Kate Middleton, Catherine, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn and Lady Carrickfergus... Despite already being known by multiple different monikers, Prince William's wife is set to have yet another name change in the coming years, firstly after Prince Charles takes the throne – and then a further change will happen when William becomes the reigning monarch. Keeping up?
It was after marrying Prince William a decade ago that Kate was initially gifted the three titles of Duchess, Countess and Lady by the Queen, but when her father-in-law, Prince Charles, does eventually take over the throne, she'll receive another new one. When Charles' status ascends, essentially all the other senior royals move up a rank too, meaning Prince William will become the new Prince of Wales, in lieu of Charles.
This will mean that Kate will likely inherit the title of Princess of Wales - the same title held by Prince William and Prince Harry's mother, Princess Diana and which Charles' second wife, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, turned down out of respect.
As for when Prince William eventually takes over from Prince Charles as the reigning monarch, Kate will then undergo a further title change and likely be known as Queen Catherine. Officially, she will be Queen consort, as she doesn't have any royal blood herself but rather married into the family.
In terms of celebrating these big promotions/changes, there will still be a ceremony for Kate to commemorate the change, but it will probably be a much smaller one than William's crowning. Oh, and thanks to a fun ancient law, it's believed that she will also be given ownership over all the tails of every sturgeon, dolphin and whale that swims in British-owned waters. Random!
As for William and Kate's children, their eldest son, Prince George, will then take over as the Prince of Wales after his father is crowned King.
Everyone's clicking on...
Later down the line, should Prince William pass away before Kate Middleton, she will then be given the option of styling herself as the Queen Mother, too. "When [Prince] George is King, she can choose to be styled as HM Queen Catherine, the Queen Mother," royal author Marlene Koenig previously told Town & Country.
So there you have it, there are plenty of switch-ups to come for Kate in the years to follow!
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Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
