What will Kate Middleton’s title be when Prince William is king?

published 12 September 2020

Kate Middleton became the Duchess of Cambridge when she married Prince William in 2011. But what will her title change to when the Prince becomes King?

Kate Middleton tied the knot with Prince William in April 2011.
William is currently second in line to the throne, behind his father Prince Charles.
Kate and William celebrated their wedding day on April 29th in 2011.

What is Kate Middleton's title now?

As it stands, Kate Middleton's current title is Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Kate was a non-royal before she married Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge - and had always been known by her nickname before the pair tied the knot.

The pair met at St. Andrew's University and dated for nine years before getting engaged in 2010.

Kate became the Duchess of Cambridge when she married Prince William on 29th April 2011.

What will Kate Middleton's title be when Prince William becomes King?

Once Prince William takes the throne and becomes the King of England, Kate will then become Queen Consort.

Contrary to popular belief, Kate will not be The Queen of England, in the same way Queen Elizabeth is now. This is because she will be monarch by marriage and not family. However, it is likely she will be known as Queen Catherine.

Kate and William's daughter, Princess Charlotte, does have the potential to hold the title of Queen of England. This is due to a change in the law of primogeniture. Previously, boys took precedence over older female siblings, but new legislation was created before Prince George’s birth in 2013 ending this tradition.

This means that Princess Charlotte is fourth in line to the throne, after Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George.

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How have other royal consort’s titles changed following a coronation?

On the palace’s official website, it states: “Unless decided otherwise, a Queen consort is crowned with the King, in a similar but simpler ceremony,."

The last predecessor of the title of Queen Consort was the Queen Mother. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married Prince Albert, Duke of York, in 1923, and she took the feminine form of his titles.

When he unexpectedly became King in 1936 after his brother, Prince Edward, abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson, she became the Queen Consort, but was referred to as the Queen.

She was then officially styled Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother following the death of her husband.

When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1952 following the death of her father King George VI, her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was made a consort.

When the marriage between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles was announced in 2005, it was revealed by Clarence House that Camilla won't become Queen either. The Duchess of Cornwall will instead receive the title of The Princess Consort, rather than Queen consort, when Prince Charles is crowned King.

It was thought that this was to honour Prince Charles first wife, Diana Princess of Wales, who tragically died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. This is also why Camilla has never been known as the Princess of Wales. But in 2018 Clarence House removed this statement from its website.

Robyn is a freelance celebrity journalist with ten years experience in the industry. While studying for a degree in Media and Cultural Studies at London College of Communication, she did internships at Now and Heat magazines. After graduating, she landed a job at Star magazine, where she worked her way up to features editor. She then worked at Future as Deputy Celebrity Content Director across Woman, Woman’s Own, Woman’s Weekly and Woman & Home magazines.