Kate Middleton’s first meeting with the Queen at huge family occasion without Prince William

Kate Middleton’s first meeting with the Queen came at a huge family occasion and it’s understood that she went solo as Prince William wasn’t able to attend. 

• The Duchess of Cambridge previously revealed she first met the Queen at Peter Phillips’ wedding to Autumn Kelly back in 2008. 
• It’s thought that Prince William couldn’t make the wedding, though the monarch was “welcoming” to her future granddaughter-in-law.  
• This royal news comes as it was revealed Lady Louise Windsor is set to face 'intimidating' tradition at St Andrew's university. 

Whilst Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding day might seem like only yesterday, it’s now been over a decade since the future King and Queen Consort tied the knot. Recently, they’ve been observed stepping up more than ever to support the Queen with public engagements and tours. They will also soon be living closer to her as Prince William and Kate Middleton confirmed their Windsor move. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are thought to be incredibly close to the monarch and have previously opened up about the first time Kate and the Queen ever met. 

Getting candid with ITV’s Tom Bradby after their engagement was announced in 2010, Kate Middleton’s first meeting with the Queen was discussed. And it came on a significant day for the extended Royal Family and reportedly without Prince William…

Whilst there have now been plenty of royal weddings, the first of the Queen’s grandchildren to get married was Peter Phillips, who married his now-former-wife Autumn Kelly back in 2008. It was at their wedding that Her Majesty and the Duchess of Cambridge met for the first time.

“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 echoed his now-wife’s sentiments, adding, “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 partner “got on really well”.

This first meeting at a huge Royal Family occasion might well have been perceived as rather daunting by some. However, it seems that after hoping for a meeting “for a while”, the monarch was delighted to just finally get to “chat” with Kate .

And whilst Kate Middleton’s first meeting with the Queen seems to have gone very well and the monarch was incredibly “welcoming”, there’s thought to have been one notable absence at this key moment. 

According to Hello!, Kate attended the wedding without Prince William as reports claimed he had a prior invitation for another wedding out of the country which unfortunately clashed with his cousin’s big day.

Instead Kate is understood to have gone solo at this big occasion, though things certainly seem to have gone well. All these years later the Queen and the Duchess are understood to be close and her respect for the monarch came shining through when Kate Middleton allowed the Queen and her three heirs to have the limelight at the Jubilee celebrations. 

As Kate Middleton continues to prepare for her future role as Queen it’s lovely to think that their first meeting at such a big family occasion has paved the way for their bond now.