If you were a teen in the noughties, you'll likely (read: definitely) have watched The Princess Diaries more times than you can count. But, while we thought the movie was stuff of total fiction, it seems life really does imitate art, as Kate Middleton found out when she was preparing to marry Prince William.
Yep, just like Anne Hathaway's character Mia Thermopolis in the hit movie, Kate had to undergo 'Princess lessons' with Her Majesty the Queen ahead of joining the Royal Family. According to Amazon Prime's Kate Middleton: Working Class to Windsor documentary, the now Duchess of Cambridge took the classes with the Queen before her 2011 wedding to Prince William – and, it's all to do with her upbringing as a commoner, which means she was raised without any titles. No offence Kate, we're all commoners too...
"From the beginning, Kate Middleton had a great deal of support from the Royal Family which was really instructed by the Queen," royal journalist Ashley Pearson explained in the documentary. "This was to make sure she knew as much as she could possibly know and what to do in every situation – bearing in mind, of course, that she didn’t grow up in this world."
As for what Kate's secret 'Princess lessons' involved, Pearson revealed there was plenty for the soon-to-be royal to get her head around. "There were things like learning how to get out of a carriage without exposing your modesty and learning how to bend down to get flowers from a young girl without exposing your modesty," the expert pointed out. "Things that you would never think you’d have to learn but, of course, a woman in her position would certainly need to know."
But, that's not all, as Pearson revealed. "There were all kinds of small details and little bits of etiquette – how to sit, who to curtsy to, who not to curtsy to, what fork to use and whatever else they felt she needed to know. She was actually given lessons on how to be a royal wife." Sounds pretty intense, if you ask us!
As well as taking tips from Her Majesty, it was recently revealed that Kate took it upon herself to take elocutions lessons in a bid to sound "more regal", too.
"She was always well spoken," royal expert Duncan Larcombe told OK! magazine, adding that it's "never been denied" that the Duchess took elocution lessons.
Looks like all that hard work paid off though, eh Kate?
