The late Queen Elizabeth went above and beyond to be absolutely sure that Kate felt ‘at home’ within the House of Windsor after she officially became a member of the Royal Family

When Kate officially joined the Royal Family, she spent a long time properly learning the ropes of her new duties and adjusting to her new position, and she had help from one of the best – the late Queen Elizabeth. By the time Kate and William married in 2011, the late Queen had been on the throne for nearly 60 years and had steered the monarchy through many difficult waters.

The late Queen also had witnessed the difficulties found by outsiders from marrying into the House of Windsor repeatedly by this point in her long reign, which meant that when it came to Kate, the former monarch tried her best to help support her and make her feel “at home” inside the monarchy, an expert has claimed.

Speaking in a new Channel 5 documentary, Kate and the Queen: A Special Relationship, royal correspondent Simon Vigar, explained that the late Queen went above and beyond to ensure that Kate knew the ropes in her new role, and felt comfortable completing her duties.

“The Queen was perfectly aware of how daunting it was for an outsider to join the Royal Family, so they would have had their techniques of making someone look at home,” Vigar explained. Other experts appearing in the documentary felt similarly, with India McTaggart of the Telegraph noting, “Catherine has said the Queen was very supportive of her as she was undertaking her first engagements without William. I think she influenced her by showing her by example.”

Kate spoke about the late Queen accompanying her on her initial solo engagements in a documentary released to mark the former monarch’s 90th birthday back in 2016. With William having obligations elsewhere, Kate had been nervous about attending the visit to Leicester, but with the popular monarch by her side had renewed confidence.

“The most memorable engagement for me I suppose was an away day to Leicester and I went without William so I was rather apprehensive about that. 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 pick up a few more tips I suppose.”

Kate added that the Queen “was very supportive. The fact she took the time to make sure that I was happy and looked after for that particular occasion, which probably in everything that she’s doing is a very small element, which just shows how caring she is, really.”