‘Ms’ moniker underlines break with tradition

THE engagement announcement from Kensington Palace broke with tradition by referring to Meghan Markle as “Ms”.

When the palace announced the Duke of Cambridge’s intention to marry, in 2010, his future bride was “Miss Catherine Middleton”.

But in a sign that this will be a thoroughly modern union, Prince Harry’s fiancée is a “Ms”. The honorific is used by women who do not wish to be defined by their marital status.

In 1971, Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes, the feminists, used it for the title of their new publication, Ms Magazine.

For many years, it was considered to be the preserve of feminists. But times change, and the term now has the seal of approval from Debrett’s, the authority on etiquette. Lucy Hume, Debrett’s associate director, said: “Many unmarried women today prefer to use ‘Ms’ as opposed to ‘Miss’ – this is entirely a matter of personal preference.

“It was tradition for a divorcee to retain ‘Mrs’ plus her ex-husband’s surname, but her own Christian name. Since Ms Markle has reverted to using her maiden name, it makes sense for her to use ‘Ms’.”