Prince William “Takes Offense” When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Call His Wife “Kate,” Source Claims
"It’s a fairly simple wish to respect."
![Prince William, Prince of Wales with Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince Harry with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave after escorting the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II to Westminster Hall from Buckingham Palace for her lying in state, on September 14, 2022 in London, United Kingdom.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XRVBBcELnvj6LjhPSPq3YC-415-80.jpg)
While Catherine, the Princess of Wales, is well known and often referred to as "Princess Kate," her husband Prince William reportedly does not appreciate his brother, Prince Harry, and his sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, calling her "Kate."
According to a source close to the Prince and Princess of Wales who spoke to The Daily Beast, Prince William "takes offense at people calling Catherine 'Kate,' because she has asked to be known as Catherine."
This includes Prince Harry and Markle, even when the pair "were sending her get-well-soon messages after her cancer diagnosis," the insider added.
"It’s a fairly simple wish to respect," the source continued. "I’m sure Meghan wouldn’t like it if William started publicly calling her 'Meghan Markle.'"
The source went on to say that while it's an "utterly trivial thing," people close to the Prince of Wales and future King of England "know that it is one of those things that pushes his buttons."
"Pushing his buttons while he was going through his wife's cancer seemed an entirely unnecessary and deliberate irritation," the insider added, while another friend and source said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle referring to Catherine as "Kate" was "bloody rude."
"No one's saying it's responsible for all the trouble, but deliberately calling someone by a name they don't like is just bloody rude," the second friend told the publication.
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After Middleton announced she was diagnosed with cancer following abdominal surgery back in January of this year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle issued a statement of support, the BBC reported at the time.
"We wish health and healing for Kate and the family," they said, "and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace."
Sources claim that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex learned of Kate's cancer diagnosis at the same time "as the rest of the world," further highlighting the rift between the two brothers.
Prince Harry, Kate Middleton, and Prince William.
“They had no idea, and only learned of the news around the same time the rest of the world found out,” sources claiming to have insider information told the New York Post at the time.
“This goes to show the irreparable damage they have caused,” another insider added. "The trust has been broken and the royal family is OK distancing themselves from them.”
Another family source told People that while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are "aware of everything that goes on back in England" they were intentionally "left out of any details regarding Kate."
Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.
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