Joining the royal family is never easy, but the Duchess of Cambridge has remained one of the most loved members of the Firm since she joined in 2011.
Meeting the in-laws can be a challenge at the best of times, but when your future family members include the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, it’s quite the path to navigate! Kate has supported Her Majesty by attending engagements, going on tours and taking on patronages, while also finding a way to reflect her own interests in her charity work.
It’s no wonder, then, that Prince William‘s wife has formed such strong bonds with the royal family. Let’s take a look at some of Kate’s best moments with her in-laws…
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were reunited with the Queen at Windsor Castle at the end of their UK-wide royal train tour in December 2020.
The monarch had spent much of the year in isolation amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the look on her face when she was reunited with her family members was absolutely priceless. Look at the smiles on the Queen and Kate’s faces!
The Duchess even borrowed her grandmother-in-law’s diamond pendant earrings for the occasion
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge accompanied the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall on a trip to Loughborough in January 2020.
The foursome visited the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Stanford Hall in Loughborough, where they were given a tour of the site and met patients and staff.
Photographers captured this lovely moment between William, Kate, Charles and Camilla before the Duke of Cambridge tried wheelchair basketball.
Over the summer, the Queen retreats to Balmoral where she receives visits from her family on a rolling basis. In August 2019, Kate proved how close she is to our monarch by riding beside her on a trip to church during her family’s stay on the Scottish royal estate.
The couple was staying with the Queen for the bank holiday weekend, having flown up from their Norwich home with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
And while Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex with their daughter Lady Louise, Princess Anne, her husband Timothy Laurence, and Anne’s son Peter Phillips and his now ex-wife Autumn were also all visiting, it was Kate and William who shared a car with the Queen.
Kate and the Countess of Wessex have a very natural, close relationship. Here they are pictured shortly after Sophie tumbled into the carriage at Royal Ascot, and almost fell on Kate.
They always looked to be having fun when they attended royal engagements together, with Harry often making Kate burst into hysterics with his down-to-earth humour, and vice versa.
The Duchess of Cambridge shares a giggle with Meghan Markle during their first joint engagement together before the royal wedding in May 2018. Royal biography Finding Freedom revealed more details about when Meghan first met Kate.
Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote: “Meghan bought a present for the duchess, who had celebrated her birthday just a day earlier. The soft leather Smythson notebook helped to break the ice, as did Meghan’s cooing over then 20-month-old Charlotte.”
Kate has always had a good relationship with Prince Charles, long before he became her father-in-law. After her engagement to Prince William was announced, Kate said Charles had been “very, very welcoming and very friendly” to her, while the future King also said he was “thrilled” and “delighted” about the news.
The Duchess had her hands full with Prince George and Princess Charlotte during the 2017 celebration of Trooping the Colour, but she shared a lovely moment with her late grandfather-in-law Prince Philip as she watched over the children.
Kate also has a good relationship with Prince Charles’ wife Camilla. The Duchess of Cambridge was given a very thoughtful wedding gift from her stepmother-in-law when Camilla presented her with a gold link charm bracelet. It featured a disc engraved with both of their monograms – on one side, a ‘C’ for Catherine and a coronet, and on the other, a ‘C’ for Camilla and a crown. Camilla’s granddaughter Eliza Lopes was also a bridesmaid at William and Kate’s wedding.
The Duchess is always very respectful of her grandmother-in-law the Queen, and once revealed a conundrum everyone can relate to! Starring in the ITV documentary Our Queen At 90, Kate revealed that she didn’t know what to give the Queen for Christmas but settled on homemade chutney made from her own grandmother’s recipe.
“She (the Queen) really cares,” Kate said. “I can remember being at Sandringham, for the first time, at Christmas. And I was worried about what to give the Queen as her Christmas present. I was thinking, ‘Gosh, what should I give her?’
“I thought back to what I would give my own grandparents. And I thought, ‘I’ll make her something.’ Which could have gone horribly wrong. But I decided to make my granny’s recipe of chutney.”
Kate added: “I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table. I think such a simple gesture went such a long way for me and I’ve noticed since she’s done that on lots of occasions and I think it just shows her thoughtfulness, really, and her care in looking after, everybody.“
The recipe is thought to have been a marrow chutney; Pippa Middleton’s 2012 recipe book Celebrate includes instructions for ‘Granny’s Marrow Chutney,’ which takes several hours to prepare.
Kate and her aunt-in-law Princess Anne enjoyed a natter on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as they celebrated the RAF’s 100th anniversary
