Belfast, March 09: Call her Kate, at least for now. It may be years before Kate Middleton becomes queen, but questions are already being raised about the princess-tobe’s preferred moniker: queen Kate or queen Catherine?
Ever since her engagement became official in November , palace officials — and her fiance, prince William — have taken to calling her Catherine, which is the name used on the official, gold-embossed invitations to their nuptials at Westminster Abbey on April 29.
“Catherine’ ‘ sounds more formal, regal and fitting for a future queen, experts say. But Middleton herself may not embrace the change just yet. During a joint visit on Tuesday with William to Northern Ireland, Middleton mentioned casually that she thinks of herself primarily as Kate.
“I’m still very much Kate,” said Middleton, when a woman outside Belfast City Hall asked her what name she preferred.
The “Kate’ ‘ versus “Catherine’ ‘ debate has emerged in recent weeks because of William’s switch in using it and because “Catherine’ ‘ or the initial “C’ ‘ is being imprinted on officially sanctioned wedding memorabilia and commemorative china.
“I think that Catherine does have a more historic feel to it; there have been several queen consorts called Catherine in British history,” said Charles Kidd, editor of the blue-blood bible Debrett’s Peerage. “So queen Catherine does sound quite familiar. It has a historic ring to it.”
He said Kate also sounds pleasant but reminds him of the feisty character in ‘Kiss Me Kate,’ a Cole Porter musical that features Shakespeare’s play ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’
The late Princess Diana, William’s mother, also had an informal nickname — “Lady Di’ ‘ — that was too casual for formal court affairs, where she was called Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Wales.
-Agencies