As she married into the royal family in 2011, Kate Middleton took poignant advice from Prince Philip, who became the longest-serving consort in British history.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Kate, too, will one day be queen consort to her husband, Prince William, when he takes the throne; she and William are said to have modeled their own marriage after that of Philip and Queen Elizabeth, who were married for 73 years before his death in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
The late Duke of Edinburgh apparently gave Kate a piece of wisdom she still holds close today, according to royal biographer Gyles Brandreth.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
One day, Kate Middleton<\/a> will be queen\u2014a consort to her husband, Prince William<\/a>, when he is on the throne.<\/p>\n According to The Daily Mail<\/a>, early in her royal life, she received advice from another consort, this one who, before retiring at the age of 96, was the longest-serving consort in British history: Prince Philip<\/a>, the husband of Queen Elizabeth<\/a>.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Prince Philip and Kate Middleton on June 17, 2017<\/p>\n Royal biographer Gyles Brandreth\u2014who became a friend of the late Duke of Edinburgh, who died at 99 years old in 2021\u2014said that Philip was \u201crelieved\u201d that William found \u201csuch a level-headed girl\u201d in Kate, whom William met while both were students at the University of St. Andrews in 2001. Philip apparently gave Kate advice that she still adheres to today, over 14 years after marrying into the royal family in 2011.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Prince Philip and Kate Middleton on June 16, 2012<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that saddened\u2014and worried\u2014the Queen and Prince Philip about Diana, Princess of Wales, was not that she was popular, but that she allowed her popularity to go to her head,\u201d Brandreth wrote in his book Philip: the Final Portrait<\/a>. \u201cOnce upon a time, Philip and Elizabeth were seen as characters from a fairytale. The difference between them and Princess Diana<\/a>, I think, is that they did not take it personally.\u201d<\/p>\n Philip said, according to Brandreth, \u201cIf you believe the attention is for you, for you personally, you\u2019re going to end up in trouble. The attention is for your role, what you do, what you\u2019re supporting. It isn\u2019t for you as an individual. You are not a celebrity. You are representing the royal family. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Prince Philip and Kate Middleton on May 15, 2016<\/p>\n Beyond that, Brandreth wrote of Philip\u2019s advice, \u201cDon\u2019t look at the camera. The [late] Queen never looks at the camera. Never. Look at who you are talking to. Look at who you\u2019ve come to see. Diana looked at the camera.\u201d<\/p>\n Even after Philip\u2019s death over four years ago, Brandreth said that Kate\u2014now the Princess of Wales\u2014still takes the late Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s advice to heart. \u201cShe never looks at the camera,\u201d the biographer said of the future queen.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Kate Middleton and Prince Philip on June 12, 2016<\/p>\n It has been said that William and Kate modeled themselves directly after the Queen and Philip, who were married for 73 years before his death. At Philip\u2019s funeral, William paid tribute to his grandfather, saying his \u201cenduring presence\u201d guided him \u201cboth through good times and the hardest days,\u201d no doubt referring to Diana\u2019s 1997 death, when Philip walked beside William, Prince Harry<\/a>, Prince Charles<\/a>, and Diana\u2019s younger brother Earl Charles Spencer<\/a> behind the late Princess of Wales\u2019s casket.<\/p>\n In their early days of marriage, Brandreth wrote that William and Kate lived \u201ca relatively normal young officer\u2019s life\u201d that was \u201cnot dissimilar to the experience enjoyed by Philip and Elizabeth when the Duke of Edinburgh was a young officer serving in the Royal Navy in Malta 60 years before.\u201d<\/p>\n Brandreth had the occasion to watch William and Kate \u201cdoing their thing\u201d at a royal engagement in 2012, \u201cand they did not put a foot wrong,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n Prince William and Kate Middleton on March 15, 2025 Getty<\/p>\n Kate Middleton on November 15, 2023<\/p>\n \u201cAt all times their focus was entirely on the people immediately in front of them,\u201d he continued. \u201cNot once did either of them play to the cameras\u2014or even acknowledge them. And I noticed, too, that just as the Duke of Edinburgh, in more than 70 years of royal duty, never once put himself above, before, or ahead of his wife and sovereign.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Brandreth added that \u201cPhilip would take no credit for the successful way\u201d that Kate has merged into royal life, \u201cShe appeared to have learnt all the lessons that Philip could have taught her,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6435f0dc50e4c7187bb053c9f1b58b69.jpeg\"\/)
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