‘The Queen has been a phenomenal mentor to her.’
Since Kate pledged her eternal loyalty to William, she has been preparing for the role of her life: that of Queen Consort. Her prince will of course help her along the way, but the best princess lessons? The Princess of Wales reportedly received this from none other than the late Queen Elizabeth.
More and more self-confidence
Anyone who follows Kate a little will see what a transformation she has undergone. She has grown from a quiet, somewhat shy royal fiancée into a popular, confident princess. It helped her a lot to copy the art from Queen Elizabeth, who was happy to help her granddaughter-in-law get started in her royal career. According to Katie Nicholl, a royal expert with good sources in the palace, Kate has learned a lot from the Queen.
“They made sure they went to Balmoral every summer so they could spend time with the Queen and so the children could spend time with her. These were precious, precious moments for Kate where she was able to build a close bond with the Queen,” Nicholl tells OK!. “And they had a really good bond. Part of that bond was guidance: the Queen could pass on her advice, her values and her guidelines.”
There is no manual
Princess Kate is now often praised to the heavens. Her behavior, her charity work, her outfits: everything fits, if you ask her fans. “A lot of that comes from her innate confidence, but there is no handbook for princesses and the success of being a princess mainly comes from experience and guidance. William has been a great mentor to her, but I think the Queen was also a phenomenal mentor,” says Nicholl. Because of course QE also realized that Kate was the future of the monarchy. “It was in the interests of the late Elizabeth II that the future Princess of Wales and future Queen was well prepared.”
Princess Lessons
That preparation started before the royal wedding. “I remember being told before William and Kate’s wedding in 2011 that the Queen had made her own staff and her own ladies-in-waiting available to Catherine so she could talk to them about what it’s like to attend royal engagements and how one should behave. She accepted that offer and made sure she benefited greatly from that experience.” We immediately believe that, because the transition from Duchess to Princess went smoothly for Kate. It remains a shame that Elizabeth was no longer able to see that herself.
Source: Marie Claire UK | Image: NL Image
