All language subtitles for Kate s01e01.eng

ROBIN KERMODE: She's the Princess

that captured
the hearts of a nation.

Almost like she was born
to do this job.

Kate Middleton has risen
from the girl next door

to become one of the most
influential women in the world.

'There's something quite romantic.'

This commoner,
you know, becoming a princess.

But who is the woman
behind the royal veil?

With first-hand testimony
from those who know her best...

The Princess of Wales,
she's got inner steel,

and she's not gonna
be walked all over.

..this is a unique insight
into the real Kate...

I think undoubtedly
her own experience as someone

who did suffer, to a degree,
at the hands of bullies.

..and how she's
reshaping the monarchy

through sheer grit and steel.

What we're witnessing
is a Middleton-isation

of the Royal Family.

As you're the volunteers
for this evening.

Right, are you ready?

She is changing the way
the Royal Family raises children.

Facing great challenges...

This girl was being harassed

in exactly the same way
that Princess Diana was.

..triumphing over adversity...

Concerns and conversations

about how dark his skin might be
when he's born.

The alleged racist comments
just blew open a huge race row,

and that was just
so incredibly damaging.

..dealing with tragedy...

The death of Queen Elizabeth

particularly changed everything
for Princess Kate.

Now she really is Queen-in-waiting.

..and her own personal battles.

Catherine, the Princess of Wales,
has been admitted to hospital.

I was convinced that something
very seriously was wrong with her.

These were very dangerous times
for the monarchy.

There was absolutely no sense
of what was to come.

Tests after the operation
found cancer had been present.

Kate has now become
the one true Princess of the people.

And here we are - the appearance
of Her Royal Highness.

I remember her
coming into Centre Court

and sitting in the Royal Box...

and the roar of the crowd.

I think there was
a collective "phew" from the nation.

Kate has changed, potentially,

the face and future
of the British monarchy.

REPORTER: It is a phenomenon -

the biggest thing
ever to hit the cinema.

BELL RINGS

Oyez, oyez, oyez!

It's a prince -
a 7lb 1.5oz boy born late today

to Prince Charles and
the Princess of Wales, Lady Diana.

In 1982,

William, the heir to the throne
of the United Kingdom, is born.

That same year,

Michael and Carole Middleton
welcomed their first child,

Catherine Elizabeth.

Catherine comes from a modest,
middle-class family background.

Her parents, Carole and Michael,
are the bedrock of her resolve.

Michael is a mild-mannered former
British Airways flight dispatcher,

and her mother, Carole,
is more of a dynamo.

She came from
a working class background -

grew up in a council flat.

There's nothing common about Kate,
but she certainly is a commoner.

She's a class act,
but the reality is, you know,

her grandad was
a painter and decorator.

They know what a mortgage was.

The Middletons
are a very stable family.

They're a very together family.

If you look at the sort of humble
beginnings of Carole Middleton,

she comes from a family
of coal miners.

There's something quite romantic,
I think, about this fairy tale

of this real-life,
quote-unquote, commoner,

you know, becoming a princess.

But the Cinderella fairy tale
narrative of rags to riches

isn't the whole story.

Michael Middleton comes way back
through aristocratic roots.

Kate's great-grandmother Olive
was a renowned society beauty

and mingled with members
of the Royal Family.

It was trust funds
inherited by Michael

from his aristocratic grandmother,
Olive,

that helped give Kate
a privileged start.

Michael and Carole were sort of
hugely committed to their children

and giving them the best education
that they could,

the best upbringing that they could.

I mean, in that respect, I suppose,
just very regular, ordinary parents.

Until, of course, Carole's kitchen
table business idea really took off

and ended up making them,
actually, a huge amount of money.

She had done incredibly well,
cos she lifted her family.

They became self-made millionaires
through Party Pieces,

so, of course,
that then sort of enabled them

to go into a different stratosphere
in terms of their wealth,

the schools
that they were able to afford.

As Carole's business thrives,

14-year-old Kate is moved
from St Andrew's Prep School

to the prestigious Downe House,
where the fees are almost double.

Parents these days
pay more than £40,000 a year.

They learnt to ride,
they played lacrosse -

all these kind of
upper-middle-class pursuits.

I think the only downtime
when she was a child

was when she went to Downe House,

and she was sort of the outsider.

She'd had a really rough time.
She'd been quite badly bullied.

She didn't really fit in.

She wasn't part
of the sort of fast set,

and I think at Downe House,

she was sort of
looked down on for that

and given a bit of a hard time.

You know, when she went back
after her first term

and told her parents
how unhappy she was,

Carole and Michael were adamant
that they weren't going

to make her suffer any more,
that they would pull her out.

I think undoubtedly
her own experience as someone

who did suffer, to a degree,
at the hands of bullies

and who did have a bit
of a miserable experience at school,

it makes sense,
when you look at her work today,

promoting mental health awareness,

really being very proactive
when it comes to anti-bullying

and campaigns around that genre.

In 1996,
halfway through the school year,

Carole and Michael
take decisive action

and move Kate into one of
the country's most renowned schools.

So, Catherine moved to Marlborough.

So, at 14,
she became a really popular,

charismatic, energetic girl.

So she really found her footing
in Marlborough,

and, actually, it produces
a lot of alpha consorts, in a way.

Samantha Cameron being one of them.

The reality is that she grew up in
the Home Counties, as William did.

They went to very similar
public schools

which played sport
against each other.

They socialised together,
they had friends in common

way before they went up
to university.

Now at Marlborough,
Kate is in an elite group of schools

that includes Harrow and Eton.

She had actually met Prince William
through Emilia d'Erlanger,

and that Wiltshire set
was quite a close set.

The Eton boys had gone
to Marlborough parties.

They were in that kind of
upper-middle-class milieu,

and so she knew of William.

Soon, you shall meet
a handsome man - a rich gentleman.

It is all I've ever hoped for.
Will he fall in love with me?

Indeed he will.
And marry me?

And marry you. Did I not say
this is your lucky day?

