Inside Princess Kate’s first meeting with late Queen – and why William wasn’t by her side

Princess Kate once revealed all the details about her first time meeting the late Queen Elizabeth and she did it solo.
Princess Kate and elizabeth smiling

Princess Kate may have become Britain’s favourite royal, according to the latest polls, but the future queen had quite the usual way to meet the UK’s most beloved royal, her future grandma-in-law, the late Queen Elizabeth and it was without Prince William by her side.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were thought to be incredibly close to the late monarch and have previously spoken about the first time Kate and Elizabeth ever met – and it was at a huge family occasion.

Kate and William got into a relationship all the way back in 2002 after they met as students at St Andrews University in Scotland.

But Kate had been meaning to meet William’s grandmother for a while as the moment didn’t come until 2008, during Peter Phillips’ wedding to Autumn Kelly.

Speaking to ITV’s Tom Bradby after their engagement was announced in 2010, Kate revealed the special meeting came on a very significant day for the Royal Family.

She said: “Well I first met her at Peter and Autumn’s wedding,” Kate explained to Tom.

“And again, it was in amongst a lot of other guests and she was very friendly and, no, it was fine.”

Prince William added: “She’s very welcoming. She knew it was a big day and everything was going on with Peter and Autumn were there and things and she’d wanted to meet Kate for a while so it was very nice of her to come over and say hello.”

He said that there was a “little chat” and that his grandmother and girlfriend “got on really well”.

At the time, it was reported that the Princess of Wales attended the wedding on her own as William had a prior invitation for another wedding out of the country.

Princess Kate’s first engagement with the late Queen in Leicester in 2012

Princess Kate’s first engagement with the late Queen was in Leicester in 2012

But although Kate is understood to have gone solo to the occasion, things seem to have turned out well as the two women bonded even closer over the years.

The princess once spoke about Elizabeth’s “gentle guidance” during an official royal documentary about Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday in 2016.

Kate said: “The most memorable engagement for me I suppose was an away day to Leicester and I went without William so I was rather apprehensive about that. I think there is a real art to walkabouts, everyone teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting so I think I’ve still got to learn a little bit more and pick up a few more tips I suppose.

“She was very supportive. The fact she took the time to make sure that I was happy and looked after for that particular occasion, which probably in everything that she’s doing is a very small element, which just shows how caring she is, really.”