British Royal Family

Kate Middleton and Prince William get special new titles from King Charles III

King Charles III has given Prince William and Kate Middleton new military appointments in addition to their titles of Prince and Princess of Wales.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, known as the Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland and Prince William, Prince of Wales, know as the Duke of Rothesay depart a national service of thanksgiving and dedication to the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at St Giles' Cathedral on July 05, 2023 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images

Kate Middleton and Prince William are expanding their royal roles yet again.

Nearly a year after they were dubbed the Princess and Prince of Wales by King Charles III following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the royal couple have been given additional titles after a reshuffling of military appointments within the family, according to The Telegraph, citing the Buckingham Palace.

Kate has been appointed the Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Coningsby. Meanwhile, William has been named Colonel-in-Chief, The Mercian Regiment; Colonel-in-Chief, The Army Air Corps; and Royal Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Valley, where he previously spent three years as a search and rescue pilot.

In becoming the new Royal Honorary Air Commodore for RAF Coningsby, Kate lands her first senior role for the Royal Air Force (RAF). However, the title also holds a special connection to her grandfather, Captain Peter Middleton, who flew alongside Queen Elizabeth's late husband Prince Philip during a two-month aerial tour of South America in 1962, according to The Telegraph.

Royal Family at King Charles III's Coronation Concert

Other royal family members who have received new military titles in the change-up include Queen Camilla, Prince Edward, Princess Anne, Prince Richard, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh and Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester.

Some of the new appointments given once belonged to Prince Andrew, who was stipped of his military affiliations in January 2022 amid a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. (Andrew has denied the sexual assault allegations, and the suit was settled out of court in February 2022.)

Per The Telegraph, his prior role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Irish Regiment has now been reallocated to Edward's wife Sophie, while Camilla inherited his honorary title of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards and the role of Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Lancers.

"Following His Majesty's Accession, The King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working Members of the Royal Family," the palace said in a statement, per People. "The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family in His Majesty's reign."

Prince William and Princess Kate have taken off on an important outing with their family. The future king and queen brought children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to the Royal International Air Tattoo on Friday, where they took a personal tour of the plane that transported Queen Elizabeth's body back to London after she passed away in Scotland last September. The family of five was photographed exploring the C-17 Globemaster III and walking down the ramp together with aircraft personnel. The visit marked the first time the Waleses have all attended the massive annual event, which drew a reported 180,000 people to the RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. The Air Tattoo is said to be the largest military air show in the world.
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