Prince William and Kate Middleton’s major title change for Scotland visit might surprise you

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge meet with students during a visit to the University of Glasgow
(Image credit: Photo by Jane Barlow - WPA POOL/Getty Images)

Prince William and Kate Middleton have undergone a major title change for their visit to Scotland and they're not the senior royals to experience this.

The future King and Queen Consort, Prince William and Kate Middleton have had an especially busy start to 2022 but their schedules remain as packed as ever as the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend approaches. Ahead of this major celebration for The Firm, William and Kate headed to Scotland for a two-day visit focusing on mental health awareness and support. Here they’ve discovered more about the challenges of homelessness during a visit to the Wheatley Group and spoke with students at the University of Glasgow.

Whilst the Duke of Cambridge heard about how football clubs and community foundations are working to prioritise the mental health of their players, fans and staff. 

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge during a visit to the University of Glasgow

Throughout all these engagements, William and Kate have undergone a rather major title change that some fans might not have known about…

When William and Kate married back in 2011 the happy couple received the titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge from the Queen. All these years later they are now perhaps best known as the Cambridges and their three children are all technically Prince and Princess of Cambridge. 

But for their recent trip to Glasgow and Edinburgh, William and Kate have left the Dukedom of Cambridge completely behind them - for as long as they're there anyway! This is because in Scotland the couple are known as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn instead.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge host a drive-in cinema screening of Disney's 'Cruella' for Scottish NHS workers

The title Earl of Strathearn was also bestowed upon William by the Queen at the time of his marriage to Kate, as were their Northern Irish titles of Baron and Lady Carrickfergus.

And they aren’t the only royals to use separate titles in different parts of the UK. Prince Charles is known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, whilst Prince Harry is Earl of Dumbarton there.

Despite the tradition, however, the Cambridges/Strathearns might well be keeping things more low-key generally during their Scottish visit. It has recently been reported that William and Kate are set for a “big name change” to be known simply as William and Catherine.  

Prince William and Kate Middleton arrive to officially open V&A Dundee

“They want to be more approachable, less formal, less stuffy and breakaway with a lot of the tradition,” a royal source alleged to The Mirror. So it seems they could potentially have kept things more casual for their Glasgow and Edinburgh engagements.

Either way, with William and Kate so linked with their Cambridge titles, many might find it rather surprising to think they traditionally become known as the Strathearns every time they visit Scotland! 

Emma Shacklock
Senior Lifestyle Writer

Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with six years of experience working in digital publishing, ranging from book publishing to magazines. She currently looks after all things Lifestyle for Woman&Home, Goodto.com, and My Imperfect Life.