The press has been blamed for giving Catherine Elizabeth Middleton her nickname, when her relationship with the prince was confirmed in 2004.

"No one ever referred to her as Kate - ever," says a former classmate. "It doesn't irritate her, even when the photographers shout her name out. She's not so precious as to correct them.

"But her family and close friends have always called her Catherine and that's the way she prefers it."

One source joked: "It's certainly more queenly."

But one former contemporary has been less impressed with her old classmate, saying yesterday: "At school, Catherine was really jolly hockey sticks, fun and jump-in-the-dirt - a great girl," she said.

"Now she seems much more concerned about her image - who she is with, who she is talking to and the like. That's what I have found a bit off."

This is from the Mail article.

Who knows?

It reminded me of the whole hoo-ha with MTP changing KAK's name to 'Kate' and the subsequent revelations that her family and friends had always called her Kate, and 'Katie' was merely her acting name.