Queen Elizabeth Was ‘Phenomenal Mentor’ to Kate Middleton, Made Sure She Was Well Prepared for Future Role, Expert Says
A royal expert looked at how Queen Elizabeth helped prepare Kate Middleton for her role as the future queen. According to the expert, part of their relationship involved the queen mentoring Kate.
Expert looks at how Queen Elizabeth mentored Kate Middleton for her future role
Royal expert Katie Nicholl, author of The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, explained to OK! (via Daily Mail) how the queen took time to mentor Kate before she married Prince William.
“She had a wonderful mentor in William but I think she also had a phenomenal mentor in the queen,” Nicholl said. “It was very much in the late Elizabeth II’s interest to make sure that the future Princess of Wales and future queen was prepared.”
According to Nicholl, the queen “made her private office and ladies-in-waiting” available to Kate before the wedding so she could get up to speed on the way royal life worked.
“[This meant Kate] could go and talk to them first-hand about what it was like to do royal engagements and how one should behave,” Nicholl explained. “And she took up that offer and made sure she benefitted from that experience.”
Royal expert says Kate developed ‘close relationship’ with the queen
Kate continued to appreciate the moments she had with the queen, including spending time in Balmoral every summer. “Those were precious, valuable moments for Kate to develop a close relationship with the queen,” Nicholl explained.
She continued, “And they did have a good relationship. Part of that relationship was mentoring and the queen being able to pass on her advice, her values, and her guidance.”
Nicholl also touched on how Kate “isn’t trying to emulate” Princess Diana, who last held the title of the Princess of Wales, though Diana’s legacy is a lot to live up to. Instead, Kate wants to have her “own identity,” the royal expert explained.
“She’s not letting anything overshadow or overwhelm the Princess of Wales that she wants to be,” Nicholl said. “I think that’s very much to her credit and her confidence.”
Kate Middleton used one of the queen’s classic style tricks during a red carpet appearance
Celebrity and royal fashion expert Miranda Holder analyzed Kate’s 2023 BAFTA Awards show style, explaining to The Mirror how she took “a leaf out of the queen’s guidebook.”
Queen Elizabeth always wore brightly colored outfits for a specific reason and, although Kate didn’t sport a vibrant hue at the event, her white gown and contrasting black gloves were certainly eye-catching.
“The stark contrast of the black and white against the red carpet ensured that Kate was easily spotted, the princess taking a leaf out of the queen’s guidebook, as her Majesty would always dress to be seen in a crowd, out of courtesy to the public,” Holder explained.
She continued, “This was Kate at her most confident and bold. The opera gloves were a daring choice and have divided opinions, but personally, I feel that they were a genius move.”
Holder added, “Evening gloves have featured on the runways at fashion week for the last couple of seasons, but have never really filtered down into the mainstream, rendering them a very fashion-forward and unusually avant-garde choice for Kate.”
