabeth passed away on September 8 and was given the new title of Princess of Wales. In the meantime, William was made Prince of Wales. Princess Diana, Kate’s late mother-in-law, who was wed to Prince Charles, now King Charles III, from 1981 to 1996, left Kate the title.
Although Kate goes by the nicknames Princess Catherine or Princess Kate, her official title is Catherine, Princess of Wales. Kate, like Princess Diana (who was actually Diana, Princess of Wales), was not a member of the British royal family; therefore, in accordance with peerage, her first name had to come after her princess title rather than before it (to prevent it from being replaced by the first name of her royal-born spouse).Kate inherited another title as Duchess from Camilla – now Her Royal Highness The Princess Consort – following the death of Queen Elizabeth and the subsequent accession of King Charles. Like “Wales”, the name “Cornwall” is a courtesy title one rank below King and Queen.
Kate retained her old and new duchess titles – and was officially known as the Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge – for a single day on September 8th, marking the brief interval between the death of Queen Elizabeth and Charles’s confirmation as the new King of the United Kingdom.
