What to Know
Though the world knows her as Kate Middleton, formally, the Princess of Wales is her royal title — and she always goes by Catherine in the UK. But after the BBC made a major slip up on air that was “disrespectful” towards the future queen, the backlash poured in, and now, the network has been forced to apologize.
During the BBC’s coverage of Armistice Day on November 11, anchor Rajini Vaidyanathan referred to the princess as “Kate Middleton” during the broadcast, rather than “Catherine, Princess of Wales,” and even though it doesn’t seem like Kate made any public statements about the situation, the flub still rubbed some viewers the wrong way.
Jim Shannon, a Member of Parliament in Strangford, Northern Ireland, was among those to speak out against the BBC’s mistake.
He posted on X, “A reminder to @BBCNews to educate its broadcasters that the Princess of Wales has not been ‘Kate Middleton’ since 2011. Her correct title is Catherine, Princess of Wales. Get it right.”
Another UK local seemed to agree, replying, “Well said, Jim. It’s totally disrespectful for them to continue calling her ‘Kate Middleton.’”
On Monday, the BBC issued an apology to Kate for not using her proper title on air.
“During our coverage of memorials to commemorate Armistice Day we mistakenly referred to Catherine, Princess of Wales as Kate Middleton; these were errors during hours of live broadcasting for which we apologize,” said the statement, via Deadline. “Throughout our Armistice Day coverage more broadly, we referred to Catherine by her correct title.”
Though Kate was once known as Kate to her friends, royal biographer Robert Jobson claimed in his book Catherine, the Princess of Wales, that around 2008, she sent her social circle an email asking that they call her Catherine going forward, as People reported.
At the time, Kate wasn’t yet engaged to Prince William, so Robert wrote that it appeared she “had a genuine desire to go by her full name” rather than a nickname, though she certainly could have been preparing for a future where she’d become a member of the royal family and want to present herself to the world a bit more formally.
No word on what Kate thinks about the BBC’s apology, but if she did feel disrespected by the gaffe, at least it’s been acknowledged by the network.
