KATE& THE QUEEN A SPECIAL BOND
With her working-class roots, Kate may seem an unlikely monarch-in-waiting. But, as Claudia Joseph discovers, she shares a surprisingly similar outlook to the Queen
She was the girl from the Home Counties who captured Prince William’s heart and won over a nation still mourning the death of Princess Diana. And when the Queen was forced to pull out of last year’s Remembrance Day service – one of the most significant events in her diary – it was the Duchess of Cambridge who stepped into the breach. In many ways, it is not surprising that Kate is looking increasingly comfortable as a senior royal. As she celebrates her 40th birthday, this year also marks half her life spent in the public eye. Now a mother of three, she began dating William when she was a 20-year-old student. But she has also had the perfect mentor: the Queen, who has been quietly guiding her. They have grown closer since the Cambridges based themselves at Kensington Palace, which is within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, and they often catch up over afternoon tea.
Many observers believe William and Kate are modelling themselves on the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who were married for 73 years until his death last April. When the Queen turned 40, on 21 April 1966, she was a mother of four – teenagers Charles and Anne, Andrew, six, and Edward, two. She had been on the throne for 14 years and had juggled her role as head of state with being a wife and mother. At the same age, Kate has George, eight, Charlotte, six, and Louis, three – and has been recognised by the Queen for her service to the royal family by being appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian
Order in 2019.
It is, however, the Queen’s small gestures rather than the grand ones that appear to have moved Kate most. ‘You would expect a lot of grandeur and a lot of fuss, but actually what really resonates with me is her love for the simple things,’ she has said, ‘and I think that’s a special quality to have. I can remember being at Sandringham for the first time at Christmas, and I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas present. I was thinking: “Gosh, what should I give her?” I thought: “I’ll make her something”, which could have gone horribly wrong, but I decided to make my granny’s recipe for chutney. I noticed the next day that it was on the table. Such a simple gesture went such a long way for me.’