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LONDON - Prince William and Kate Middleton got their first royal wedding present from the queen on Friday: the titles Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Buckingham Palace said William is now His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge, and that Miss Catherine Middleton is now Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.
Click here for live coverage. Click the video player above to see a replay of the ceremony.
There's more: The palace statement said William was also named the Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. Middleton took those titles when she said "I will," becoming Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus.
Strathearn ties William and Middleton to Scotland, where the pair met and fell in love. Baron Carrickfergus is a little-used title which refers to one of the oldest towns in Northern Ireland.
All three titles were bestowed by William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to mark the prince's marriage and were announced early Friday via Twitter, by email and on the royal wedding's official website.
Because Middleton was not born royalty, she will not officially become Princess Catherine -- although the public may choose to call her that, or even "Princess Kate," in defiance of protocol.
Royal watchers called the bestowal of the title Duke of Cambridge a personal mark of esteem from the queen. It refers to the history-steeped university town that is a symbol of British prestige. The dukedom's history stretches back to Medieval times and has for 300 years been associated with royalty.
Jennie Bond, one of the U.K.'s foremost experts on the monarchy -- and a royal wedding consultant for The Associated Press -- said there was a hint that William was going to get the title.
"The queen went to visit Cambridge the day before yesterday so a lot of people thought that was how it was going to be," she said.
Bond called the title "a personal gift from the queen, a mark of her esteem for her grandson."
Barons, viscounts, earls, marquesses and dukes are all orders of British nobility, in ascending order of prestige. The titles can be created and become extinct, for example when a duke or earl ascends to the throne or when he dies without leaving legitimate heirs.
In 1706, George Augustus -- who subsequently became King George II -- was made the Duke of Cambridge. The dukedom ceased when he ascended to the throne in 1727, but was recreated in 1801.
Although a venerable title, it does not necessarily have terribly pleasant history.
The second Duke of Cambridge, Prince Adolphus Frederick, was the seventh son of King George III. Defying the Royal Marriage Act, he married his mistress, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother, an actress and a commoner, in 1847. Since the marriage wasn't legal, his children were all illegitimate, and the dukedom became extinct on his death, in 1904.
Americans swept up in royal fever woke long before dawn Friday to eat full English breakfasts and attend British-themed parties across four time zones as they watched Prince William marry longtime sweetheart Kate Middleton.
The parties began as early as 4 a.m. on the East Coast, an hour before the wedding started across the pond in London.
Restaurants and bars from coast to coast hung Union Jack bunting and hosted gatherings to watch the wedding on live TV, complete with royally named cocktails, including "The Windsor Knot" and "The Bitter Queen." Large events also took place include a live viewing party in New York's Times Square.
A big cheer went up at Walt Disney World's party in Orlando when Middleton emerged from her limousine and took her father's arm. Hundreds of guests were invited to wear prince and princess attire and watch in the park's Wedding Pavilion.
Angela Vanderjagt, 46, of Orlando, came in her silk pajamas and remembered watching Prince Charles and Diana get married in 1981.
"Diana would be thinking how proud she is of her son and how well he turned out, even with all the pressure," she said of Prince William's mother, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997. "Unlike her, I think he's marrying for love. They're both marrying for love."
Americans also gathered in private homes as royal watchers hosted their own get-togethers with scones and cucumber sandwiches.
In Indianapolis, Jen Barnette, 24, had her girlfriends over for a "Kate-tail" party and sleepover. The living room was set up as if for a wedding, with rows of chairs -- lined up in front of the TV -- and a runner-lined aisle. The guests wore Will and Kate t-shirts.
"I made mock invitations that look just like the royal invites," Barnette said. "They all get a copy-Kate ring. We've even got Kate-tails, sapphire blue with sugar rims."
Michelle Ertel asked her husband to wear his tuxedo and act as a butler for about two dozen members of her women's club in Oviedo, Fla. Two large-screen televisions showed the wedding and Ertel, a 43-year-old communications consultant, asked her guests to each donate a special occasion dress for charity.
The royal wedding was a chance
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