Not English so I don't know

[Itchyhead2020]

But why is the dutchess of cambridge called Kate Middleton? Middleton is her maiden name? I thought I read before that Philip insisted the kids have his name so the royals actually do have a surname?

[bookmum08]

It's confusing. The Queen's surname is Mountbatten Windsor. Windsor being her maiden name and Mountbatten coming from husband Philip. So as a child Charles would have been Charles Mountbatten Windsor. Then he became Prince of Wales and his sons were known as William Wales and Harry Wales at school. William became Duke of Cambridge and I believe his kids are known as George and Charlotte Cambridge at school.
Harry and Meghan are the Duke and Dutchess of Sussex but their son is called Archie Mountbatten Windsor not Archie Sussex.
Conclusion - it's all just baffling.

[8by8]

Yeah I don’t think many English people understand it either, just roll with it.

[Goldengroveunleaving]

"Kate Middleton" isn't actually correct (nor is "Duchess Kate" which really sounds weird to me - nor "Princess Kate" although no one calls her that anyway). It's just stuck because "the Duchess of Cambridge" doesn't roll off the tongue, or the fingertips when posting, as it sounds so excessively formal. For that matter, "Princess Diana" wasn't ever correct either but just convenient.

[Goldengroveunleaving]

I think we're encouraged to think of her as Catherine rather than Kate, but that too will never stick! You can see why - Queen Kate does sound a bit odd. As does King Wills!

[IvinghoeBeacon]

It is a bit funny that you imagine that English people will know or care either

But using the surname Middleton is just an informal way of referring to her as a famous person isn’t it? Like you might say Cheryl Tweedy even though you know she has changed her surname since then

[evilharpy]

I follow some of the US-based facebook pages about royal style and fashion. Some of them refer to Duchess Kate and Duchess Meghan which is just weird. Nobody in the UK would ever call them that.

[Itchyhead2020]

Ok so Charles got the surname but William and Harry didn't? All very strange! I just find it so odd the press call her Kate Middleton when that was her name before she got married

[LochJessMonster]

Technically thanks to her duchess status Kate Middleton no longer requires a last name and goes by “Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge” instead. However, in situations where she might need one, she can use the royal family’s surname, “Mountbatten-Windsor” (or just “Windsor”) or “Cambridge” as her last name


We called her Kate Middleton out of habit, and because it makes her more relatable.

[IvinghoeBeacon]

It’s the royal family, it doesn’t have to make any sense

[BecauseReasons]

It’s the royal family, it doesn’t have to make any sense

I love this answer.

[EdithWeston]

She doesn't have to change her name on marriage - no one does.

Formally she uses her title. Where required (French court documents) she uses her birth name. She doesn't really need a surname, so a new married surname never took root. And her birth name is really well,known

Prince William was Wales until marriage (though other surnames are available)

Mountbatten-Windsor is a surname for those descendants of HMQ (in the male line) who do not have a different title. Though there are Somme exceptions, eg Lady Louise Windsor

[iklboo]

Mountbatten-Windsor is a surname for those descendants of HMQ

The Mountbatten bit was, of course, Anglicised from Battenberg in about 1917 to sound less 'German'. Just to complicate things a bit more.

[bookmum08]

And the Windsor name was chosen to replace their German name too. They named themselves after the castle.

[SenecaFallsRedux]

What EdithWeston said above is true. The Queen doesn't really need a surname, and it's not Mountbatten-Windsor, even if she did. She is of the ruling House of Windsor. Lady Louise is technically a Princess and an HRH, but her parents' choice was for her to be styled as the daughter of an earl. She goes by Lady Louise Windsor, but in the order of service for William and Catherine's wedding she was listed as Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.

[iklboo]

Of course @bookmum08 - they did didn't they?

[ArriettyJones]

It’s because she was in the public eye for a decade before she got married. So everyone thinks of her as Kate Middleton.

Added to that, there’s the issue “HRH Duchess of Cambridge” is a mouthful, and I think it feels archaic & overly deferential to some people to use these high-falutin titles in casual speech or ordinary prose.

Also, she is of the generation of women who commonly switch between married and own names, so it doesn’t seem a biggy to many of us. It upsets some people over 75, I think. The ones that address cards to “Mrs Robert Smith” or “Richard Jones Esq”.

So lots of reasons but generally we are a lot less formal and class-bound than we used to be.

Agree that “Duchess Kate” sounds bizarre to British ears, though. Like some Disney invention of what royalty might be. Which is odd because Princess Diana was commonly known as Princess Diana, which was just as wrong but somehow caught on. Maybe precisely because 1981 was that weird midway point between the starchy formality of the 50s (when the current Queen came to the throne) and the relatively relaxed attitudes now.

Which probably all sounds like madness but makes sense to my 70s born British perception of it all

[ArriettyJones]

(Diana’s actual title was “HRH Princess of Wales”)

[SenecaFallsRedux]

Agree that “Duchess Kate” sounds bizarre to British ears, though.

But it's preferable to erasing the woman's name, which is what happens with traditional British royal titles for women marrying in.

[GoldenMarigolds]

Sounds all makey uppy to me. But who really cares anyway.

Let them at it and they can call themselves what they like. I doubt many on the Queen's side actually have a proper surname, and if so what the heck is it?

They seem to make it up as they go along. Give us an example of the names thanks, as I am not au fait with all the permutations!

[ArriettyJones]

Let them at it and they can call themselves what they like.

Kate is on record as saying she doesn’t mind what she’s called so, yes, non-issue really.

[lyralalala]

Mountbatten-Windsor is the surname of any of the non-titled decendents of the Queen (like Archie)

Titled royal family members have no surname for day-to-day use. They use Windsor as their surname for official documents like marriage certificate

When they need to use a surname (at school or in the military) they usually use their parents title - Wales, York, Kent etc. Otherwise they are Windsor

Prince Charles would have used Edinburgh or Windsor as a surname as a child if it was needed. The addition of Mountbatten to the family name wasn't in use at that point - in fact it had been made very clear when the Queen married that the Windsor's would be the Windsor's, not anything Mountbatten related.