Prince William Set up a ‘Crisis’ Hotline for Kate Middleton in the Early Years of Their Relationship
Prince William and Kate Middleton have decades of experience navigating royal life between them. However, that hasn’t always been the case. While the Prince of Wales was born a royal, his wife, the Princess of Wales, married into the royal family. Even early on in their relationship, William knew his now-wife of 13 years would be under scrutiny. That’s why he reportedly gave Kate access to a “crisis” hotline.
William made an ‘emergency hotline’ to palace staff for Kate
Kate and William, who met as students at the University of St. Andrews, quietly started dating in the early 2000s. William, now 41, “was all too aware from the start the kind of pressure a[nd] great deal of attention his partner would receive,” The Mirror wrote.
The Prince of Wales was “deeply concerned about how Kate would be able to manage the scrutiny that comes along with any close association with the royal family.” So he decided to do something, “quickly set up an emergency hotline .”
Interest in Kate “stepped up a notch” after the pair graduated. As a result, William made a move to protect his then-girlfriend. “William decided to set up an emergency hotline number for Kate to use if she needed assistance,” the publication claimed.
As for who the calls were to, they went “directly” to Paddy Haverson, now-King Charles III‘s former press secretary.
Staffers gave Kate ‘every support possible’ early in her relationship with William
Royal author Katie Nicholl discussed how palace staff were there for Kate at William’s urging in Kate: The Future Queen.
“William was aware of the situation and anxious about it,” she wrote. “He had seen firsthand how his mother [Princess Diana] had been harassed by the paparazzi.” William, therefore, was “determined” that Kate would “not be subjected to the same treatment.”
“We had been introduced to Kate early on. And we were instructed from the outset to give her every support possible,” a palace source told the author. “She was obviously the subject of a lot of press interest and intrusion from the paparazzi.”
“William said we had a duty of care to her and her family. And so we advised her on how to deal with the cameras,” they continued. “We told her to smile at the photographers so that there would be a better picture. She was given advice on how to manage the media. And we were there to support her if there was a crisis.”
Meghan Markle didn’t have any guidance on royal life like Kate Middleton
Unlike her sister-in-law, Meghan Markle had no “crisis” line to dial when she needed guidance on royal life as someone new to royal life. (She started dating Prince Harry in July 2016 before marrying into the royal family in May 2018.)
“Joining this family, she said in Harry & Meghan, “I knew that there was a protocol for how things were done.”
“Do you remember that old movie The Princess Diaries with Anne Hathaway?” she continued. “There’s no class [where] some person goes, ‘Sit like this. Cross your legs like this. Use this fork; don’t do this. Curtsy then, wear this kind of hat.’”
“It doesn’t happen,” the Duchess of Sussex went on. “So, I needed to learn a lot, including the national anthem. It was baptism by fire.”
Later, in a 2022 interview, Meghan remarked etiquette classes would’ve helped. “That would’ve been really helpful,” the American Riviera Orchard founder said. “That would’ve been a very key tutorial to have had in advance of all this.”
