In her years as a member of the royal family, Princess Kate has been known by a series of titles that are linked to Prince William.
After walking up the aisle of Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011, Kate Middleton returned a Royal Highness, a duch*ess, a countess and more.
But what exactly are Kate's titles and is she still duch*ess of Cambridge? Here, Newsweek looks at Kate's full list of royal titles, from princess to duch*ess and beyond.
Her Royal Highness
When Kate married Prince William in 2011 she officially gained the style of Her Royal Highness (HRH). This style is granted by letters patent and can only be held by limited members of the royal family and their spouses.
The use of the Royal Highness style is dictated by the King George V convention enacted in 1917. It also controls which royals can call themselves "prince" or "princess" of the United Kingdom.
The convention dictates that children and grandchildren (through the male line) of the monarch and their spouses can use the HRH style. When William and Kate married, the prince was the grandson of the monarch and so was an HRH and had been from birth.
Princess
Kate is technically a princess in two ways. She is the Princess of Wales by virtue of being married to Prince William who since 2022 holds the title of Prince of Wales. She is also Princess William, through the traditional form of married women adopting their husband's names and titles.
Kate is not technically entitled to be called "Princess Kate" or "Princess Catherine," because when a royal is called "princess" followed by their first name, it denotes they were born into the royal family. An example of this would be Kate's daughter, Princess Charlotte.
Despite this, like her mother-in-law Princess Diana before her, the unofficial title of "Princess Kate" has been adopted by the press and public when referring to the royal.
Triple duch*ess
Kate is three times a duch*ess, holding the senior titles of: duch*ess of Cornwall; duch*ess of Rothesay; and duch*ess of Cambridge.
The majority of titles related to the British monarchy and aristocracy are connected with geographical locations around the U.K.
The duch*ess of Cambridge title, which Kate has used since 2011, was taken on after her marriage to Prince William. The title, along with several others, was given to William and Kate to mark their marriage by Queen Elizabeth II. Cambridge is a city in the county of Cambridgeshire, England.
Kate began to use the duch*ess of Cornwall title after Queen Elizabeth's death in 2022. As the son of the new king, William instantly became the new Duke of Cornwall, taking on control of the historic Duchy of Cornwall estate which provides an income for the heir to the throne and his family. Cornwall is a county located on the southwest peninsula of England.
For only a few hours, William and Kate were known as the "Duke and duch*ess of Cornwall and Cambridge" in between the queen's death and King Charles creating his son the new Prince of Wales.
The duch*ess of Rothesay title is Kate's most senior Scottish title and is what she is known by when visiting the country. William became the new Duke of Rothesay the moment his father became king in a similar process as the Dukedom of Cornwall. It also comes with a series of subsidiary titles.
Triple Countess
Kate is also three times a countess, holding the titles of: Countess of Chester; Countess of Carrick; and Countess of Strathearn.
Kate has held the Countess of Strathearn title since her marriage to William in 2011, being among those bestowed by Queen Elizabeth.
The Countess of Chester title comes from William's as Earl of Chester, a subsidiary title to the Prince of Wales. Chester is a city in northwest England.
The Countess of Carrick title similarly comes from William's as Earl of Carrick, a subsidiary title to the Dukedom of Rothesay.
Double Baroness
Kate also holds the title of Baroness of Carrickfergus, taken from Prince William's Baron of Carrickfergus title which was given to him in 2011 by Queen Elizabeth. Carrickfergus is a large town in Northern Ireland.
Kate is also Baroness of Renfrew, taken from William's Baron of Renfrew title, a subsidiary of the Dukedom of Rothesay. Renfrew is a town located in Renfrewshire, Scotland, west of the city of Glasgow.
Lady of The Isles
Lord of the Isles is a title held by Prince William by virtue of his position as heir apparent to the throne of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. A historic Scottish title, it is held by the Duke of Rothesay, which William became upon the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
As his wife, Kate takes on the title of Lady of the Isles.
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GCVO
In addition to her royal titles, Kate has received several honorific ones connected with the monarchy. The most senior of these is her title of Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).
The GCVO is the highest female title within the Royal Victorian Order and was given to Kate in her own right by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019 on the date of her eighth wedding anniversary.
Kate is joined in the order by other senior female royals such as Princess Anne, the duch*ess of Edinburgh and the duch*ess of Gloucester.
The order entitles the bearer to wear royal blue and scarlet robes, which were seen on Kate for the first time at the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023.
Military Titles
Additionally, Kate holds several military titles, given to her by the king.
In 2022, the princess was made the Colonel of the Irish Guards regiment. She is also Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm of the British Navy, the Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards of the British Army, and the Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF [Royal Air Force] Coningsby.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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