When you look back on that footage
of her in the school play,

being told by a fortune teller
that she's going to marry a prince,

and he'll be called William,

and you see Kate sort of saying,
"Oh, my," it is quite remarkable.

I mean, of course, pure coincidence.

It's a new millennium
and a new chapter for Kate

as she finishes at Marlborough
and decides on her next steps.

Kate and two of her best friends
had determined that Edinburgh

was the destination for them
to do their university degree.

Certainly had a very high reputation
in art history,

and when they secured places,

they were all excitedly
looking forward to going there.

Except, at the last minute,
Kate appeared to change her mind,

and she decided to have a gap year.

It was in Chile,
in the mountains of Patagonia,

the very same place
that William went to,

albeit at different times.

Whilst on her gap year,

there's an update
from Kensington Palace.

William announced he was going
to St Andrews University.

Cue hysteria from
the female population of the UK.

Many people have seen The Crown.

There's been some suggestion
that Carole Middleton

had schemed her way
to put her daughter Kate

in the path of William Wales

so that she can make her daughter
a princess.

It's kind of...
There's a stupid scene in The Crown.

Come on...

You've always loved the idea
of me and William together.

I was all set to go
to Edinburgh University

straight after school
with all my friends,

then you suggested
I change it to St Andrews

after a gap year
with none of my friends.

That was no coincidence.

Yes, it was.

Someone that I spoke to
claimed they were actually in

the Middleton kitchen when Carole
was on the phone to Kate,

abroad in Chile,

and she changed the UCAS application
to St Andrews.

Kate had the place at Edinburgh,

but she reapplied that autumn
through UCAS with her A-level grades

to go to St Andrews
to read history of art.

And because Kate was away,
Carole organised all of that.

I think it's a bit far-fetched

to say that Carole wanted Kate
to marry William.

Why not? Maybe she knew that William
was gonna be going to St Andrews,

and she wanted to meet him.

Majority of people say,
"And what's wrong with that?"

Kate's decision
to reject her place in Edinburgh

and apply and be accepted
to study at St Andrews

was really one
of the most momentous decisions.

It has changed, potentially,

the face and future
of the British monarchy.

CROWD CHEERING

REPORTER: The small university town
of St Andrews

had never seen anything like it.

Prince William greeted...

ROBIN KERMODE: In Scotland,

Prince William is starting
his first year at university

alongside fellow fresher
Kate Middleton.

Admissions to St Andrews
had soared by 44%,

mostly from wealthy female Americans
wanting to come over to the UK

and bag their prince.

So, there was no guarantee
that Kate was going to get in

and onto that course.

Very luckily for her, she did,

but there is this extraordinary
pattern of these two...

Almost, it's like it's destined
for them to be together.

There's the chance meeting at school
and then being on gap years,

but a sort of Sliding Doors moment
where they're actually not

in the same place at the same time,

and then finally they end up meeting
in the corridor

on the way down to the canteen
for breakfast one morning

at St Salvator's at St Andrews.

Because it's a small town and
students really have nowhere to go,

they have to make
their own entertainment.

And Kate did just that
when she discovered an injustice

on the student social scene.

When she found out
there was a male-only anything,

or, in this case, drinking society,

she thought, "Oh, well,
why should that be the case?

"We'll start a women's one."

And that just shows you
that she's not...

It gives you a bit of an insight
into her character, actually.

During their first year, William
and Kate are just good friends,

but that all changes
when she makes a daring decision.

It's fascinating to think
that a future Queen of England

walked down the catwalk
in her lingerie, effectively.

I understand
it was originally a skirt,

but she wanted to wear it
as a dress.

It was quite provocative,

quite an out there look,
shall we say.

CHEERING
# Give up yourself unto the moment

# Let's make this moment last. #

'This shows she has that more
playful side and is quite daring.'

I mean, you know, walking out
into a room full of people

wearing a very sheer dress
is not the work of a shy woman.

You know,
she's not a shrinking violet,

by any shape of the imagination.

You know, she's got a bit of
chutzpah about her, without a doubt.

Now, she was dating someone
at the time.

She was dating a student
called Rupert Finch,

and William was sitting with
a friend who he turned to and said,

"Wow, Kate's hot."

And it's like, in that moment,

suddenly, he realised this sort of
lovely, loyal friend of his

who'd been dutifully taking notes
for him at lectures

and, you know,
hanging out in the canteen

was actually really gorgeous.

That night, there was an after-party
at someone's house in Hope Street,

and I was told that William
actually made a move on Kate.

He made a pass at her,
but because she was dating Rupert,

she rebutted his advances.

William and Kate were able to enjoy
a really normal university life,

and after the first year,

they moved into an apartment
together in Hope Street,

which is when they started dating.

But they were living with two
other friends who kept the cover.

Catherine and William actually
dated effectively in secret.

Their friends formed an immensely
close protective bubble around them,

much like her family still does.

So for around about two years,

they were able to conduct a fairly,
quote-unquote,

normal relationship at university

and just being out
of the sort of global spotlight.

Knowing, as I do,
how journalists work,

I'm sure journalists knew
who he was dating.

They were not going
to print anything.

William and Harry
were guaranteed privacy

for the remainder
of their full-time education -

school and then on to university -

and in return, the media would get,
from time to time,

some set-piece interviews
and photographs.

All came about as a result of the
death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

In August 1997,

the world awoke to news that rocked
the foundations of the Royal Family.

We have reports from Paris
that Diana, Princess of Wales

has been killed in a car accident,

and that her partner, Dodi Fayed,
has also been killed.

They were apparently being pursued
by paparazzi on two motorcycles.

And as a result of that, while
the British press weren't there,

they did feel an element
of responsibility.

That was the lever
by which Buckingham Palace

and Kensington Palace were able
to make these arrangements.

"We'll give you a facility,
after which you leave them alone."

As Kate and William try to keep
their relationship under wraps,

this press agreement
is put to the test.

People were very keen
to get in touch with newspapers.

Students wanted to sell stories
and pictures about him.

I have to say that the media
didn't print paparazzi pictures.

