Kate Middleton's Nickname Is Reportedly A Point Of Contention Between William And Harry

After Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer in March 2024, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, released a short statement that reportedly irked his older brother William, Prince of Wales. As The Independent reported at the time, the Sussexes' brief message read: "We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace." Unlike the rest of the world, Prince William wasn't irritated by just how ironic Harry and Meghan's wish for privacy was. Instead, he was offended by a small but significant detail. In August 2024, a confidant of William's informed the Daily Beast that he was greatly annoyed by his brother and sister-in-law's decision to refer to his beloved wife as "Kate." 

"William takes offense at people calling Catherine 'Kate,' because she has asked to be known as Catherine," the source asserted, adding, "It's a fairly simple wish to respect. I'm sure Meghan wouldn't like it if William started publicly calling her 'Meghan Markle.'" The confidant further stressed that although it may seem unimportant, everyone in the prince's circle was well aware that it was exactly the type of thing that would get him worked up. Ultimately, the insider argued that William saw the Sussexes' decision not to refer to her as Catherine as "an entirely unnecessary and deliberate irritation." Another insider confirmed that William was infuriated by the use of the incorrect name and strongly advised Meghan and Harry to use Catherine for future statements if they ever expected a reconciliation.

In March 2024, a source pointed out to The Times that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle only learned of Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis when she went public with the news. Even so, royal biographer Christopher Andersen confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Duke of Sussex was gravely affected by it because he reportedly shared a close relationship with the Princess of Wales before Meghan came into Harry's life. Unfortunately, the royal defector couldn't reach out to his sister-in-law because Prince William didn't want them to have any contact. As for Kate herself, royal expert Ingrid Seward clarified in an interview with The Mirror that she would only agree to have a chat with Harry if King Charles III requested it. However, Seward couldn't realistically see Charles asking her because he wouldn't want to put his beloved daughter-in-law through any additional stress.

That account doesn't bode too well for Harry since he may soon have another desperate reason to extend an olive branch to the princess. In April 2024, royal expert Tessa Dunlop revealed to Us Weekly that the Duke of Sussex regretted writing about Kate in his explosive tell-all memoir, "Spare." As Dunlop reasoned, "When you do discover that your sister-in-law has cancer and you've written stuff that can't be retracted, that's quite a painful place to be in." To make matters worse, Harry may have annoyed his family, and especially William, even further by consistently referring to her as "Kate" throughout the bestseller.