Kate vs. Catherine – Toggle

Background

Legally, The Princess of Wales’s first name is Catherine. Although Kate* has always gone by both Catherine and Kate.

Both Kate* and The Palace have addressed her preference a number of times over the years, and said they are perfectly fine with her being referred to as either “Kate” or “Catherine.”. The palace released a clear statement about this after the engagement and has reiterated this to the press a number of times.

“Miss Middleton uses both names equally, and she has never expressed a preference for either Catherine or Kate since her engagement to Prince William. Catherine is the name that Miss Middleton grew up with in her family, and Kate is the name that she tends to use in a work context.” – 2011 Royal Wedding Website

The palace has left it up to people to choose which they prefer. “Catherine” is the formal option. We see Kate* and the Palace use “Catherine” most of the time in her official duties, as they are understandably going to be formal.

“Kate” is informal, but still a perfectly respectable way to refer to The Princess of Wales. And one we have seen in used many times in various contexts since the wedding.

Kate vs. Catherine Toggle

This toggle can be found in the “Setting” panel. The toggle allows you to choose how the Princess of Wales is referred to as “Kate” or “Catherine.”

While “Catherine” is the more formal and correct, both are acceptable and widely used.

The toggle works via Javascript code. When Gert’s Royals writes a post, we use a codeword, in this case “Kate” with either an asterisk* at the end. The Javascript see the codeword and will then display the appropriate term depending on the toggle position.

Because the Javascript is looking for a specific codeword, we have to specially insert it anywhere we want the toggle to have an effect.

Codeword