Their lives have changed, but the friendship has always remained the same.
A very long time ago, when Princess Kate was still just Kate Middleton and had no idea what kind of life awaited her later. She was bullied early in her high school career, but later met a girl who became and remained her best friend.
Insecure teenager
She is now one of the most popular princesses, but once upon a time Kate was just an insecure teenage girl. She was not feeling well at her first high school. She reportedly didn’t get along well with the other girls and was even bullied. So when she was 14, young Kate transferred to another institution: Marlborough College, a very expensive boarding school. Former classmate Gemma Williamson remembers how Kate got there. “She had apparently been bullied a lot and looked thin and pale. She had very little self-confidence,” she told Daily Mail. Fortunately, the switch paid off, because in no time Kate completely blossomed. She became part of the hockey team and made a lot of new friends – including a very best friend for life.
Kate & Emilia
At Marlborough College, Kate befriended one of the school’s most beloved girls: Emilia d’Erlanger. She may have already introduced Kate to the British nobility, because Emilia’s grandfather and uncle were real Viscounts. [burggraven]. According to some sources, Emilia would therefore have had royal connections for some time and be friends with Princes William and Harry. And that’s why Emilia is sometimes even mentioned as the one who introduced Kate and William, even before they really got to know each other during their student days and the spark flew.
Emilia was able to follow Kate and William’s entire love story closely, because the ladies remained good friends even after their high school years. When Kate and William temporarily ended their relationship in 2007, it was Emilia who went with her girlfriend to Ibiza to mend Kate’s broken heart. Fortunately, she was also able to be there for her bestie in better times later.
Us knows us
Of course Emilia was present at the grand royal wedding. She herself married David Jardine-Paterson, a banker’s heir, in 2010. Who was also no stranger to the royals, by the way. David was a classmate of Prince William at Eton. His younger brother also had a relationship with Pippa Middleton, Kate’s sister, for a while. It’s a small world…
As a good friend of Kate and William, Emilia was also chosen as one of the godparents of Prince George, the future crown prince and king. That says enough about their close bond, we think.
Like the Waleses, Emilia and David also have three children: two boys, Leo and Alexander, and a girl, Lucia. Who knows, maybe the next generation of friendship will emerge?
Totally her taste
Emilia also has a finger in the pie within the palace walls. She is an interior designer by profession and is said to have renovated both Kensington Palace and Anmer Hall, the country house of William and Kate. A friend on whose shoulder you can cry after a break-up, who helps you with your small children and who can help you choose the fabric of your sofa in between? We understand why Emilia is the princess’s source of support.
Source: Tatler, Hello! Magazine | Image: NL Image
