Kate Middleton’s First Official Engagement After Royal Wedding Was a Meeting With the Obamas — See It in Photos
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is a pro at being royalty. With nearly a decade of experience as an official member of the British royal family under her belt, or should we say tiara, the 38-year-old knows all the protocols and when to defy the rules.
Thanks to reportedly secret lessons on “how to be a royal wife” before her 2011 wedding to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine knows the ins and outs of royal life. Meeting with then-President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama marked her first official engagement as the Duchess of Cambridge.
Kate Middleton and Prince William married in April 2011
Millions of people around the world tuned in on April 29, 2011, to watch William, second in the line of succession, marry Catherine. In front of 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey, the couple held their wedding ceremony.
The Duchess of Cambridge walked down the aisle in a gown by Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton that cost a reported $434,000. The couple held two receptions after the ceremony; a luncheon at Buckingham Palace with 600 guests and a more exclusive evening reception with 300.
They honeymooned in Seychelles for 10 days
After an incredible royal wedding came a seriously romantic honeymoon. Catherine reportedly had no idea about where she and William would be honeymooning.
She didn’t find out until they were already on their way there. The Duke of Cambridge planned a 10-day trip to Seychelles, a chain of islands located off the coast of East Africa.
Prince William and Kate Middleton met with the Obamas
It’s back to work for the newly minted Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after their honeymoon. The first order of business? A meeting with the Obamas during one of their state visits to Buckingham Palace. Talk about a whirlwind.
Catherine and William met with the Obamas during an official state visit. They spent some time chatting together and, according to what a Palace spokesperson told Politico at the time, the royal family and the Obamas got along well.
“Very warm words have been spoken between the royal family and the Obamas,” they said. “There is a genuine, genuine — and I really mean this — a genuine warmth between the two families.”
The visit happened in the early days of the “Kate Effect” i.e., whatever Catherine wears sells. The outfit worn by the Duchess of Cambridge almost immediately sold out after the event.
They all met again in 2016 for dinner, this time with Prince Harry
The Obamas made a second visit to see the royal family in 2016. This time they had dinner at Kensington Palace with Catherine, William, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.
The group posed for photos but little Prince George of Cambridge stole the show. Catherine and William let him meet the Obamas in his robe and slippers. So cute!