The paparazzos
didn't really go away

throughout much of the time
he was there.

Their problem was they couldn't find
a market to sell their wares.

After over a year of dating,
William is on his family ski trip,

but what the press don't know
is that he secretly joined by Kate.

There was a tradition
that on the first day,

they would pose up for a photograph
for the media,

and then the media would leave
and allow the Royal Family

to have an uninterrupted holiday.

REPORTER: And, William,
are you here with some good friends?

Yeah, with some friends, definitely.
Having a good laugh.

The following day, William unveiled
his companion on this holiday,

and one of the photographers
who remained behind,

one of the paparazzos,
got a picture.

The Sun had wind of it
for several weeks,

and it took them all of that time
to finally get them.

There was a media embargo
around William

protecting his time at St Andrews,

but this technically wasn't
at St Andrews.

This was a place where
previously official royal photocalls

have taken place.

You're in a very public area.
You're in a foreign country.

Very difficult
to enforce those rules.

The Sun would've thought,
"This is too big a story.

"This is too great a photograph
not to publish."

And there's always the risk
that someone else

may have taken the photograph
or got the story

and published before The Sun
if they'd held on to it.

And, of course,
the dam broke, if you like.

The headlines just went berserk.

The unassuming middle-class girl
from Berkshire

was thrust into
the public spotlight.

So, The Sun ran a headline.

It was quite a legitimate headline.

William and Catherine
would know perfectly well

that they were being photographed.

It caused such an upset.

I don't think Kate was very happy.

I don't think her family
were very happy.

Suddenly, she's been outed.

I remember briefings
from the Palace at that time that,

yes, this was his girlfriend,
and, yes, they lived together,

but they didn't share a bedroom.

They were just boyfriend
and girlfriend,

but they were sharing a house
with some other friends.

We then became obsessed
with finding out all we could

about this young woman.

You know,
her parents were door-knocked,

her sister was door-knocked,
her brother was door-knocked.

And everybody wanting to know,

what's her mum do,
what's her dad do?

What her grandparents do,
family trees...

Who are her previous boyfriends?
"Let's go and talk to those."

REPORTER: Very soon,

Kate Middleton could be one of
the most famous women in the world,

and yet she must try to forge
a career on her own terms.

Back at St Andrews,
Kate is protected from the press,

but her student days
are coming to an end.

Catherine Middleton.

She graduated with a very
commendable 2:1 in art history...

..as indeed did William.

William Wales.
APPLAUSE

Certainly far better than his father
had done in his university career.

Once Kate left university,

she was considered fair game.

After the graduation,
it was like open season.

Given that they'd been so cushioned
and protected at St Andrews,

when they graduated,

you know, that bubble was popped
quite fiercely.

I really felt sorry for Kate because
I think it was a bit of a shock.

She's not entitled
to royal protection at that point.

In 2005, Kate leaves St Andrews,
and with it,

the press deal that covers William,
leaving her vulnerable.

Kate moved to London,

where her parents had a flat
just off the King's Road.

And, you know,

she was photographed sitting
on the top deck of a London bus...

..looking wistfully out.

She was photographed going about
her chores, her grocery shopping.

You know,
she could've been knocked over,

she could've been harmed
in a physical way.

I don't think anything
really prepares you

for what ultimately happens
when this media storm breaks.

CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK,
PAPARAZZI CLAMOUR

ROBIN KERMODE: Kate Middleton
has finished university

and moves to London,

into the full glare
of the media spotlight.

For a young girl
who'd always lived

a pretty sheltered
and protected life,

it was a pretty tricky time
for Kate to navigate.

Being in the eye of that storm
must be extremely intimidating.

Well, Kate is tough and she's savvy,

so she must've known that
at some point, this would happen.

But I think you can forgive her
for thinking

that it wasn't going to happen
quite that soon.

She was invited to spend Christmas
at Sandringham with the Queen,

which was a very coveted invitation,

which she declined
because they were not engaged.

And there was fevered speculation
in the press

that there was going
to be an engagement any day.

You know,
Kate had just had her birthday,

the paps were camped
outside her flat,

you know, in anticipation
of this engagement announcement.

CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK,
PAPARAZZI CLAMOUR

Happy birthday, Kate.

It got to an absolute frenzy
where you had, like, 50, 60 people

outside her flat.

There were hordes of media,

and you could see Catherine
being pursued relentlessly.

And this poor girl was having
to sort of run the gauntlet

to get to the bus.

Photographers hounding

Prince William's girlfriend,
Kate Middleton,

on her way to work.

Like Princess Diana before her,
media camped out on the doorstep.

She didn't have security.

She didn't have anyone
literally holding her hand,

getting people out of the way.

You can tell
she's finding it difficult.

She's got her lips pursed.
She's looking down.

She doesn't want
the photographers there.

They're getting in her face.
She wants to get to her car.

If you're not used to it,
it's quite scary.

You know, it's really scary.

She was finding it
a struggle, I think.

Privately, she confided
in Prince William

that it was a struggle.

The scrutiny
was pretty intense for her.

Those images were absolutely brutal,
in my view.

I have no doubt that
this was almost becoming

like what had happened
with his mother,

and that ended in her death.

'Princess Diana was followed
in a similar way.

'Many senior Royals still blame
photographers for her death.

'Now they're demanding
more privacy as they go

'about their everyday lives.'

This girl was being harassed

in exactly the same way
that Princess Diana was.

At the time, both the former
press secretary, Dickie Arbiter,

and even Diana's bodyguard,
Ken Wharfe,

warned very much that we needed
to do something about this.

William made a statement
asking the media

to kind of give Kate some space,
so to kind of back off a little bit.

And legal letters started going

between Kensington Palace
and the newspapers.

The press backed off in a big way.
The paparazzi less so.

At the time, William went,

and the Queen and his father
sat him down and sort of said

she has been subject to all
this press attention and intrusion,

and if you aren't planning
on proposing anytime soon,

then it's potentially a bit unfair.

And I think William took this
to heart.

I just noticed a change
with William.

I'd noted something had changed.

Um...

and that's when I knew
something wasn't right.

