Why do many journalists call her Kate Middleton?

[bkgirl]

Seriously, a bit confused here...what is her name. Is it not Catherine Windsor now? Perhaps even Princess Catherine? Also why are some papers so bitchy towards her - especially the Daily Mail. They are even nasty about her family. Are they just jealous sloaney types who are sorry they didn't bag Wills themselves? Pity poor Harry, he must see them a mile away. I guess that's why he picked the south african girl (she like Catherine seems real)

Nothing wrong with using KM. It's more real than any of the other appellations. And stop reading the Mail!

lol you are right, it's woeful.

Possibly she has opted to keep her own name rather than that of her DH?
I don't read anything about her/them if I can help it.

I doubt she'd be a Windsor either way. Does William use that name? I think Harry uses 'Wales' when he needs a surname. Don't think she's technically 'Princess Catherine' either.

I think it would be either KM or 'The Duchess of Cambridge' which sounds a bit formal/impersonal!

it's probably because they want to keep her 'girl next door' / 'one of us' image. If she's The Duchess of Cambridge she's not the friendly, smiling, local, commoner Kate who gives us serfs hope we could all bag a prince and I think the Kate persona probably sells more papers.

She could be "Princess William of Wales", but I don't think that would go down well.

The Princes William and Harry both use Wales as their surname in the military, but it's a bit unclear what their definitive surname is (given that your surname is whatever you have as your usual usage): it could also be Windsor or Mountbatten-Windsor.

She's not Princess Catherine, she's the Princess William.

Her surname would be Windsor, as are all the direct line, but William and Harry tend to use Wales at the moment because traditionally children were known according to their father's 'house' to make identifying the different branches of the family easier, so you talk of the Yorks, Kents, Gloucesters etc.

I thought she could be Princess William of Wales but when this was hotly debated in the office I had to concede William isn't Prince of Wales (yet) so presumably she can't be Princess of Wales? According to Wiki her full title is Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus. I guess in theory she could be called just Princess William (if that didn't sound completely stoopid).

In terms of 'brand name recognition', she has been Kate Middleton in the press for a long time. It was common place, certainly in the Spanish press to refer to Diana as 'Lady Di' many, many years after she had become Princess of Wales.

I doubt the Royal Family are advocating the use of her maiden name - Kate herself may be - but i have noticed Prince William has started referring to her as 'Kate' rather than 'Catherine' in interviews recently.

My DS tells me she can't be a princess, only a duchess. So the DoC.

She was a semi-public figure for however many years before they married under the name Kate Middleton. So it is difficult for people to stop thinking of her as that. Plus 'Kate' is more headline friendly than 'Duchess of Cambridge.' My dad still calls Princess Diana 'Lady Diana.' Shrug.

As a titled Royal she does not have a surname. If royals need a surname for any reason it seems they can pick 'n' mix - e.g. they often pick a territorial designation that they are entitled to. So she could pick 'Wales' (she is technically also Princess William of Wales), 'Cambridge,' 'Strathearn' or 'Carrickfergus' as a surname, although the last two wouldn't make sense to many people. William seems to be continuing to use Wales as a surname in the RAF despite being DoC now - presumably he prefers that. She could also use 'Mountbatten-Windsor' unofficially - Princess Anne did on her marriage certificate.

Her descendants who do not have royal styles or princely titles will have the surname 'Mountbatten-Windsor.' This was formalised by legislation in the 1960s.

Easy of use, I guess. I only find it odd/irritating when they use Kate alongside Williams's full name. Either Will and Kate or William and Catherine, giving him his full name while shortening hers just...I don't know, feels wrong.

She's still "Kate Middleton" because she kept her maiden name for professional purposes.

Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha.

She is the Duchess of Cambridge but Kate is easier to fit into headlines.

Tis true.