kate not a princess? i have been curious as to why she isn't what is the protocol?

Catherine is a princess by marriage; one of her titles is "Princess William". All royal duchesses (and royal countesses like Prince Edward's wife) are princesses by marriage. That is why they are given the style "Her Royal Highness".

What she is not is a princess in her own right. That status belongs only to women who are born princesses -- such as Princess Anne -- and only they may use the title before their own given names.

When Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson, she became the Princess Andrew; Prince Edward's wife is not only the Countess of Wessex, she is also the Princess Edward. Prince Michael of Kent's wife is Princess Michael of Kent.

What sometimes confuses people is that William's mother was called the Princess of Wales. They think that means she was a princess in her own right. She was not. It just so happens that the courtesy title for the wife of the Prince of Wales is Princess of Wales, but unless that woman is born with the title of princess, she is only a princess by marriage and, again, cannot use the title before her given name. It was therefore never correct to call William's mother "Princess Diana".

By the way, the royal ducal title William was given is of higher status than being merely Prince, since it adds a peerage to the princely title, and that is why the officially used titles for William and Catherine are Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, not Prince and Princess William.

She wasn't born the daughter of a king or prince...therefore, not a princess.

She is as much a princess, technically, as your mother is a member of your father's family. It's sort of like any in-law situation. She has MARRIED the prince, so she is his wife, and carries the title of princess (well, they aren't using that title, but that's just about clarification - she's the duchess of Cambridge, which is a title given to her as the wife of the heir to the throne...William is second in line for the throne, and a prince, and as such, she, his wife, is a princess).

She is a princess, but only by marriage. She can not be called "Princess Catherine." Only a princess in her own right, such as Princess Beatrice or Princess Eugenie can do that. She is Princess WILLIAM but now that Prince William has a Peerage (The Dukedom of Cambridge) she is known as the Duchess of Cambridge. When the Queen dies she will be the Duchess of Cornwall, and when William is granted the title Prince of Wales, Catherine will be known as the Princess of Wales, and later of course Queen.

She is not a Princess in her own right, but she is a Princess by marriage.

That means that while she is a Royal Princess by marriage (Princess William), she doesn't have the right to prefix the title Princess to the Christian name ("Princess Catherine" is incorrect).

A woman can be a Princess in her own right only if:

- She were born a Princess (a daughter or male-line granddaughter of the Monarch).

Princess Anne is a Princess by blood and has the right to prefix the title to her name.

- She were granted the style and title of a Princess by the Monarch.

Princess Maxima of the Netherlands was made Princess of the Netherlands in her own right prior to her marriage to Crown Prince Wilem-Alexander.

The wife of a prince of the blood takes her husband's Christian name in her title as do all married royal women. For example, upon her marriage to Prince Michael of Kent in 1978, Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz assumed the title and style of "Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent".

Similarly, Kate has the right to the style of "Her Royal Highness Princess William of Cambridge" by virtue of her marriage to Prince William. However, since she is married to a Prince who is also a Peer (Duke of Cambridge), her peerage title outranks the princely style; as the wife of a Royal Duke, her correct style and title is "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge".

Kate shares all of her husband's styles and titles and is legally Her Royal Highness Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus.