Kate Middleton had ‘odd’ first meeting with late Queen amid ‘cautious approach’
The Prince and Princess of Wales had been dating for several years before Kate was formally introduced to the late Queen, with Kate drawing much inspiration from the monarch on how to handle royal life
The late Queen and Princess Kate forged a special relationship(Image: Getty Images)
The Royal Family are today marking what would’ve been the late Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday with a series of tributes to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. And the Princess of Wales is one member of the Firm who seemingly forged a special bond with the Queen after she married into the Firm in 2011.
Princess Kate turned to the late Queen as a close confidant throughout the years, as she would turn to her husband’s grandmother for advice on how to handle elements of royal life. And while the two women had a unique bond, the early days of their relationship was much more hesitant.
Princess Kate and the late Queen didn’t meet for several years after she started dating William (Image: Getty Images)
With a young family, a growing portfolio of causes and an increasingly prominent public role, Kate has come a long way from her days as the shy St Andrews student who met William, 43, back in 2001. And back then, the Princess of Wales had to prove herself to the late Queen.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told the Mirror: “It must be the most extraordinary, nerve-racking experience to be dating the Queen’s grandson, a future King. Catherine was William’s girlfriend for the best part of seven years before she was formally introduced to his granny, and I can only imagine how odd that was.
“They had even been at the same event two years earlier — William’s passing out parade at Sandhurst — but they hadn’t formally met. I think it can be said that the Queen’s approach to her grandson’s potential future wife was distinctly cautious. However, once she was confident that this was a serious relationship, Queen Elizabeth grew to like and admire Catherine.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales with the late Queen Elizabeth(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Several years later, Queen Elizabeth II played a major role in bringing the Prince and Princess of Wales back together after their brief split, telling her grandson to have faith in his relationship. The late Queen summoned William to a private meeting shortly after he announced in 2007 that he and Kate had separated, urging him to follow his heart and marry the future queen.
The separation came four years into their relationship, after Kate delivered William an ultimatum to commit to their future or she would be the one to walk away. Thankfully, the late Queen stepped in and offered some sage advice.
In the biography William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, by The Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers, it is revealed that William’s grandmother convinced him to rekindle his love and also how the Queen gave Kate advice on dealing with the pressures of “headstrong husbands” and a future role as a senior member of the royal family.
The Prince and Princess of Wales had a brief breakup in 2007(Image: PA)
The book says that Kate delivered the ultimatum days after the Cheltenham Festival. According to the biography, a long-standing friend who Kate confided in at the time said: “Catherine was distressed. She was miserable, but she certainly wasn’t desperate. She felt as though she had nothing to lose and for the first time she probably relayed her true feelings to William.
“She wasn’t demanding an engagement, but she wanted a commitment, and if he couldn’t deliver that, well, then she left him in no doubt that it was best they go their separate ways.”
As William struggled with the future of his relationship, the Queen invited him to Sunday lunch to judge his mood. According to Myers: “William was more than just crestfallen and worried about whether he was throwing away the one constant in his life.
William and Catherine at the Cheltenham Festival in 2007(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
Kate issued an ultimatum to William (Image: Getty Images)
“He was, according to one well-placed source, ‘completely broken’. In that moment the Queen advised her grandson that ‘the only certain path is the one supported by faith. It was all she had to say,’ they said.”
The royal couple later reconciled, and according to Myers’ biography, a source close to the couple said: “They came back clear that they would face the future together. That’s all Catherine had ever wanted and now that William was fully on board and recognised that it was not solely about him, everything seemed to fall into place.”
In December 2010, just five months before her wedding to Prince William, Kate was summoned to Buckingham Palace by the late Queen, marking the first time Kate had met with the monarch on her own.
The couple on their wedding day in 2011(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Myers writes of the meeting: “According to one former courtier, the Queen offered words of encouragement to Catherine regarding her future role as a senior member of the family, as well as guidance in how to deal with ‘headstrong’ husbands.”
The Queen later met with William once again to give her blessing ahead of the wedding, and encouraged her grandson to forge his own way within the monarchy. According to Myers’ book: “The Queen certainly had sympathy with [William’s] situation. Her direction was very much ‘go and live your life’, but also to have one eye on the future, as you never know when things will change, one former courtier said.”
