Kate Middleton introduced herself by a different name during her solo trip to Italy.
The Princess of Wales, 44, was in Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy on May 13 on a fact-finding mission as part of her early childhood work. There, she met children in the city’s town square and tried out a new Italian identity.
“I speak a bit of Italian. What is your name? I am Catarina,” the Duchess of Cambridge said in Italian, per Daily Mail, while speaking to local children at Piazza Camillo Prampolini. Catarina is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish forms of Catherine and can be spelled with an “a” or Caterina with an “e.” Middleton’s birth name was Catherine Elizabeth Middleton.
While Kate is often used as a nickname, Middleton is typically referred to as Catherine in her royal work. When she married Prince William in 2011, she received the royal title of the Duchess of Cambridge before becoming the Princess of Wales in 2022 with King Charles’ accession to the throne.
The name switch-up comes after insiders claimed Meghan Markle thinks Middleton’s Italy trip is a “calculated move” that is “stealing the spotlight” from her and Prince Harry’s work. “Meghan says every time she and Harry start building momentum, the royal machine suddenly swings into action and steals the spotlight away from them again,” a source told In Touch in a May 11 report. They further added that the Duchess is “sick and tired of it.”
Middleton’s trip to Italy is her first solo trip since before her 2024 cancer battle. However, Markle reportedly believes the timing was meant to overshadow her and Harry’s recent Australia trip. The source explained, “She and Harry have just come back from this great overseas trip [to Australia] and they’re finally getting some positive press and suddenly Kate’s everywhere again.”
The source claimed that Middleton’s trip to Italy is a sign that she’s “trying to reestablish her territory and Meghan is convinced it’s because Kate is feeling threatened.”
“Meghan has always said that Kate was unnecessarily competitive with her,” a source claimed, while a second said that “this whole rollout of appearances and projects by Kate is a calculated move to shift the focus back onto her and the monarchy.”
Middleton’s trip to Italy is with the intention of learning more about the Reggio Emilia Approach, a student-centered educational philosophy that originated in Italy, as part of the work of her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
