Kate’s complicated feelings about Diana’s title

In September 2022, King Charles III officially confirmed the appointment of Prince William and Kate Middleton as the Prince and Princess of Wales. While the announcement represented a landmark shift for the Royal Family, the decision to embrace the prestigious title was not so simple behind the walls of the Palace.

According to royal biographers, Kate Middleton had a significant amount of reservations about adopting the title of Princess of Wales, stemming from the immense, emotional legacy of her late mother-in-law, Diana.

Living in the shadow of Diana’s Legacy

The Princess of Wales was the last formal member of the Royal Family to truly embody the title before her tragic passing in 1997. Regarded the world over as “The People’s Princess,” Diana raised the bar for the kind of affection people held for the royals, in addition to inspiring future humanitarian efforts.

Stepping in as the next owner of this prestigious title, Kate worried that she would immediately fall into an unceasing comparison of images and approaches to a title that she recognized many felt a strong emotional attachment to. Authors state Kate was mindful of this and worried about the overbearing attention her decision would bring.

In order to address this concern, reportedly Kate sought advice from both her husband, Prince William, and her father-in-law, King Charles III. She even considered following the same path as Camilla, who decided not to use the title of Princess of Wales out of respect for the Queen, and instead used the Duchess of Cornwall instead when she married Charles in 2005.

Carving out her own role as Princess of Wales

Eventually, Kate agreed to take on the responsibilities following assurances that she was able to forge her own direction and redefine the title in her own image. Royal authors believe that so much time had passed since Diana’s death that the public could appreciate Catherine for who she had become and all the contributions she had made throughout her ten years as part of the Royal Family.

Instead of following directly in her mother-in-law’s footsteps, Princess Catherine has created her own narrative to the Princess of Wales title, which includes.

Childhood Development – Promoting an early childhood and emotional development through her ‘Shaping Us’ campaign.

Mental Health Advocacy – Collaborating with her husband, Prince William, in efforts to bring down the taboo surrounding mental health.

Modern Royal Diplomacy – Balancing official engagements with a hands-on approach to raising her own family.

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Though comparisons to Princess Diana can’t help but come up, Catherine honored her mother-in-law’s charitable approach while successfully establishing herself as her own independent entity in the monarchy.