Kate Middleton informed her close friends that she would be adopting a new name before getting engaged to Prince William via a “humorous email,” according to a new biography of the princess. The name change happened in 2008 as speculation about an impending royal proposal reached a fever pitch; speculation ramped up once rumors spread that the future queen, 42, was ditching the informal “Kate” for something a little more regal. In his new biography of the future queen , Robert Jobson reports that the princess sent the “humourous email” to her inner circle and declared that she wanted to be henceforth known as “Catherine” instead of Kate.
Though it’s unclear precisely what Kate said in the alleged email, the message was loud and clear: Kate was taking on a more formal name for a more formal life. “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,” Jobson wrote. The name change “only added to the speculation” at the time that William was about to put a ring on it.
The prince, 42, finally popped the question to Catherine, née Kate, in 2010. Following the couple’s wedding in April 2011, Catherine Middleton became Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. It wasn’t until September 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II , that she took the title “Princess of Wales,.