The couple were really on the rocks,
and they'd been photographed

at the Cheltenham Races
back to back.

Sort of looking away
from each other.

Actually, that picture was
very, very telling.

I just noticed that Kate
wasn't in conversation.

She wasn't around.
I noted that she wasn't...

She used to always be around.
Suddenly, she wasn't around.

It was things like that I noticed.

Kate was working at the time,

and she took a phone call
from William

while she was in a meeting

and went off to a private room
to take this call,

which lasted nearly an hour.

And when she came out,
her and William had broken up.

'He's young, eligible,
red and blue-blooded

'and isn't quite ready,
it seems, to settle down.'

Kate had gone home
to her parents' house

and, you know, spent a few days
obviously being very upset.

Catherine, stoic as ever,

wasn't going to let that little blip
interfere with her life.

She was going to carry on.

She was going to have to hang on
to her inner anger.

She decided that she wasn't going
to show any vulnerability.

She would go out to the nightclubs
with her sister, Pippa.

She went out on dates.
She went to parties.

She went out with the guy
that she'd known at school.

Her skirts got shorter,
her tan got more bronze.

She looked fantastic.

Definitely, there was a bit of
a shift in her style.

It was a little sexier,
a little more daring.

I think a little bit of,
"Hey, look what you're missing."

Revenge-dressing
and dressing for a good time.

She just got on with her own life,

and I think William saw very quickly
what he was missing.

William, who was then, you know...

may have gone out
and drunk the menu, as he said.

But once you've drunk the menu,

you start to then probably wake up
and smell the roses

and think,
"Well, what have I done that for?"

I felt he was quite sad
at that time.

I just felt he was a little bit...
also a little bit lonely.

Everybody loved Kate being around.

Everybody enjoyed it
when she used to be there,

and it was always fun,
and it was always jokey.

We used to sit with William and Kate
in the kitchen,

and it was always really good fun
kind of hanging out with them.

And suddenly, all that changed.

And it wasn't just us, you know.

The other members of the household
said, "Oh, miss Kate."

Probably hurting inside,
but she wasn't going to let it show.

That shows the stature
and the nature of the upbringing

and the stature of the person.

Two months after the split,

Kate and William
are seen socialising.

They went to
Sam Waley-Cohen's birthday party,

where they sat
and discussed their future.

Kate obviously wanted
some reassurances, I think.

She wasn't going
to go back out with William

and break up with him again.

REPORTER: 'With speculation rife,

'William and Kate might be heading
for a reconciliation,

'how does William feel
about Kate coming?'

Uh, well, er...

You can clearly comment on this one.

Wow! I've got lots of friends
coming, so, you know,

everyone's going
to be there on the night,

and it's going to be a great night.

That's very well avoided, William.

Very diplomatic.

She was there at Wembley

for a concert tribute
to William's mother,

albeit sitting two rows behind.

But it did give a good indication

that all was not lost
when it came to that relationship.

And it wasn't long after that
that they got back together again.

It was always a question, I think,

that hung over Catherine's head
at the beginning.

How can a woman,
a girl from a middle-class family,

transition into the Royal Family

and, you know,
take on that huge responsibility,

that global spotlight
and everything that comes with it,

all the complications
that come with it?

And I think in that moment
in the break-up,

she really came into her own
in the way of proving herself

to be able to handle that attention,
that level of scrutiny.

And I think
the Royal Family saw that.

She understood what the role was.

She considered
in that period, possibly,

when she was out of the relationship
with William,

"What are the price
of playing the game?

"I love this guy.

"Do I want to make my life with him?
"What are the pressures?"

And I think she went away.

She thought about it,
and she bought into it.

With the romance back on,

their relationship enters
a more serious stage.

All the media were really interested

about when Catherine
was going to meet the Queen.

I was involved in the communications
plan for the wedding

of Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly.

Peter told me Catherine Middleton

was going to be one of
the guests there.

William was in Africa at the time,

so Kate went to this wedding
on her own,

which was quite a big thing
for her to do,

and have that sort of first
official meeting with the Queen.

Would have been obviously
very nerve-wracking for her.

And I think the Queen
very much warmed to Kate.

There was a curiosity about her.

In an ITV interview,
Kate talks about her big moment

meeting the Queen
for the first time.

And it was in amongst
a lot of other guests,

and she was very friendly, and...

No, it was... it was...
Yeah, it was fine.

She was very welcoming.
She knew it was...

it was, you know, it was a big day
and everything was going on.

Peter and Autumn were there,

and she wanted to meet Kate
for a while,

so it was very nice of her
to come over and say hello.

Doing it on her own,

going solo without
Prince William being there

demonstrates the mettle of the girl.

She is very confident.

With Kate now a serious prospect
for William,

she comes under greater scrutiny
from the Palace.

Background checks
would have been done,

not just on Catherine,
but on the family as well.

They have to be careful about
who's around them all the time,

so they have to be pretty certain
that you're safe to be around them.

Even with me, my parents had
background checks done

and my grandparents,
and they were no longer alive.

They check everything.

ROBIN KERMODE: After five years
of dating Prince William,

Kate is invited on holiday
with the entire Royal Family.

She now faces
the so-called "Balmoral Test".

So, the Balmoral Test is,
as it's nicknamed,

it's when you go up to Balmoral,

which is a very sacred kind of place
for the late Queen.

It was such a big deal because
it's Queen Elizabeth's private home.

It's very, very informal
compared to Buckingham Palace.

I remember someone saying to me

the Queen leaves her crown
on the gates as she enters Balmoral.

It's, really, when they can relax,
be themselves,

take their crowns off
and put their headscarves on.

There's fine-dining experiences.

There's shooting,
there's fishing, there's walking.

Can you imagine how much
you've got to take for that?

If you don't have it,
you've got to buy it.

So you need your shooting gear,

your fishing gear,
your walking gear.

Have you got the right wellies?

You want make sure
you're getting the ones

that have got the royal warrant.

You know you don't get
any kind of...

You're not going to go and get them
from Amazon, are you?

