Princess Catherine: A New Kind of Queen | Full Film

Buckingham Palace has announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history. The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow. And so the reign of Elizabeth II comes to a close after 70 years at the age of 96. Her son Charles is now king. The life of a royal is one of immense complexity. To uphold tradition and maintain a strong social standing are values upheld not only by the family but the nation. The passing of Queen Elizabeth II brought light to the impact an individual can have on the world. Her reign, highly regarded as significant and prosperous, is one which has left many wondering what may become of the members of the royal family. We journey into the often sought history and glimpse into the future of a remarkable woman, one whose royalty and influence are of international intrigue. From tying the knot with Prince William and swiftly making monarchy history in the form of their first born and third in line for the throne, Prince George Alexander Louis. Queen consort to be Kate Middleton. They hear a lot of horror stories about proposing and things get horribly wrong. It went really really well and yeah I was very pleased she said yes. And it's a family ring? It is a family ring, yes. It's my mother's engagement ring. So I thought it was quite nice because obviously she's knocked me around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all. This is my way of keeping her sort of close to it all. I guess we better have a look at it. What kind of ring is it? Are you an expert on what's... I'm not an expert on it at all. I've been reliably informed it's a sapphire with some diamonds. But I'm sure everyone recognizes it from previous times. You're going to be an envy of many. Well I just hope I look after it. It's very very special. Born the eldest sibling of three, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born in Berkshire, England, raised by their mother and father Michael and Carol Middleton. Both of highly different backgrounds found love was in the air as they met at Carol's occupation as an air hostess and Father Michael's job as an international dispatcher. It was on Michael's side that a glimpse into British aristocracy was already prevalent. Born into a wealthy family from Leeds, West Yorkshire. And Carol's side, a decidedly working class group of coal miners and builders. Well the Middletons are hugely interesting because they've been more instrumental and influential than any other family that's married into the House of Windsor. If you look at Sophie Wessex or as she was then Sophie Rhys-Jones, even Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, their families were very much kept on the periphery and that was a deliberate move. You know once you married into the royal family you became a Windsor and that was that. Well it was different when Kate and William got married and when William asked Kate to marry him he made it very clear that she wouldn't have to leave her family behind her. Once she married into his family he promised her that they'd always stay a part of the family and they have done. Becoming a student of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, it was here that she first became aware of Prince William of Wales, all through the fortune of sharing a dorm room during her time there. At the university they shared rooms to start with and then shared a cottage with some friends and as they said you know by their own account they said that they were friends first and then the romance began. The pair shared several classes during their studies and soon became friends. It wasn't until 2002, after Kate's appearance in an exclusive fashion show fundraiser, that William became more and more intrigued by Miss Middleton. It seems that the royal family were protecting William, it's about William to start with, but then William and Kate when the relationship began because they did a lot of their early courting in in St Andrews at the Queen's estate in Balmoral, away from prying eyes, lots of privacy, lots of time to develop the relationship. We have a very particular picture of in that respect, she's quite reserved but you know this is the same girl that when she was trying to pull Prince William she's you know she was wearing a see-through out dress and sashayed down a catwalk so and she is quite you know that's quite a bold thing to do so she can't have been too shy or backward at coming forward in that respect. I think when it comes to William and Kate's relationship what's great about it is it's based on friendship first. They were friends at St Andrews University before they went on to start going out with each other. Kate at the time counseled William in changing his course, he didn't like what he was studying and she encouraged him not to leave and go back down to London but to stick with it and do something a little bit different. The romance was in bloom, a relationship which was held closely undercover mostly due to the Prince's extreme distrust of the press. However a slip in their cautious approach led to Kate being caught by paparazzi while on a royal family ski trip leading to an immediate response and their relationship being the subject of intense scrutiny, prejudice and tabloid attention. Rumours spread that Middleton was certainly more than a close friend and some tabloids led the headlines suggesting she was being groomed for a potential position of royalty. What you have with William is a guy who has learned lessons and there's really nothing any of those grey suited men from Clarence House could genuinely tell William that he doesn't already know about the press and he understands the media, he understands that as a royal you're never going to be elected but that doesn't mean that public opinion isn't incredibly important. At all times they were highly discreet, they were almost never seen together, they were even with their friends they didn't allow any gossip to start, people speculated but there was nothing definite which proved that they were an item and I think the fact that she was discreet and that she wasn't blabbering on about her love or her regard for Prince William I think that stood her in good stead. They are an incredibly down-to-earth couple I remember meeting them together as a couple for the very first time on the day the palace announced