Kate Middleton’s Signature as ‘Catherine’ and Solo Royal Cypher Make Rare Appearance on New Letter

NEED TO KNOW

• Kate Middleton’s latest letter featured rarely-seen royal details

• The Princess of Wales’ letter for Addiction Awareness Week included her signature and solo royal cypher

• The royal used her first name, Catherine, as her signature and a “C” in her monogram

Kate Middleton‘s latest letter for a cause she champions included two rarely-seen royal details.

On Nov. 24, the Princess of Wales, 43, released a letter for The Forward Trust’s Taking Action on Addiction Campaign to support Addiction Awareness Week, and the message included her personal signature and royal cypher.

Princess Kate is patron of The Forward Trust, a British charity working to support individuals impacted by addiction, crime, homelessness or long-term unemployment, and spearheaded the first Addiction Awareness Week in 2021.

“This Addiction Awareness Week, I am, as always, very glad to lend my support to this hugely important campaign,” she began the message on her personal Kensington Palace letterhead. “Through my role as Patron of the Forward Trust, it has been humbling to see the significant progress made to better understand addiction and tackle the stigma surrounding it, but there remains much more to do.”

A close look showed that the letter was topped with her solo cypher, stamped in gold. The rarely-seen symbol showed a “C” for Catherine below a crown, over “Kensington Palace,” the royal office where she and Prince William are based.

The monogram can be spotted on official communications from Kate, such as the invites to her “Together at Christmas” carol service in 2024.

Kate wrote in the note that “addiction is not a choice, or a personal failing, but a complex mental health condition that should be met with empathy and support” and called for compassion towards those struggling.

She concluded with a call for greater conversation around addiction so individuals and families coping “know they are not alone” — a sentiment that echoed the close of her March 2024 announcement that she was undergoing treatment for cancer — and infrequently-seen signature.

In black ink, the typed letter was signed “Catherine,” her full name and what Prince William calls her.

The Princess of Wales’ nickname of Kate reportedly became her popular moniker when she was in college at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she met William.

The royal is known to sign her name as “Catherine” as well, but her signature isn’t seen often. In fact, members of the British royal family reportedly avoid signing autographs given the risk of forgery.

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While spending time with school children at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2022, Princess Kate had a diplomatic reply when asked why she couldn’t sign her name on the drawings they created.

“My name’s Catherine. I’m not allowed to write my signature, it’s just one of those rules,” she said then.

The BBC recently apologized to the royal family after facing public backlash following their Remembrance Day broadcasts, where they referred to the Princess of Wales as Kate Middleton. In a statement on Nov. 14, the network noted that it had “received complaints from people unhappy that we didn’t use the Princess of Wales’ correct title during our coverage of Armistice Day.”

“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 apologize. Throughout our Armistice Day coverage more broadly, we referred to Catherine by her correct title,” the statement read.

PEOPLE plans to refer her as Princess Kate and the Princess of Wales. However, in headlines and upon first reference, Kate Middleton — which continues to be the most popular search term for the royal — will remain so readers can quickly find the stories they are seeking.

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