First Posted on Tumblr 18 May 2023
In the book 'The Viscount Who Loved Me' Kate's christian name is Katherine, but in the show Kate is not English, she is not from Somerset, she is Indian and from what we know of her spent most, or all, of her life in India, so calling her Katherine made no sense in that context, why would Indian parents name their child with such an English name?
We find out towards the end of episode 8 that Kate's name is Kathani, but the way we find out is the most surprising. It is not from her family - Mary and Edwina - that we find out what her name is, but from Anthony himself as he says the line 'Is that a promise Kathani Sharma?'. But how did Anthony know what Kate's Government name was?
There are many theories as to how Anthony knew Kate's name, some suggest that he tried to find out when she said she was going back to India, others think he had her investigated (rather stalkerish behaviour I think), and some think she told him during their night in the gazebo before they fell asleep, however, I think there is a clue in episode 3 as to how Anthony found out, and I think he has known for most of the season.
In episode 3 we see the beginning of a one on one conversation between Edwina and Anthony, and after that we see Edwina and Kate talking about the conversation. Edwina tells Kate that Anthony didn't just talk about himself, but that he asked her about her family, and I think this is where Anthony found out what Kate's name was. In asking about Edwina's family I think Anthony was either consciously or subconsciously trying to learn more about Kate. He spoke to Edwina about their parents where he learned that they were half sisters, and this in the conversation he posed the question as to why Kate had an English name when both her parents were Indian, and Edwina told him that Kate's name was Kathani.
What are your theories on how Anthony knew what Kate's name was?
- I have used the term 'Government name' rather than christian name for two reasons, first Christian name references the Christian religion and it is likely that Kate was not christian but rather Hindu, and second because some people I know from India refer to their name as their Government name. If this is incorrect please do let me know
