While attending 2,000 engagements and entertaining more than 70,000 people a year, life as a royal can seem all-encompassing. But for Kate Middleton, the experience has been different. Check out these stunning photos of Kate Middleton since becoming a royal.

That’s because Kate has been able to hold on to a key part of her life before she married Prince William and became the Duchess of Cambridge: her family. According to a documentary called “Kate Middleton: Working Class to Windsor,” things were different when Prince William proposed to his longtime girlfriend, the Express reports.

“When William asked Kate to marry him, he made it very clear that she wouldn’t have to leave her family behind once she married into the family,” Vanity Fair writer Katie Nicholl reveals in the documentary. “He promised her that they’d always stay a part of the family and they have done.”

Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole, met when they both worked for British Airways and later went on to start a successful party planning business. Kate has always been close to her parents and her younger siblings, Pippa and James. Kate went on to study art history at the University of St. Andrews, where she famously met Prince William. After they began dating, William reportedly enjoyed attending family dinners with the Middletons and going on skiing vacations with them. This is the job Kate had before she became a royal.

Since William and Kate married in 2011, William’s kept his promise—the Middletons are included in many major royal events. “Whether it’s joining the Queen at Ascot or being on an important barge within the Queen’s fleet at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, they’ve been there,” Nicholl says.

Prince William even mentioned his in-laws during a royal visit to Jordan in 2018 and recreated a photo of Michael Middleton with toddlers Kate and Pippa from when the family was stationed there, according to PeopleKate “is very sorry she cannot be here with me so soon after the birth of our son Louis, but her family remembers very fondly the almost three years she spent here as a child when her father worked for British Airways in Amman,” William said.

Grandma and Grandpa Middleton continue to join Kate, William, and their three children on family trips for summer vacation. Sadly, due to the pandemic and strict lockdown rules in England they weren’t able to see each other for the holidays this year. Next, check out times Kate and Princess Diana wore almost the same outfit.

Sources:

  • The Royal Family
  • Express: “Kate Middleton is UNIQUE in Royal Family after key Prince William promise”
  • Town & Country: “Everything You Need to Know About the Middleton Family”
  • People: “Kate Middleton ‘Is Very Sorry She Can’t Be Here,’ Prince William Says on Day 2 of Jordan Visit”
  • Vogue: “Inside Kate Middleton and Prince William’s family holiday in Mustique”
The Duke And Duchess of Cambridge - Official Tour PortraitHandout/Getty Images

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