There's also protocol
about what time you arrive,

getting shown to your room,
who you take, who you can't take.

When you have dinner parties,
who you sit next to.

What you talk about,
what you don't talk about.

If you get invited to do something

with the King and the Royal Family,
you can't say no.

So you have to...
You're obviously gonna go.

The whole point of it is to see
how you fit in.

After a weekend with all the Royals,
Kate clearly impresses.

Well, Kate's been many, many times,

so I think it's safe to say
that she passed the test.

Having won over the family,

speculation about an engagement
is rife.

But a proposal isn't forthcoming.

Kate, she dated William
for the best part of ten years.

I'm sure he wanted to give her
enough time to make sure that...

almost that she, you know...
if she wants to get out, she can.

SHOUTS ORDERS

She met William in 2001,

and here we were
well into the noughties.

But there was no sign
of William popping the question.

Hence, you know, those slightly,
I think, unfair comments

about "Waity Katie".

It was a bit insulting,
really, to say,

"Well, there are lots of guys
who would want to marry you.

"Why are you hanging around
for Prince William?

"He can't make up his mind.
You've already had one break-up.

"What's to say there isn't going
to be another one?"

But she was patient.

She knew what the relationship
was all about.

We didn't,
but she knew what it was all about.

He and Kate went on holiday
together to Kenya.

They were high
in the mountains in Kenya.

They were on the side of
this beautiful lake in a hut.

Had no electricity,
no mobile phone signal, nothing.

It was just the two of them, and...

he went down on one knee
and proposed with Diana's ring.

The engagement changes things
because it shifts another gear.

Kate is now a future queen.

Now, let me just bring you
some breaking news.

Prince William and his long-time
love, Kate Middleton, are official.

After an eight year
on-again, off-again relationship.

Finally, Prince William
has announced

that he and Kate Middleton
are engaged.

ROBIN KERMODE:
In an interview with ITV,

William opens up
about popping the question.

I'd been planning it for a while,

but as every guy
out there will know,

it takes a certain amount
of motivation to get yourself going.

So I was planning it

and then it just felt really right
out in Africa.

And it was beautiful at the time,

and I had done
a little bit of planning

to obviously show my romantic side.

She probably knew
deep down inside that,

yes, it was going
to end up in marriage,

but it was when he was ready.

I really didn't expect it at all.

I thought he might have
sort of maybe thought about it,

but, no, it was a total shock
when it came and... very excited!

INTERVIEWER:
And he produced the ring?

Yeah.
There and then?

William asked Granny's permission

to get it out of
the jewellery vaults

at Buckingham Palace.

I'd been carrying it around with me
in my rucksack

for about three weeks before that,
and I literally would not let it go.

Everywhere I went, I kept hold of it

because I knew if it disappeared,
I'd be in a lot of trouble.

Kate's engagement ring -
it's originally based on a brooch

given by Prince Albert
to Queen Victoria,

and Princess Diana chose it
from a tray

that Garrards brought round
to the palace.

It was the most expensive
at £47,000.

And he put it
at the bottom of his rucksack.

It is a fine ring, yes.
It's my mother's engagement ring.

So I thought it was quite nice
cos obviously

she's not gonna be around to share

any of the fun
and excitement of it all.

This was my way of keeping her
sort of close to it all.

The way that she wears it,
it feels like Kate's ring.

It doesn't feel like Diana's ring.
It feels like Kate's ring.

They came back to the UK.

There's one person he had told
before they went

and that was her father,
Mike Middleton.

Mike says
he didn't even tell Carole.

I mean, come on.

And actually, we had quite an
awkward situation because...

I knew, and I knew
that William had asked my father,

but I didn't know if my mother knew.

So I came back from Scotland,
and, you know,

my mother made it sort of...

didn't make it clear to me
whether she knew or not.

So both of us were there,

sort of looking at each other
and feeling quite awkward about it.

But, erm,
it was amazing to tell her,

and obviously,
she was very happy for us both.

The mood was electric.
It was exciting.

It was joyous, thrilling.

It's always wonderful
to know something

before everyone else as well.

We had to prepare a statement
on behalf of the Queen,

obviously welcoming
the news of the engagement.

Obviously thrilled.
Thank you very much.

It's the most brilliant news.

There was so much excitement
when the engagement was announced.

Yeah, there was
a great cheer went up

and a great banging of the table.

REPORTER: Facing the cameras and
a thousand exploding flashlights.

A young couple
who will one day be king and queen.

It's quite a daunting prospect,

but hopefully,
I'll take it in my stride.

William's a great teacher,

so I hope he'll be able
to help me along the way.

They make a lovely couple.
They're great fun to be with,

and we've had
a lot of laughs together.

We wish them every happiness
for the future.

The fact they picked
Westminster Abbey,

which is where
kings and queens have been crowned,

I thought, was a wow factor,
you know,

because you don't often have
royal weddings in there.

The Palace machinery produced
a list of people

they thought should be invited
to the palace,

and that included
politicians, peers.

When William was first given
the sort of proposed guest list,

and he went to the Queen
and said, you know,

"Granny, we don't know
half of these people."

To which the Queen said,
"Well, tear it up and start again."

And they did.

William made it absolutely clear
from the outset

that he wanted her family
to be part of this unique unit.

So we saw the Middletons brought
into the Royal Family

in a way
that had never happened before.

For the planning of the wedding,

absolutely no stone
was left unturned.

There's lots of rehearsals.

It's got to be perfect.
There's no room for mistake.

I remember
they were going on late at night -

midnight, one o'clock,
two o'clock in the morning,

which was unbelievable.

You've got the people
in the campsite,

many of whom set up tent
a couple of nights ago

just so they'd be
in the right position,

which they are,
right outside the Abbey.

CROWD CHEERS

The night before the wedding,
I was staying at Buckingham Palace,

and I had a room
right at the front of the palace,

overlooking them all.

And I remember
about three o'clock in the morning,

and I just couldn't sleep because
the crowds were just chanting

and laughing
and partying and celebrating,

and just feeling
that genuine warmth and enthusiasm

by the public
for the couple getting married.

