It can’t be easy marrying into the Royal family but at least Princess Kate Middleton knows she was accepted by the late Queen before her death.
Prince William married Kate on 29 April 2011 after first meeting her at the University of St Andrews in 2001. While the last few months have been turbulent for Princess Kate, she is known for her 'keep calm and carry on attitude' - a trait the late Queen reportedly admired.
And her Majesty went out of her way to make the princess feel welcome, allowing her to visit Balmoral and giving her permission to bring her camera and take pictures of the stunning landscape, according to royal author Katie Nicholl. While this may not sound like a big deal to the average person, Katie explains this simply wasn't the done thing usually.
Prince William and Princess Kate accompanied by Prince Harry and Meghan outside Windsor Castle (In Pictures via Getty Images)Her first invitation to spend time there came in the days when she started dating her future husband. There's no doubt Kate would have felt nervous ahead of her first few trips to the estate - but it appears the Queen was keen to make her feel welcome - and she reportedly did this by giving her a rare privilege.
In her book, Kate: The Future Queen, published in 2013, Katie writes: "Until now the Queen had met Kate only fleetingly at the wedding of Peter and Autumn Phillips, but she went out of her way to make her feel welcome, giving her permission to take pictures at Balmoral." Being invited to Balmoral showed how the Queen was ready to let Kate into the inner royal circle.
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She added: "As a woman who has lived her entire life in the public eye, the Queen rarely lets her guard down, and very few apart from her family and closest friends get to see the real Elizabeth." Since that first trip, Kate has been a regular visitor to the royals Scottish Highlands retreat and in 2019, Wills and Kate, then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were pictured arriving at the Sunday church service with the Queen.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have enjoyed family trips to Balmoral over the years (Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock)Meanwhile, Kate has given fans a glimpse of some of photos she snapped at Balmoral when she shared a previously unseen snap of the late Queen surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren during her final weeks. The heartwarming photo, taken by Kate in the summer of 2022 at the estate, shows the former monarch on a sofa surrounded by young royals.
On the sofa next to her is her oldest great-grandchild Savannah Phillips, the eldest daughter of Peter Phillips, as well as Mia Tindall, who cradles her brother Lucas. The heartwarming photo was certainly better received than the one she edited of herself with Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte on Mother's Day.
Eagle-eyed fans we quick to spot the snap had been edited in several places - noticing part of Princess Charlotte’s sleeve was missing, the edge of her skirt is misaligned and the positioning of Kate’s zip doesn’t look right. Kate apologised the next day and the photo was removed withdrawn with a “Kill” notice by international picture agencies and the UK’s PA news agency.
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