that they were getting married and a few journalists were invited to go to St James's Palace and have a cup of tea with them, well it's not an offer you get very often so of course we jumped at the invite and I think everyone was terribly nervous, not least William and Kate, I mean it was the first time they had met the British media, you know I'd seen them at night clubs before, I'd spent my time you know watching them at polo matches and charting this amazing relationship but the first time really to actually sit down and talk with them I remember Kate being very nervous but incredibly sweet and kind and interested in what we were doing and how we were covering the story and they both just seemed so well matched you could see it in their body chemistry even at that stage and on in a moment you know fraught with nerves they were about to meet the world's press all the paparazzi and the photographers rather were waiting next door to take their pictures but even under that sort of pressure they gravitated towards each other I remember William having his hand in the small of Kate's back you know guiding her making sure she was all right and I think that's what you've seen over the years you know he has wanted to just make sure that she is comfortable that she feels confident and and happy in what she's doing and as he said in that engagement interview and I think it was such a poignant and important thing that he said that he waited so long to propose not because he wasn't sure I think he probably had been sure for a long time but it was so that he could give Kate the opportunity to see exactly what married life would be like and get out if it wasn't what she wanted you're obviously going to enter this family William's mother was this massive iconic figure the most famous figure of our age is that worrying is that is that intimidating well obviously it'd be um I would love to have met her um and and she's obviously she's an inspirational woman to to look up to you know it's a wonderful family the members who I've I've met have achieved a lot and you know very inspirational so um yeah I do there's no pressure though because there's no pressure because like um Kate said you know it's about carving your own future um no one's gonna try you know no one's trying to fill my mother's shoes and she what she did is fantastic it's about making your own future and your own destiny and Kate will do um will do a very good job of that today I have seen again that the tree house is all about family and fun for many this is a home from home a lifeline enabling families to live as normally as possible during a very precious period of time what you do is inspirational it is a shining example of the support and the care that is delivered not just here but in the children's hospice movement at large up and down the country I mean it's very difficult I think for anybody who's come from the outside of the royal family to fall on public figure to be brilliant and public speaking straight away Prince Harry seems to have got it almost instant he's an excellent orator and he does it with natural charm and fun and a degree of wit I think there's no doubt that Kate was very nervous when she started her role as duchess and speaking publicly in her role as the patron of the East Anglian hospice she had to make a public speech I thought it she did very well but it was a little stilted a little disjointed I think she would probably admit that she was more than a little bit nervous when she's had to make it but in time I think she's improved she's undoubtedly had some help I would think from external advisors I mean Princess Diana herself used Peter Settlin to help train her in public speaking in fact she used to have marbles put in her mouth to help her speak more clearly I don't know if Kate's gone to that extreme but she certainly has improved she's certainly more confident the couple's official engagement was announced in November 2010 during a vacation to Kenya where William presented Kate with his mother's engagement ring and the ring gives us all permission to look again at this union particularly because Charles and Diana's marriage began we now know on such rocky foundations but it looks like this one is different it looks like this one is very much a personal choice of the two people involved clear and simple and I think people will people would have inevitably made those comparisons privately privately I felt on the day when he when when it was obvious that was the ring he'd given her I felt that was his way of taking control of that narrative and taking control of that story that's what I think it was William's decision to give Kate his mother's engagement ring outside observers we might look at that and say that wasn't a great marriage really I think what it means for William is a far more sort of intimate has a far more intimate meaning it sort of showed that William wanted his mother on his big day to be right there at the very heart of of what was going on and actually it was quite touching that he chose to give them that ring the couple then announced plans to live in North Wales where Prince William was stationed well before I started search and rescue I had a little brief introduction to it and it was immediate to me I spent three hours flying with the guys it was totally apparent to me straight away how important the job is and the skills the guys employ the flying aspects the general airmanship you need to to have around you and all the wits you need to survive the weather and whatever sort of situation you're thrown into it definitely is advanced flying and it's rewarding so it put the two together and it's a fantastic job after the official announcement of the pair's engagement it was six months after on April the 29th 2011 that the marriage was to commence this is when the English the British come to their own we have all the equipment we have the household cavalry we have the wonderful carriages we have those ancient Rolls Royces and there's a great spirit here a spirit I think you could say was evocative of 1981 and the wedding of Prince William's parents Charles and Diana there's a real enthusiasm for it the marriage the ceremony the wedding just actually puts a seal on what everybody has been aware of for a long long time to my mind I think the basis of the relationship is respect as she has never