Tens of thousands of people
had lined the streets.

A completely international event
with the world's press networks

from all around the world
coming over.

As soon as she stepped out
wearing that dress...

CROWD CHEERS

..you just thought,
"Wow, she's a princess."

The dress was certainly something
that she could take full control of.

And in fact,
her parents paid for that dress,

a quarter-of-a-million pounds.

It was designed by Sarah Burton.

Sarah Burton was a woman
at the helm of a big fashion house,

which rarely happens.

And so there was a little bit of

a feminist statement
in there, I think.

Did her own wedding make-up,
which, I think, is the first time

a Royal bride has ever done
such a thing.

It was really unusual.

And that was, I suppose,
a way of her sort of taking control

and having things on her terms.

It was Kate's idea to fill
the nave with these young saplings,

and it felt like you were entering
a kind of sun-dappled forest.

It was a spectacular idea.

Amongst those pews
of dignitaries and VIPs

were just people that
they'd gone to university with.

So it felt... like a family wedding.

You were front and centre

and part of something
really, really historical.

ROWAN WILLIAMS: Catherine Elizabeth,

wilt thou have this man
to thy wedded husband?

I will.

This is the moment.

She is the future queen.

Catherine was almost unflappable.

So the way she presented herself,

the way she transitioned
into the Duchess of Cambridge,

that was just
an incredible thing to see.

A million people had crowded

from Buckingham Palace
back to Trafalgar Square

to watch that kiss on the balcony.

CROWD CHANTS
AND CHEERS

CROWD CHEERS

I think it was just this moment of
this new generation coming in.

And, of course, you know,
the future heir to the throne,

the future king finding his bride.

And everyone was so excited.

It was an immense positive for them

after quite
a difficult, tumultuous period,

following Diana's death.

It was
the most-watched wedding ever.

Billions had watched it,
which speaks volumes.

It really was
the greatest show on Earth.

REPORTER: It is time
to start seeing the world.

William and Kate's
first overseas tour,

Canada will provide
an appropriate stage

for a debut appearance.

ROBIN KERMODE:
Two months after the wedding,

Kate Middleton faces
her first big public engagement.

The scrutiny on the new Duchess
of Cambridge would be enormous,

and she would be very conscious
that she can't put a foot wrong

because everyone
would be looking at her.

And it's
her first huge overseas event

representing UK PLC.

So she's working
as a member of the Royal Family,

but also as a diplomat as well.

REPORTER: The images from the tour

have been a brochure
for the new monarchy.

The cameras never left Kate,
and they liked what they saw.

The crowds were huge.

Everyone wanted to see her.

As far as they were concerned,
this is the new Diana,

and it was all starting again.

Probably a bit daunting
for Catherine

because, yes,
she'd experienced the wedding,

but now she was experiencing
the public first-hand,

and she was going
to be meeting them.

They were going to shake
lots of hands.

They're going to be lots of selfies,
so it was quite a baptism of fire.

It's not easy.
I think she did it, really,

with a grace and composure
that is a credit to her.

Thrown in at the deep end,

Kate excels on her first Royal tour,
but she still has a lot to learn.

Suddenly stepping into that role
must be incredibly intimidating,

but she has Prince William
by her side.

I'll do the talking bit.
She's going to do the fun bit.

He will be her key advisor,

helping her adjust
to this whole new world.

APPLAUSE

She's been educated by her husband,
her father-in-law,

and also by the Queen.

And it's not like
they all go to a classroom

and you have the Queen
walk up and down

and tell them what to do.
It doesn't work like that.

The Queen was very, very sweet.
She wouldn't be giving a lesson.

She would almost kind of just be
given advice or guidance,

and she would watch the Queen.

In the BBC documentary
The Queen At 90,

Kate affectionately describes
the monarch's influence.

I feel she's been there,

sort of a gentle guidance,
really, for me.

I think there is a real art
to walkabouts.

Everyone teases me in the family,
that I spend far too long chatting,

so I think I've still got
to learn a little bit more

and to pick up a few more tips,
I suppose.

Ultimately,
she had to learn like they all did,

by going out and doing it,

and by trying it out
and seeing how it felt.

She was able to do it in a way

that made people feel like
they were really having a chance

to kind of have
a special moment with her.

What are you doing here?
Are you drawing?

You really feel
like you're being listened to,

and she makes you feel like
you're the only person there.

CHEERING,
SQUEALING

In her new role,

Kate also has to adapt
to intense scrutiny,

facing a multitude of camera lenses
and eager Royal fans

watching her every move.

It's extremely nerve-wracking.

You've got the eyes of the world
on you.

You are suddenly the most
photographed woman in the world.

Every single thing that you do
is analysed,

whether it's what outfit you choose
or how you do your make-up

or every haircut,
how you dye your hair,

especially particularly looks,
when it comes to women.

One of the things that Catherine
learned very quickly,

that she was a style icon,
that everywhere she went,

what she was wearing was analysed,

and she was looked upon
more as a clothes horse

rather than a workhorse.

It's something that she has had
to figure out along the way.

She joined the Royal Family,

and it was the first time
in a long time

that we'd had
a youthful female energy

at the front and centre,

and that ability to embrace that
in your clothes.

I think that actually speaks a lot
about her as a person

and this essence of herself.

There's a down-to-earth quality
there.

While style comes naturally,

other demands of the role
are more of a challenge.

She definitely got a lot
of advice for public speaking.

People were very aware
that she was nervous about this.

It wasn't something she relished.

And I think it was
even harder for her,

because she hadn't made a speech,

and so when she did,
it became this huge deal.

Nearly a year
after becoming a princess,

Kate finally makes a speech.

First of all,
I'd like to say thank you.

Thank you for not only accepting me
as your patron,

but thank you also
for inviting me here today.

She was very nervous. She stuttered.
She fluffed her words.

I felt really sorry for her.

She's taken elocution lessons.

She's taken public speaking lessons.

Hello. Thank you so much
for having me here today...

