Why was Kate Middleton called 'Waity Katie'? Meghan Markle tells Oprah ‘rude’ nickname not same as racism
The aftermath of Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey has had the media dissecting every sentence of what the Duchess and her husband had to say. Kate Middleton was a name that was frequently thrown up by Meghan and a segment of the interview also saw her discuss the 'Waity Katie' tag that was attached to the Duchess of Cambridge.
The interview saw Meghan discuss 'Waity Katie': "If members of his family say, ‘Well, this is what happened to all of us,’ or if they can compare what the experience that I went through was similar to what has been shared with us—Kate was called Waity Katie waiting to marry William," she said.
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"While I imagine that was really hard, and I do, I can’t picture what that felt like. This is not the same. And if a member of this family will comfortably say, ‘We’ve all had to deal with things that are rude.’ Rude and racist are not the same. And equally, you’ve also had a press team that goes on the record to defend you, especially when they know something’s not true. And that didn’t happen for us."
Why was Kate Middleton called Waity Katie?
Kate was 29 when she tied the knot with Prince William, who was 28, in April 2011. The couple dated for eight years before marriage and this led the British media to come up with the name to suggest how long it took for them to get engaged. Although the name was looked at as a form of mockery, Richard Kay, a royal correspondent for the Daily Mail wrote how the name was exemplary as Kate bided her time to get married and wasn't in a rush.
In his opinion piece, he wrote: "Where Meghan is impetuous and outspoken, Kate is gracious and deferential. Where Meghan is drawn to the glamour of celebrity, Kate has settled for a less starry circle of friends. She has not sought fame for fame’s sake; indeed, motherhood is a more precious commodity to her than the red carpet."
"But then Kate did not rush into royal life, she took her time — hence the Waity Katie nickname. She and William were together for eight years before they became engaged, and the prince, knowing how his bride’s life would change irrevocably, gave her every opportunity to back out," the article read.
Kate and Prince William first met 10 years prior while studying history at Scotland’s University of St Andrews. While the relationship was relatively low-key, the brief split in 2007 was a fortune-maker for the tabloids. According to USA Weekly, "At the time I wasn’t very happy about it, but it actually made me a stronger person," Kate said in 2010. "You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realized. I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger, and I really valued that time for me as well although I didn’t think it at the time."