Prince William and Kate plan to ditch royal titles to 'break away' from tradition

Prince William and Kate to ditch their royal titles in an attempt to appear 'less stuffy' says an insider who suggests that this idea stems from the Duke and Duchess' Caribbean tour.

• Earlier this year the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Caribbean tour caused controversy.
• The tour was labeled as 'tone-deaf PR and colonialism' and many were critical of the royal couple.
• In other royal news, Why Prince Charles could step in for the monarch for the first time to deliver the Queen's speech.

A royal source has suggested that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge plan to ditch their royal titles and be referred to as Catherine and William in the future. 

A royal source told The Mirror (opens in new tab), "They want to be more approachable, less formal, less stuffy and break away with a lot of the tradition."

The source added that this change was decided soon after the couple arrived back from their Caribbean tour and was criticized by a number of outlets. "When the team arrived back in London the couple had a debrief with aides," said the insider.

"They went over everything and pinpointed specific things that went wrong and how to improve moving forward. The general consensus was that the tour seemed out of date, out of touch, too formal and stuffy."

The source then revealed that soon, nicknames will be a perfectly appropriate way to address the royals. "So now it’s more ‘Wills and Kate’ instead of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge... ‘Just call me Wills’ type of thing," said the insider. "They want to try to avoid the bows and curtsies in public, be more approachable, less formal, less stuffy, and break away with a lot of the tradition and focus on a modern monarchy."

The source continued to reveal that Catherine and William felt that there were a number of mistakes made during their royal tour and they regretted appearing as a 'symbol of colonialism.'

"If they could wave a magic wand and go back in time, they would change almost everything about the Caribbean tour," revealed the source. "William and Kate are now both very aware that to certain parts of the world, and to the younger generations, the monarchy is a symbol of colonialism and a time gone by. Now, it seems silly to have celebrated that and push royal traditions during the tour."

This isn't the first time that this royal couple has opted for modernity and broke away from traditions imposed by the Royal Family. Last year, Prince William ditched royal tradition as he chose to not stand on an elevated platform at an awards ceremony, and instead stood on the same level as guests as a gesture of equality. 

Similarly, even as she joined the royal family, Kate Middleton ignored tradition and broke five royal protocols during her wedding to Prince William as the couple decided to pave their own way. It seems that the Royal couple is committed to breaking away from tradition and showing how the Royal Family can continue to fit in with modern society.