Kate Middleton led the solemn ceremony on Saturday, November 8, to honour the memory of veterans on the occasion of Armistice Day.
The Princess of Wales was a vision of regal grace and poise representing the royal family as she read an emotional poem, Sonnet For Us All, at the National Memorial Arboretum, written by Arjunan Manuelpillai.
While the sombre ceremony itself went without a hitch, many royal fans criticised the BBC coverage, done by presenter Rajini Vaidyanathan, for not using the correct title of Prince William’s wife. The disproval for the move was prominently voiced by Jim Shannon, a member of Parliament for Strangford, Northern Ireland.
“A reminder to @BBCNews to educate its broadcasters that the Princess of Wales has not been ‘Kate Middleton’ since 2011. Her correct title is Catherine, Princess of Wales. Get it right,” he had said.
Following the immense backlash, the BBC finally responded to the public with a statement.
“We received complaints from people unhappy that we didn’t use the Princess of Wales’s correct title during our coverage of Armistice Day,” it stated.
“During our coverage of memorials to commemorate Armistice Day we mistakenly referred to Catherine, Princess of Wales as Kate Middleton; these were errors during hours of live broadcasting for which we apologise. Throughout our Armistice Day coverage more broadly, we referred to Catherine by her correct title.”
It is key to note that the British press continues to use ‘Kate Middleton’ as it is commonly searched by the public on the internet as compared to the ‘Princess Catherine’ or ‘Princess Kate’.
Previously, royal correspondent Richard Eden explained that the media is looking to find more coverage on their content, which is why they tend to use Kate’s maiden name and it doesn’t have any malice towards the royal herself.
