The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been affectionately known by the public as Kate and Wills almost since the day they met at university back in the early noughties. But according to royal insiders, Kate hasn't always been fond of her nickname, and at one point instead preferred to be called by her full name, which is Catherine.

As it turns out, ahead of taking up a permanent position within the Royal Family (in the lead up to her engagement to William), Kate was so eager to have the nickname dropped that she reportedly sent an email out to all her friends requesting that they only refer to her as Catherine.

Speaking to the Sunday Express at the time, royal expert Adam Helliker said: "With Prince William's engagement now a surefire certainty... there are intriguing signs that Kate Middleton is preparing for her future role."

Helliker continued, "It looks like she's taking it very seriously indeed too. I hear that in the past few weeks the former accessories buyer has quietly informed friends that she would like to drop the informal 'Kate' and in future wishes to be known by her full name 'Catherine'."

According to the expert, the Duchess' friends revealed she'd been thinking about the fact that one day she'd be Queen, and as such would rather be known as Catherine. However, they admitted they were still "taken aback" by her request.

"Everyone knows it’s about to happen with Kate and William, but we were a little surprised about the request to call her Catherine," her friends reportedly told Helliker, "There is a distinct feeling she has started to become very aware of her position."

kate middleton asked her friends to call her by a different namepinterest
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But it seems Catherine didn't quite catch on, with much of the public and the press still referring to the Duchess of Cambridge as Kate. Despite that, the 39-year-old Royal uses her full name in all her official royal correspondence, and signs off her emails with 'C' – Prince William also refers to her as Catherine in public too.

Kate's not the only Royal to go by a different name though, in fact her sister-in-law Meghan Markle does too. Her full name is actually Rachel Meghan Markle, which Royal fans became aware of when she gave her name during her 2018 wedding ceremony to Prince Harry. Although it's unclear why the Duchess of Sussex doesn't go by the name of Rachel, she did reveal to Esquire magazine that its likely because her parents have always called her Meg.

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Jade Biggs

Jade Biggs (she/her) is Cosmopolitan UK's Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. She also works on first-person features and investigative long-reads, taking a deep-dive into mental health, celebrity culture and women's rights. Jade has been a journalist and content writer for ten years, and has interviewed leading researchers and doctors, high-profile influencers and fitness experts. She is a cat mum to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter