Kate Middleton’s Casual Outings — Like Shopping — Are Pre-Planned and Staged to Make Her Seem More Relatable, Insider Reveals

Kate Middleton has always done her best to build a near-perfect reputation. But many people like her for a variety of reasons: Her dedication to being a working mother, the fact that she was raised a commoner, and of course, her ability to relate to the British public.

However, one royal insider says that Kate’s work to appear more relatable might not be as natural as we once thought. In fact, it was just revealed that many of Kate’s casual outings — such as when she’s spotted shopping at Zara — are actually staged in order to make her seem more relatable.

Kate Middleton reportedly pre-plans casual appearances to increase her likability

Everyone knows that Kate and her husband, Prince William (the future king, of course) are anything but ordinary. However, they’ve always presented themselves with this relatability that has helped them become so loved. For example, people gush over any appearances William and Kate make with their three children, and their natural ability to parent is something so many Brits can connect with.

But royal author Tom Quinn has revealed that some instances, such as when Kate is spotted in public while not on a royal engagement, are actually pre-planned. “Kate and William, especially Kate, have really cultivated this ‘girl next door’ image,” Quinn told Express. “It is very carefully choreographed by the royal household to get the maximum benefits of what they do.” So, if you ever spot Kate shopping at a little boutique in downtown London, she most likely didn’t decide to do that on her own.

Still, those small outings probably bring her back to a time when her life was more normal. “She is approachable, and I think she genuinely is approachable, because she didn’t grow up int the royal family,” Quinn added.

Kate Middleton has taken her role as a mother very seriously

William and Kate understand how important their roles are as the future king and queen, but the two of them have committed to putting their three children first — something that has undoubtedly made them connect better with the public. Earlier this year, Kate opted not to travel to Singapore with William and instead chose to stay home to help Prince George prepare for some tests. While it’s unclear what that looked like, it’s possible that George was just feeling stressed and anxious and needed his mom around — and William was totally fine with that.

Kate lived a fairly normal life before meeting the prince, though she was associated with William for pretty much her entire adulthood; the two met when they were just 18 and had reportedly started secretly dating by age 20, meaning that Kate had a normal childhood but never really experienced any normal adulthood.

Perhaps it’s benefitted her, though, because it’s allowed her to grow with the royal family as opposed to having to learn everything about the royals after already having established her own independence (some think this is what affected Meghan Markle the most after marrying Prince Harry).