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Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, 38, inherited Prince William’s, 38, royal titles when they tied the knot in 2011. Kate and William are future heads of the Royal Family and will one day be Queen Consort and King. But for now, Kate’s official title is “Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.”

Kate (full name Catherine) is also a Princess of the United Kingdom but doesn’t use the title because of a custom which sees royals who have peerages go by them instead.

Constitutional expert Iain MacMarthanne explained: “Unless born a princess or created one, no woman, despite marrying a prince, becomes a princess in their own right.

“The styles and titles they enjoy are exclusively derived from their husband.

“Custom and legislation, governing royal titles and the peerage, dictate these terms.”

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He added: “General practice is that both the royal male and their spouse are known by their title in the peerage: Cambridge, Sussex, or Wessex and Forfar.

“Where the royal male holds no peerage they will be known by the princely title.”

The royal expert revealed Kate’s full title, which comes of a bit clumsy.

Mr MacMarthanne said: “Of the present crop of royal wives, whose husbands hold peerages, they do as a courtesy have the title Princess but not in their own name.”

He added: “As an example, and in the case of the Duchess of Cambridge, her formal title is HRH Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge.”

According to Mr MacMarthanne, there is a common mistake people make when referring to the Duchess of Cambridge.

Kate is not a royal by birth and received her royal titles through her husband William which means her first name should never be used directly before her Duchess of Cambridge title.

Mr MacMarthanne said: “At no point should her own Christian name be appended to any of her royal titles as they are all derived from her husband in consequence of her marriage.”

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Strictly speaking, this means that while Kate is often referred to as “Kate, Duchess of Cambridge” or “Duchess Kate” it is technically incorrect to do so.

And the proper way to refer to Kate is “HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.”

However, she is commonly known across the country as Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.

But how do you refer to our future Queen? Vote for your choice in the poll below.

It doesn’t matter what you choose to call her, Kate is one of the most popular members of the royal family.

And while at present Kate’s official title does not include her first name, there is a chance it will do in the future.

When Kate becomes Queen Consort it is expected that she will be known as Queen Catherine and Prince William will be King William.

Kate’s awareness of her future role is said to have prompted her to ask friends to start calling her “Catherine” ahead of her marriage to Prince William.

In 2008, columnist Adam Helliker also reported in The Sunday Express that Kate had told friends to stop calling her by the informal nickname.

He wrote: “I hear that in the past few weeks the former accessories buyer has quietly informed friends that she would like to drop the informal ‘Kate’ and in future wishes to be known by her full name ‘Catherine’.”

Royal expert Daniela Elser said that Kate made the announcement via email, and it showed she was becoming increasingly aware of her position as future consort.

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