Over time, actually,
what she's come to realise

is that just being
a bit more natural with the delivery

actually works better.

A year into the new job,

as Kate adapts
to becoming a princess,

a break in France
provides a reality check.

They were staying for a holiday
at Lord Linley's place in France,

a huge distance between
the public area where she was,

and she thought she was safe.

Security that they would have had
should have taken note of that.

Don't go there, because you can
be seen from the road.

And they were seen. She was seen.

The photographs were taken
of the Duchess of Cambridge

while she was on a private holiday
in France.

Sunbathing topless
from a kilometre away.

Pretty grainy, but nevertheless,
they got a picture.

In Britain,

the press refuses to print
the controversial photos,

but in Europe, the US
and across the world,

Kate's topless image
is published on websites

and printed in newspapers
and magazines.

She shouldn't feel ashamed,
you know. It's not on her.

It's on the paparazzi selling
those photographs for profit.

Shame is on them.

You don't expect to be photographed
on a private estate,

but at the end of the day,

if you can be seen
from a public vantage point,

then it's a bit self-inflicted.

They were published, actually,

when they, her and Prince William,
were on an overseas tour.

I think it was starting
in Malaysia or Indonesia.

So, when they were embarking
on this major tour

representing UK PLC,

a diplomatic tour,

really important for the monarchy
and for the country.

And on the day of the tour starting,
these photographs were published.

I think it's absolutely disgusting,

and how they continued on that tour,

with all of this going on
in the background,

I couldn't do it. I think
absolutely hats off to them

to show their professionalism
and putting duty before self

when all of this is going on.

I remember watching them
as they came across this rope bridge

in the middle of the Borneo jungle,
and they were both very down,

you know, it obviously
had an impact upon them.

I think she felt humiliated.

That she wasn't just going
to take this lying down

tells you quite a lot
about who she is.

The legal battle
for the Royal Family.

Prince William and Princess Kate
are suing French media

for more than £1 million
in damages

for publishing topless photos
of Kate sunbathing.

Just over a year
after becoming a princess,

Kate Middleton's privacy
is breached by the foreign press.

It has echoes of the threats
faced by Princess Diana,

as described by Prince William
in a BBC documentary.

Very sadly, a lot of my memories

revolve around
trying to cheer her up.

And I believe that she cried more
to do with press intrusion

than anything else in her life.

She was subjected to treatment
that, frankly,

nowadays people would find
utterly appalling.

Kate instructs lawyers in Paris
to take the publication to court.

Clearly antagonised them so much

that they were not going
to take this sitting down.

They were going to stand up
and fight

for what was clearly their rights.

It took five years,
but they wanted justice.

A long and costly battle ensues.

In 2017, the court in Paris
finds in favour of Kate

when the publisher,
editor and photographers

are fined 100,000 euros.

What that revealed to the world
about the Princess of Wales

is actually she's got inner steel,

and she's not going to be
walked all over.

One way for Kate
to control her image

is to commission a portrait.

I was contacted
by the National Portrait Gallery

to paint the first official portrait
of the Princess.

She came to our house,
to the studio.

There was five builders
working right opposite our house,

and the car stopped
and the Princess got out,

and not one of them recognised her,

and I thought
that was extraordinary.

She wanted to be portrayed
as her natural self,

rather than in a regal royal role.

The actual portrait took me
about three months to do.

Before the official reveal,

Kate gets a sneak preview
of her painting

on display
at the National Portrait Gallery.

'The response from the Princess
and her family

'was very enthusiastic.

'They all liked it very much.'

After Kate's positive review
of her portrait,

the painting is revealed
to the press.

'The day was a bit
of a merry-go-round.'

And then, in the afternoon,

we became aware that there was

this controversy
about the portrait...

..which was appearing
on social media.

I found that quite difficult,
I must be honest.

I didn't expect it.

I think it's one of the most dull,
predictable, safe royal portraits

I've seen for a very long time.

A lot of the criticism
was quite malicious.

Both of the portrait
and also of her,

and I thought was really undeserved.

This is Kate's first taste
of public disapproval.

Being a member of the Royal Family
is like no job on earth.

You're almost thrown
at the deep end,

and I think it takes
a certain character and personality

to be able to fulfil that role.

Not long after the wedding,
there is press speculation

about when Kate
will produce an heir.

REPORTER: Those Palace
pregnancy rumours,

those pesky pregnancy rumours,
uh, they just won't quit.

Behind the gates
of Kensington Palace,

Kate has a secret.

She's less than 12 weeks pregnant

when she falls ill
and is rushed to hospital.

Catherine suffered really badly
from morning sickness.

She was rushed into hospital,

which meant that William would have
to tell the Queen and his father

what was happening.
And really, that was the reason that

they had to reveal the pregnancies
earlier than maybe expected.

The build-up outside St Mary's,
Paddington.

The layers and layers of media,
all waiting.

I remember going there and just
seeing this bank of cameras.

BELL RINGING

The first born
of Their Royal Highness,

the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

BELL RINGING

Kate describes this moment
in a podcast interview.

HOST: What was it like knowing
that so many people are outside

after you've given birth

and you're in your little cocoon
with your new family?

KATE: Yeah. Slightly terrifying.
HOST LAUGHS

Slightly terrifying,
I'm not gonna lie.

HOST LAUGHS

Both William and I were really
conscious that, you know,

this was sort of something
that everyone was excited about.

And, you know, we're hugely grateful
for the support.

But equally,
it was coupled with a newborn baby

and sort of inexperienced parents

and the uncertainty
about what that held.

So there was all sorts
of sort of mixed emotions.

WHOOPING,
CHEERING

When she first presented
Prince George to the world,

she looked impeccable.
She really did.

She knew that
that was a part of the job,

that, yes,
she'd just had her first baby boy,

but he was the future
King of England,

and this was a moment
to share with the public.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Here's where that modernity
comes in.

She wore a dress that had
a little belt

that actually accentuated her bump,

stepping out and being like,
"Yes, I have just had a baby.

"My body has changed,

"but that won't stop me from
coming to work and doing my job."

