As the Cambridges celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, we look at how Catherine is owning her role as a queen in waiting.
London — It was an image that got lost on the day of Prince Philip’s funeral but was powerful enough to go viral in the days that followed — the Duchess of Cambridge captured by a photographer peering through a black veil in the back of a limousine on the way to the service. It is as regal as it is human and speaks to the royal she has become. It’s a very different image compared to those from more than a decade earlier. The then Kate Middleton was hounded by paparazzi everywhere she went when her relationship with William was first revealed in 2004. Royal sources say it got so bad she was forced to leave London for a while. The newspapers were obsessed with what they saw as a story of social ascent — the middle-class girl who landed her prince while at university on the rugged east coast of Scotland. She was reportedly ridiculed by William’s friends, who were said to whisper “doors to manual” behind her back — a reference to her mother’s former job as a flight attendant. It was also a jibe that glossed over Carole Middleton’s journey as an entrepreneur, someone who established a very successful business and put all her children through one of the country’s top private (and most expensive) schools. Meanwhile in the tabloid media, Catherine faced numerous cruel monikers such as “Waity Katie” due to the length of their courtship. The coverage became less sniffy after she walked down the aisle at that blockbuster wedding 10 years ago this week. In the years since, we’ve seen first-hand how she has adapted to performing on the global stage, most recently when she undertook a royal tour of Pakistan with William in 2019. The duchess spoke with us while visiting a home for orphaned children in Lahore. It was during that conversation, with her husband by her side, where we saw a glimpse of the confidence Kate has developed. It was her first news interview, and while she appeared nervous to begin with, she found her stride and has done several others since. She further demonstrated her poise later in the trip, checking in on some nervous members of the traveling press pool with her husband following a particularly turbulent flight. The duchess’s media coverage has become more positive across the board and in recent months has become almost fawning. It’s often in stark contrast to how they portray her sister-in-law the Duchess of Sussex. Something media commentators have noted. Kate is set to be the next Princess of Wales before she becomes Queen, and preparation for the roles has not been easy. She has endured forensic scrutiny and egregious invasions of her privacy, like when topless paparazzi shots of her on vacation were splashed across European tabloid magazines. Her work — first with William and Harry to start a national conversation about mental health and later on issues around early childhood — has illustrated how she intends to use her profile as a frontline royal. When she is engaged on these topics you get a hint of her ambition for long-lasting, meaningful change and of her sometimes introverted but always passionate character. Only when you see her off-camera and relaxed do you realize how uncomfortable she can be in the spotlight, but she’s learned she has to get out there to remain relevant. William offers advice having grown up in the spotlight but lockdown has also provided her with an opportunity to shine.