been a dog's body or a doormat she's always fought her corner somebody said to her aren't you very fortunate to be going out with Prince William and she said no he's very lucky to be going out with me so maybe we just ask your reaction to the wedding please sir obviously it's true thank you very much practicing for long enough I think people will recognize that this is a royal couple for the modern age it's interesting that in planning their wedding they have decided to do it their way they haven't been completely tied up in royal red tape they've insisted on having a degree of control over what is a state occasion but is also a very private time for them in very many key areas I was pleased to see that Kate Middleton decided not to stay at Clarence house within a royal palace before her wedding she decided that she would stay at a hotel with her parents with her parents paying the bill for the hotel for her leaving from the hotel from her parents or with her father in a car and going the mile to Westminster Abbey she wanted to assert herself and she was saying in effect my family are very important in this too and I'm not going to have them forgotten the biggest decision her choice what my opinion of the dress was that it it was modern with a classic twist to it which was fantastic because I didn't want Kate to sort of lose touch of Kate in the whole pageantry of this occasion and I think Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen did a sublime job I think the the lace was so effortlessly executed it was almost as if she had like a white tattoo all the way down her arm I Catherine Elizabeth I Catherine Elizabeth take thee William Arthur Philip Louis take thee William Arthur Philip Louis to my wedded husband to my wedded husband to have and to hold from this day forward to have and to hold from this day forward for better for worse better for worse for richer for poorer richer for poorer in sickness and in to love and to cherish till death us do part according to God's holy law according to God's holy law and thereto I give thee my truth and thereto I give thee my truth bless oh lord this ring and grant that he who gives it and she who shall wear it may remain faithful to each other and abide in thy peace and favor and live together in love until their lives end through Jesus Christ our lord amen with this ring I be wed with this ring I be wed with my body I be honor with my body I be honor and all my worldly goods with thee I share all my worldly goods with thee I share in the name of the father in the name of the father and of the son of the son and of the holy ghost of the holy ghost amen amen prince william looked fantastic in that sort of royals and blue red uniform very unusual match the red of that carpet that went up the center of Westminster Abbey he looked marvelous and the white gloves when he was waving at the crowds he looked at the dashing prince if only he could have ridden up to Westminster Abbey he would have been the perfect perfect prince wouldn't he I looked at the father you know Mr Middleton and I thought to myself you know all those many years ago he had a little girl and look what happens you know how you know the twists and turns of life tying the knot at Westminster Abbey in London all eyes were on the most important royal wedding since that of Charles and Diana Kate was met by Queen Elizabeth shortly before the wedding in which it was conferred that her royal title would be Catherine Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge once you married into the royal family you became a Windsor and that was that well it was different when Kate and William got married and and when William asked Kate to marry him he made it very clear that she wouldn't have to leave her family behind her once she married into his family promised her that they'd always stay a part of the family and they have done whether it's joining the Queen at Ascot or being on an important barge within the Queen's fleet at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations being the first visitors to go and see Prince George when he was born even before the future King Prince Charles all of these things are very significant because they're William's way of saying you are part of this family and we are going to include you given the history of previous royal weddings the question was how sustainable the relationship between William and Kate was going to be and how long their partnership would last however it was clear that this was not your average pairing and it was an opinion held high that their romance and longevity as a husband and wife showed no signs of stopping it was inevitable that when moving into royalty Kate would have her fair share of comparisons to the late Princess Diana becoming Duchess of Cambridge left fans of the monarchy curious about how she would settle and her similarities to William's mother people always asking me well how alike is Kate to Diana and I always say that they're actually incredibly different women they look very different you know Diana was blonde beautiful and leggy Kate's beautiful and leggy and brunettes they're you people and I think particularly in the early stages there was um there was a desire largely by the press to to sort of see how Kate would live up to Diana's image and and I remember William saying that there was no expectation that these were big footsteps and no one expected Kate to fill them and I think what Kate's done which is so commendable and you really have to take your hat off to her is she's forged her own identity within the royal family she hasn't tried to emulate Diana um you know she's a style icon but I'd say she's quite a reluctant style icon she's wanting to put her stamp in other areas her work with hospices her work with mental health it's quite interesting actually Kate's perception in the UK she's not necessarily seen as an icon like Princess Diana was and I think that's because Diana was a had frailties and faults as well Kate hasn't really put those out there she's almost too good to be true sometimes and I think a lot of younger people find the overwhelming privilege that she has and the fact that she may be stuck around too long to marry Prince William as both seeing a little bit against her and whereas around the world where I do a lot of work for other in other countries that there's none of that attached