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Kate’s Birthday Date with … The Queen?

January 9, 2010 in In the News | 5 comments

Happy 28th Birthday, Kate!

Richard Palmer of the Daily Express writes this weekend that Kate is spending part of her birthday weekend with Prince William at Sandringham.  He suggests that she may be having tea with The Queen on her big day.

Palmer explains, “The couple, who have been dating on and off for seven years, are due to spend part of the weekend at the Royal Family’s Norfolk estate amid mounting speculation that they will soon announce their engagement.”

Last year, Prince William’s car was pictured outside of Kate’s parents’ Berkshire home on her birthday, suggesting that Kate had enjoyed a quiet birthday celebration at home with her family and her beau.  This year it sounds as if at least part of the day may be spent with William’s family as well.

Kate has been photographed at Sandringham before, notably last December out shooting with William and Prince Harry on the grounds of the estate.  Such photographs have not been released this year — probably because of The Queen’s crack-down on paparazzi lenses on the family’s private property.

Hope the birthday weekend is great!

Read more from the Daily Express.

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Will Kate Head to Sandringham for the Holidays?

September 10, 2009 in In the News | 1 comment

Kate shooting with William on the Sandringham estate in December 2008 (Photo Credit: Mail Online)It’s that time of year again: The Mirror has reported that The Queen has broken with tradition and extended an invitation for Kate Middleton to attend the family-only Christmas luncheon at Sandringham House in Norfolk.

Nick Owens writes, “It is the first time an unmarried partner of a royal has received such an invitation – and fuels speculation that Kate, 27, is about to get engaged to boyfriend Prince William, also 27.”

He quotes a source who adds, “The planned invite shows how close Kate has become to the Royal Family.  It would be incredibly prestigious and indicates how Kate is seen as one of the family.  She will be delighted to spend Christmas Day with William for the first time.”

Rumors have flown that Kate will be invited to Sandringham for Christmas almost every year since her relationship with William was discovered.  Inevitably, Kate spends the day with her family, joining William at Sandringham at other times during the holiday season.  Girlfriends and boyfriends of royals are not traditionally invited to the Christmas Day celebration, so until Kate’s sporting an engagement ring, she’ll likely trim the tree with her family instead.

Read more from Nick Owens at The Mirror.

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William and Kate to Bunk Separately at Balmoral?

August 27, 2009 in In the News | No comments

Kate deer stalking with ghillies at Balmoral in autumn 2007 (Photo Credit: Mail Online)Daily Express columnist Vanessa Feltz writes this week that when royal girlfriends like Kate Middleton stay at royal residences, they have to seek separate sleeping quarters from those occupied by their princes.

Feltz explains, “The Queen will not be inviting courting couple Prince William and Kate Middleton to disport themselves beneath a shared royal duvet at Balmoral,” adding, “This is one of the sovereign’s cardinal rules. In making sure that it remains set in stone, William’s granny has succeeded where many parents and grandparents have failed. She has resisted openly condoning the pursuit of premarital sex under her vaulted palace roof.”

Some may argue that, if Feltz’s information is accurate, The Queen may be deluded about the nature of the relationships of her unmarried grandchildren.  But Feltz argues, “It’s not, you may be assured, that Her Majesty doesn’t realise Wills and his Kate have been happily indulging in sexy sleepovers for many a long year. It’s just that she doesn’t consider it seemly to give their pre-nuptial couplings a royal warrant.”

The Queen has long exercised specific rules about when and how royal girlfriends and boyfriends can participate in family functions.  One of her most stringent stipulations: unmarried partners of royal family members may not attend the annual Christmas Day lunch at Sandringham House until they are officially engaged.

You can read more from Feltz here at the Daily Express.

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Kate’s Lunch Date with The Queen?

July 13, 2009 in In the News | No comments

The Queen at Balmoral (Photo Credit: telegraph.co.uk)British paper The People reported this weekend that Kate’s not only going to Balmoral with William during the royal summer holiday — she’s also going to be having a private, one-on-one lunch with The Queen while she’s there.

Dean Rousewell writes, “Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton has been invited for the first time to lunch ALONE with the Queen.  Her Majesty’s request is seen as highly significant by royal observers who believe William and Kate, both 27, are getting closer to announcing an engagement.”

Prince William’s supposed to have a shooting date with his grandfather, The Duke of Edinburgh, and other estate personnel while the women have their meeting.

Rousewell adds that William and Kate will be staying in the main castle on the estate rather than in his cottage or Prince Charles’s Birkhall home.  And because William’s grandparents know that Kate is a keen photographer, they’ve apparently also made provisions to allow her some unique photographic opportunities.  Rousewell explains, “Aware of Kate’s passion for photography, she has told her she can have unprecedented access to take pictures in the castle and grounds.”

Speculation that William and Kate will be present during the family holidays at Balmoral has been going on every summer for years — we’ll all have to wait to see if this pans out to be something more serious.

Read the whole article at The People.

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Kate Invited to Balmoral for August Holiday

June 23, 2009 in In the News | No comments

Photo Credit: newsoftheworld.co.ukKate has been a guest at Prince William’s cottage on the Balmoral estate in Scotland before, but now one royal reporter writes that she has been invited to attend the August shooting holiday at Balmoral by The Queen.

Robert Jobson explains, “It is the first time she has been invited to the Queen’s traditional break at the Highland retreat,” adding that Prince William “plans to spend the August bank holiday weekend there with Kate.”

Though Jobson does write that Kate’s visit and “meeting with the Queen and Prince Philip will be seen as significant,” he also notes that Kate has indeed met The Queen before on occasion, most notably at Peter Phillips’s May 2008 wedding.

Read Jobson’s entire piece at News of the World.

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