And if you think about Diana,
when she was pregnant,

she wore a lot
of really baggy clothes

that kind of hid her bump.

Yes, very emotional.
It's such a special time.

I think any parent, I think,
would probably sort of, erm...

know what this feeling feels like.

I remember chaining this frame
with the announcement

on the gates of Buckingham Palace

and hearing this enormous roar
of the crowd cheering,

because this is a moment of history,
a baby boy being born,

and he will be our next king.

Kate's first decision as a mother
raises eyebrows at the palace,

breaking with the tradition

that a newborn heir
stays within the Royal Household.

The Queen gave them Anmer Hall
in Norfolk as a wedding present,

knowing that it was going to be
a bolt-hole for them,

a place where they could
completely retreat and escape,

and I think everyone expected
that they'd go to Anmer after that,

when in fact they went back
to Bucklebury, to Kate's parents,

and that was really
breaking the mould.

So it was not a case
of having a maternity nurse

and someone to take care of the baby
in that respect.

It was Kate and her mother.

They went to the Middletons
to recuperate.

And I think actually, erm...
lovely.

Any girl wants to be with her mother
once she's had a child.

Their security entourage moved in.

And when you think about that
first picture of them as a family,

it was taken by Michael Middleton

in the back garden
of the family home.

So, you know, you could see

that they were doing things
very much on their terms.

Kate and Prince George
stay in Bucklebury for two months.

Not long after
Prince George was born,

Charles was heard complaining

that he didn't actually get
to see much of his grandson.

And this was quite a loaded remark,
because we knew that the Middletons

were seeing an awful lot
of their grandson.

Carole and Mike Middleton
were very were very much hands-on

when the newborn George was around.

Charles much less so.

I think there was a sense
that William was sort of embracing

the Middleton side of the family
far more than his own.

What we're witnessing

is a "Middleton-isation"
of the Royal Family.

And what I mean here are the sort of
middle-class values

that the Middletons invested
in their own children -

respect for authority, courtesy,
sympathy and understanding.

Kind of natural things

which any parent would really want
to instil in their children,

but something
that was possibly lacking

in William's own life experiences
up until that stage,

up until he was introduced
to the Middletons.

In 2015, the family grows with
the birth of Princess Charlotte...

..and almost three years later,
the arrival of Prince Louis.

Kate continues to raise her children
with the values she grew up with.

Everything with Kate goes back
to what she learned

around the dining room table
with Carole and Mike Middleton.

This was a family
who did things together,

but who talked things through.

In the Royal Family,
orders are sort of sent down on high

and you're expected to follow them,

and I think with Kate,

we're going to see
a very different monarchy

later on in this century.

It's very easy to describe this

as a sort of "middle-class-isation",
if you like, of the monarchy,

but that is what is happening,

and I think
it probably will be a good thing.

A less remote,
more integrated family,

people who understand
the everyday issues

that the rest of the country
are going through.

She is changing the way
the Royal Family raises children.

She is breaking
a generational narrative

whereby Firm was put before family.

Her determination that
they should adopt a real sense

of caring and responsibility
to other people,

to the environment, to society.

You can see the way that she has
instilled those values

in taking the children
to a baby bank

to help look at toys
for other children.

Come in. Come and see what we do.

'Yeah, there's lots of people
who give up their time,

'and there are lots of volunteers
who come and help out.'

And so, you're the volunteers
for this evening.

Right? Are you ready?

MURPHY: Instilling in him
this caring approach to society,

I think, is absolutely fundamental
to how the monarchy will turn out.

You can see how rewarding
the work is, isn't it? Yeah.

Knowing that you're
helping out others.

I think
it will shape our monarchy

and its future and its survival
in the modern world.

While Kate raises
the next generation of Royals,

she's also developing a deep bond

with her brother-in-law,
Prince Harry.

They had a very, very close
relationship at that time.

He really looked to Kate
almost as a sisterly figure.

She was an incredibly
encouraging figure around him

when he was having
all sorts of doubts

about his life, his romances.

Like William, Harry is drawn
to the stable family life.

He wanted his own wife and children.

He looked at what his brother had
and really wanted that.

He would always be with them
every weekend.

I think they provided a sort of
safe space for him.

You really see their connection,
the three of them.

They were sort of a very, very
close-knit group.

But a new arrival threatens
Kate's domestic bliss.

Harry was the eternal
bachelor prince, the royal rebel.

He finds this woman.

She's successful, she's American,
she's an actress,

and he falls madly in love with her.

Well, we have some good news
out of London,

where Clarence House has announced
the engagement of Prince Harry

to American actress Meghan Markle.

William and I
are absolutely thrilled.

It's such exciting news,

and it's a really happy time
for any couple,

and we wish them all the best.

We haven't sort of had
this sort of a foursome

since the days of Charles and Diana
and Sarah and Andrew.

That idea of this new Fab Four
is incredibly appealing.

That's a snapshot of what
the future's going to look like,

and doesn't it look bright?

Before Meghan arrived,

William, Catherine and Harry
were working very closely together.

So, the fourth figure arrived.

This put the cat
amongst the pigeons.

APPLAUSE

It was the Kate and William show,

and then suddenly,
this force of nature takes over.

This is a very volatile situation.

Behind the Kensington Palace gates,

divisions grow.

These four young people

suddenly were no longer even
on speaking terms.

REPORTER: Harry and Meghan
are stepping back from royal life.

It was all unravelling.

Kate's life is suddenly thrown
into turmoil

when Harry and Meghan talk with
US chat show host Oprah Winfrey.

There was also a story -

did you hear this one
about you making Kate Middleton cry?

No, the reverse happened.

She wasn't just going
to take this lying down.

One would mess with her
at your peril.

The Royal Family suffers
a tragic loss.

The death of Queen Elizabeth

particularly changed everything
for Princess Kate.

Now she really is queen-in-waiting.

And Kate faces
her biggest personal challenge.

There was absolutely no sense
of what was to come.

In January, I underwent
major abdominal surgery in London.

The tests after the operation
found cancer had been present.

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