When Kate Middleton tied the knot with Prince William, she officially became a part of the Royal Family and started her journey towards becoming the future Queen.
This involved a comprehensive training programme that would fully equip her for the role that awaits her.
Now, a royal expert has shed light on one "clever" strategy the Palace has employed to prepare the Princess of Wales to eventually become Queen Consort when William ascends the throne.
This plan has been instrumental in preparing Kate over the past decade for what will undoubtedly be the most significant role of her life, and she has already accomplished one crucial aspect of it.
Royal author Katie Nicholl explained that one facet of Kate's role was fulfilled when Prince George was born, as she provided an heir for the Windsors, thereby securing the line of succession. However, this is just one part of the future Queen's responsibilities, and she has also had to learn how to embody the role itself.
In 2020, during True Royalty's Kate: The Making of a Future Queen, the expert elaborated: "There are two roles to a future Queen. One is to produce heirs, which she has done, and the other is to learn how to one day become Queen and that is very much what we are seeing. We are seeing a Queen-in-waiting. We are seeing the Princess take on more duties, more royal engagements, more of a public profile than ever before."
"She's taking on more patronages, she's taking on patronages from the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. This is all very deliberate, it's very much part of the Palace machine bringing her from the shadows of Anmer [Hall] and into the forefront, into the the spotlight, because they are very clever."
"They realise the power of Kate and the potential of Kate and William as this young, glamorous, dynamic duo who actually do have the ability to reshape and project the monarchy into the future."
Katie added: "What you see is pretty much what you get. She's very kind, she's very thoughtful, she's very easy to get along with. She's been very well brought up, she comes from a lovely family, she's got two feet on the ground. The people who know her are very loyal to her and they love her."
With respect to how the Princess is being prepared for her future role, the documentary Kate Middleton: Working Class to Windsor explains that Kate had private lessons which focused on 'how to be a royal wife'.
Journalist Ashley Pearson said in the documentary: "From the beginning, Kate Middleton had a great deal of support from the Royal Family which was really instructed by [Queen Elizabeth].
"This was to make sure she knew as much as she could possibly know and what to do in every situation – bearing in mind, of course, that she didn’t grow up in this world."
As for what Kate's so-called 'princess lessons' involved, Ms Pearson gave details on how the most important element of the teaching was about 'preserving her modesty.'
She said: "There were things like learning how to get out of a carriage without exposing your modesty and learning how to bend down to get flowers from a young girl without exposing your modesty.
"Things that you would never think you’d have to learn but, of course, a woman in her position would certainly need to know.
"There were all kinds of small details and little bits of etiquette – how to sit, who to curtsy to, who not to curtsy to, what fork to use and whatever else they felt she needed to know. She was actually given lessons on how to be a royal wife."