to her and they just like her for who she is or the perception of who she is I think in the UK when she was dubbed weighty Katie it didn't do her any good at all and that was a little unfair because it's not her fault that her future husband took so long to pop the question and I think were Diana here I think she would approve of Kate Middleton she might feel slightly like some mothers do oh dear I don't want to lose my son to any woman you know but I think she would approve she would see in Kate Middleton some admirable qualities and she'd feel that she her son would be safe with her I'm sure of that I think she would approve of it immensely and I think it was very telling that he chose to give Kate Middleton his mother's engagement ring and he said I want my mother to be part of this to be present I think it's really important she doesn't look anything like I was thinking that the other day when I was looking at the at the engagement pictures she's a beautiful woman she's developed a style that's very classic it hasn't changed dramatically over the years but it's just a classic more groomed version of what she always was it seems to me whereas Diana was that she was that cultish teenager wasn't she who didn't have a sense of style wore clothes that were 20 years too old for her to start with she really got it a few years down the line you know that was her you know her huge one of her huge successes was fashion but I think Kate Middleton's a different a different life story altogether and I think that will be the bedrock of how she copes with that comparison because there is no comparison to be drawn I think that's the ultimate cushion on which she can fall when this kind of thing starts there is no comparison because their backgrounds are entirely different their their sort of psychological history is entirely different their domestic history is entirely different it'll be a whole different narrative with Kate humanitarian work played an important part in princess Diana's life both at home and abroad her interests were reflected in the organizations of which she was a patron or president with her impact on such admirable work it was seen fit that from Kate's turn from fiance to duchess she would also hold a pivotal role in similar contributions so Kate's set out her stall that she wants to support in the first instance children so she's supporting some hospice charities each the East Anglia children's hospices she's equally decided to be a volunteer scout so supporting children out and about enjoying country pursuits as she does and actually she's been ahead of the curve on most of the choices that she's made she's put children's hospices on the map and she's also done a huge amount of good for mental health it's another cause that she's very much behind so she will know how important she is as a patron to those charities to put them in that international spotlight and she won't want to spend too long away from them the importance of support for these charities is no more prevalent than the work that prince harry has accumulated over the years the conservation of wildlife promoting sport amongst the young and health care across all nations kate has had to put in a great deal of work to do the same however this is no competition as kate and harry have a long history together in which she has gained support been able to confide in and most of all a friendship later on william kate harry and megan worked together to bring about change under the umbrella of the royal foundation working with charities organizations and projects including heads together the invictus games and united for wildlife although harry and megan soon separated themselves from the foundation as well as the family causing more rumors to start of a bad relationship between megan and kate and forcing william and kate to take on a greater burden of royal duties friendships within the family and charity contributions aside the question on the lips of the nation after william and kate tied the knot was how long it would be until the world would see a royal baby for some it was an agonizing wait until an official announcement in december of 2012 that the duchess was pregnant obviously there'd been an awful lot of anticipation as when kate was going to announce that she was pregnant and in fact i think the announcement was suggested for about six months beforehand everyone was writing in the papers that she was pregnant the palace had put out the official announcement as she was en route to the hospital because she'd had problems with the pregnancy and it was felt that william and kate didn't want to even tell the queen or prince charles that she was pregnant until they were absolutely certain everything was okay so that's what happened there was huge celebration over the birth of prince george i remember broadcasting for numerous international networks outside buckingham palace of course it was the great kate wait i mean we didn't know when this little baby was coming along and when he did it was a hugely important international news story so when news broke of kate actually having given birth i think at 8 34 in the morning on that saturday the press obviously instantly started speculating well will she leave today and thinking as a mother i thought yeah she definitely will because you don't necessarily want to hang around hospitals too long even if they are the lindow wing and private and offering all fills and when we got wind of the fact that kate's hairdresser had gone into the building we knew oh hang on you know she's going to make an appearance um and uh in vintage duchess of cambridge style she turns out in high heels and looking effortlessly elegant even though she's given birth just hours earlier which is a not only i think in the limelight but just in this with this pressure of having to present herself in a certain light and i think you know hats off to her it wasn't i remind him of his tardiness when he's a bit older so i know how long you've all been sat out here so hopefully the hospital and you guys can all go back to normal now we can um you know look after him so well he's got a good pair of lungs on him that's for sure uh he's uh he's a big boy he's quite heavy but uh we're still working on a name so we'll have that as soon as we can but uh it's the first time we've seen him really so having a proper chance to catch