Few newcomers marry into the Royal Family fully prepared for the duties and public scrutiny that come along with a royal title. But long before Kate Middleton became the Princess of Wales, she received a priceless piece of advice from someone who knew all too well what it felt like to join the world’s most famous family.
Prince Philip—who had been married to Queen Elizabeth for 73 years when he died in 2021—retired at the age of 96, having held nearly 1,000 patronages in his lifetime. But behind his public role, he also took on the task of mentoring new family members, including Princess Diana and later, Kate.
According to Gyles Brandreth’s biography Philip: The Final Portrait (via Hello!), the late Duke of Edinburgh shared a key lesson with the future Queen Catherine, and it would shape how she carried herself in the public eye. The tip? Never look at the camera.
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Princess Kate is seen with Prince Philip during Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday celebrations in 2016.
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Philip: the Final Portrait
Prince Philip noted that the late Queen paid attention to the person she was talking to, and not the cameras around her. Per Brandreth, the duke said, “If you believe the attention is for you personally, you’re going to end up in trouble.”
“The attention is for your role, what you do, what you’re supporting,” his advice to Princess Kate continued. “It isn’t for you as an individual. You are not a celebrity. You are representing the Royal Family. That’s all.”
Although Brandreth wrote that the Duke of Edinburgh was concerned about younger members of the family letting attention get to their heads, he was “relieved” about Prince William’s “level-headed” partner.
The author added that he had personally gone on walkabouts with Princess Kate and saw her put Philip’s advice into action. “She does not look at the camera,” Brandreth wrote. “Whenever she is interviewed, Catherine talks about the matter in hand, never about herself.”
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Princess Catherine
Prince Philip
