Kate Middleton to smash through tradition as she does something no Princess of Wales has done for over 100 years

Kate Middleton is making waves by doing something that no Princess of Wales has done in well over a century, and that includes Princess Diana.

Princess Kate’s popularity and standing within the Royal Family is at an all-time high right now following a surge of support for Prince William’s wife after her cancer diagnosis in 2024. Her public appearances and Christmas concert stole the show when it came to the Royal’s festivities this past holiday season, and it seems like Kate’s increasing status and level of importance within the family is only going to grow as we head deeper into 2025. At least, that’s going by a new power that Kate is about to wield, something that marks her out from every other Princess of Wales since 1910.

According to The Times, the princess is all set to award certain lucky British brands with the coveted honor of a royal warrant. Sources told the outlet that Kate is preparing to bestow the warrant on a few favored companies to “recognize British skills and industry.” It’s unclear exactly when this will happen, but it’s said that she intends to name her choices very soon. When she does so, Kate will become the first Princess of Wales to grant royal warrants since Queen Mary, wife of King George V, did the same when she held the same title 115 years ago.

A royal warrant signifies that a company officially supplies goods or services to the monarchy, and therefore grants them the permission to use the royal coat of arms on their packaging and associated materials. It’s a badge of pride for many brands, in other words, with many boasting decades of continuous service to the crown. Royal warrants came back into headlines recently for the wrong reasons, however, when it turned out that King Charles had elected not to renew the royal warrant for Cadbury, the U.K.’s leading chocolate brand, for the first time in 170 years.

Charles has always taken the issuing of royal warrants seriously and has been dishing them out himself since 1980, when he was the Prince of Wales instead of his son, William. That said, Diana neglected to do so herself once she became Princess of Wales upon her marriage in 1981. One innovation Charles made to the warrants system is that companies were required to demonstrate they had an appropriate environmental and sustainability policy and action plan in place.

This is a small thing in the grand scheme of Kate’s royal duties, but the princess taking on this extra slice of power is yet another example of how she is slowly gaining more and more responsibility, just as her husband is amid his father’s ongoing cancer treatment. Recent reports indicate that both William and Charles believe Kate is ready to step up and become queen “when the time comes.” As one Royal commentator put it, “She has shown that she is very much in charge of her own agenda and that’s to be admired.”