Whenever Princess Catherine speaks about the late Queen Elizabeth, it’s clear how much admiration she had for the former Monarch. Since it was announced that she and her husband Prince William were engaged and that she would be officially joining the royal family, she has had nothing but high praise for the late Queen, and it seems that the feeling was pretty mutual.

The impression Catherine gave was one of a thoughtful and generous grandmother and great-grandmother. She revealed that the late Monarch used to make her affection for her great-grandchildren, especially Prince Louis, abundantly clear through one key act.

If the late Queen Elizabeth II hadn’t changed a significant Royal rule, the youngest Wales would be known by a very different name today. The six-year-old prince, famous for his playful personality and cheeky antics at royal events, officially carries the name Prince Louis Arthur Charles. However, without the Queen’s intervention, he wouldn’t hold the title of Prince at all.

In 1917, King George I introduced a rule that limited royal titles. According to his decree, only the children of the Sovereign and the male-line grandchildren were automatically granted the titles of Prince or Princess with the style of His or Her Royal Highness (HRH). This meant that great-grandchildren of the Monarch were excluded from receiving royal titles.

Under this rule, Prince Louis, as a great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II, wouldn’t have been entitled to be called a prince. Instead, he would likely have been known as Master Louis Mountbatten Windsor, reflecting the family surname used by Royals without titles.

In 2012, before the birth of Prince George, Queen Elizabeth II issued a formal declaration that changed this rule. She extended the HRH titles and Prince or Princess designations to all of Prince William and Princess Catherine’s children. This decision ensured that Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis would all hold their royal titles, reflecting their direct connection to the future monarch.

Without this change, only Prince George, as the firstborn and direct heir, would have been granted the prince title, while Charlotte and Louis would not.

Speaking in a documentary to mark the late Queen’s 90th birthday back in 2016, the royal mum of three gave a glimpse into what the Monarch was like behind closed doors when she was focused on family life rather than the duties that came with her role as head of state. At the time, Catherine made the comment that Prince Louis hadn’t been born, but it’s likely, if Queen Elizabeth made this effort for Charlotte and George, she would have done similarly thoughtful things for all of her great-grandchildren.

The Princess explained that whenever they went to stay with the former Monarch, she would ensure a special surprise awaited the children. “She always leaves a little gift or something in their room when we go and stay, and that just shows, I think, her love for her family,” adding that the Queen took a major interest in Charlotte, who is noted by many to closely resemble the late Queen as a child after her birth.

She revealed a sweet nickname used by George for his great-grandmother. “I think she’s very fond of Charlotte, always watching what she’s up to. George is only two and a half and calls her Gong Gan.”

Back in 2010, when the Cambridges got engaged, Catherine revealed in an interview to mark their occasion that the first time she had ever met the late Queen, William wasn’t present. Their first meeting took place in 2008 when Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, was marrying Autumn Kelly, but William was out of the country at the time. As his longtime girlfriend, Catherine still attended the nuptials solo.

William explained of his now wife’s meeting with his grandmother, “She’s very welcoming. She knew it was a big day, and everything was going on with Peter and Autumn, and she’d wanted to meet the princess for a while. So it was very nice of her to come over and say hello.”

Despite their royal status, Prince William and Princess Catherine are committed to giving their children as normal an upbringing as possible. This approach supports William and Catherine’s goal of blending royal tradition with a grounded and relatable childhood.