up they were holding the baby and they just looked so beautiful and happy it was really stunning i'll never forget it with the arrival and reveal of prince george the royal reaction was that of warmth and confidence in both william and kate unearthing a new chapter of their legacy in 2015 it was revealed that the duchess was again pregnant with her second child it's been a tricky few days a week or so but obviously we're immensely thrilled it's great news um early days but i'm hoping we just things settle down and she feels a bit better both william and kate were happy to announce that princess charlotte was on her way and again the world stood still as happiness reigned over the monarchy with the prospect of a baby sister for their son it was a great cause of national celebration of course a little sister for prince george the daughter that prince william had always wanted the granddaughter that charles had always wanted but actually historically a really important little girl because she will hold her place in the lineage of succession the antiquated male primogeniture laws were outcast and just before prince george's birth in case he had been a little girl now have those laws not been changed and have the couple or are the couple to go on and have another child that may be a boy well charlotte would have lost her place in succession with the laws being changed she will hold on to that position she is the fourth in line to the throne and no little boy born hereafter will take that place away from her so she is historically very very important well charlotte's birth certainly does herald the dawn of a new era for girl power in that we have a girl in a prominent position at a seat the senior end of the royal family obviously we've been used to the queen the ultimate exponent of girl power on the throne but we face the prospect now of three kings in line so we're not going to see another woman on the throne for many many many years so how lovely to have charlotte in this role bringing up the rear she's rather unkindly called the spare to the air as prince harry is but as he has proved himself it's a role that you can make your own and i'm sure all ours will be on charlotte in fact they'll probably be even more scrutiny on her because she's female i mean how great to have the pitter patter of pink feet in the royal line of succession they're very much hands-on parents i mean william made it very clear um when george was born that he wanted to be a hands-on parent he took time off to spend with george and kate they didn't have a nanny straight away they were very anti having an extended staff to look after the children look after them but i think as time has gone on they've realized they do need that extra help they can't just rely upon say carol kate's mother and other members of the family they do need that because they're very much in the public eye but william in particular wants to be a hands-on parent kate too doesn't really want to pass on the responsibility of motherhood either but you know when you're in the royal family when you're in the public eye it's very very difficult to to do everything and i think that even kate and william have found that and so they are now realizing that it's important to have the extra help that they require a little brother for the two royal children prince louis arthur charles was born on the 23rd of april 2018 the couple's third child who is fifth in line to the throne the public was thrilled at william and kate's growing family in recent years kate has taken on more responsibilities as her children have begun to grow her efforts in bringing awareness to addiction made an extraordinary impact as she launched the taking action on addiction campaign the duchess also made huge movements in launching one of the largest early years research studies in the uk from supporting william in the earthshot prize to wowing at the no time to die james bond premier kate has made a place for herself within the royal family built on hard work and commitment it's clear prince william found something special in kate her considered approach to her work and her hands-on parenting style paints a picture of a new kind of royal in her continued support of william she has earned respect and admiration from both the public and the family after some difficult years through the height of the coronavirus pandemic kate organized the royal carols together at christmas in 2021 an event of hope and christmas spirit she surprised everyone with her own performance dazzling the public she played the piano alongside singer-songwriter tom walker after the passing of queen elizabeth ii we have seen the couple take to the streets both kate and william stand as their own individual figureheads greeting and conversing with the british people to celebrate her late majesty's legacy kate's commitment to defying the odds has granted her the respect of many proving herself to the world as she nears ever closer to the position of consort hand in hand with her beloved i think that kate middleton will be the people's princess she won't be condescending to the ordinary people she will be her own self but i think there'll be a lot of people who can identify with her and her background and where she's come from and particularly as she succeeds in the job i think they will warm to her they will see that she hasn't gone out in order to get a prince they'll see that it's been a mutually arrived at relationship i think she's wanting to establish a unique identity for herself in the british royal family she's the future queen and she's going to be her own type of future queen and if there is one word which sums up their relationship i think it's one of respect of course love is there it's got to be there but without respect it won't work i say in my book that modernization is a very hard word to use in the context of the royal family because the royal family is built on history and tradition and protocol but actually william and kate you see a future king and queen who are driving it forward and taking it on to the next step we can all play our part in helping this work by understanding by listening by connecting so that together we can build a happier healthier more nurturing society thank you making her own mark on royalty katherine duchess of cambridge has transformed from one of the people into the future queen