Cruise ship godmother profile: Kate Middleton

Most of us leave university with a degree and an unusually optimistic view of the world, but Kate Middleton went with one more asset – the future King.

After a tumultuous romance, which saw Kate and William break up momentarily following their graduation yet reuniting in the summer of 2007, the couple married in 2011. As a result, the late Queen Elizabeth II granted the couple titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, which would later become the Prince and Princess of Wales.

As the first ‘commoner’ (cough – middle class – cough) to marry into the royal family since the seventeenth century, Kate has instigated a new generation of royal fans – one that hasn’t been seen since Diana, the Princess of Wales, captured the hearts of a generation.

Kate's ascent to the royal family left her to be the natural godmother to Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess in 2013 – with her predecessor being the one and only Princess Diana, who named the first Royal Princess in 1984. The original Royal Princess was transferred to sister company P&O Cruises for further service when renamed Artemis for the rest of the ship’s career, which was taken out of service in 2011.

Kate’s history with the high seas goes back to her childhood, when she learned to sail at a young age and worked as a deckhand on a luxury yacht in her late teens. However, her past offers up a wide selection of reasons as to why she deserves the godmother title.

The beginnings of a royal Princess

Of course, Kate is much more than her royal title and associations. Born in 1982, her parents were both in the travel industry and met there, with her father working as a flight dispatcher and her mother as a flight attendant at British Airways.

In 1987, Kate’s parents founded a children’s party supply mail-order business, which funded Kate’s private education.

This investment into Kate’s education was no surprise as growing up, Kate was undeniably bright. She attended a range of respectable private schools, such as St Andrew’s School in 1986, Downe House in 1995 and Marlborough College.

She moved with her family from Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, to Amman, Jordan, in May 1984 for three years, after her father was relocated for work, where she attended nursery. The Princess re-visited Jordan in 2021, alongside Prince William and their three children.

Kate’s childhood consisted of “weekends walking and picnicking in the surrounding Berkshire countryside, and they would enjoy sailing holidays in Norfolk”, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl ,author of Kate: The Future Queen

Kate topped off her impressive education by attending St. Andrews University. And like many other romantic hopefuls at the time, Kate’s attendance at St. Andrews was thought to be tactical. As royal historian Robert Lacey points out, Kate switched universities, course and delayed her education by a year to attend St. Andrews at the same time as Prince William.

Yet, other sources – including Marcia Moody, author of Kate: A Biography states that Kate had already accepted her offer to study at St Andrews before it was announced that Prince William was attending.

Whichever you believe, Kate and Will’s romance blossomed slowly throughout their university years. They had been together for around 12 months before their relationship hit the headlines.

Kate’s seafaring past

Within the year between Kate leaving school and starting at St. Andrews, she was employed as a deckhand on the BT Global Challenge on the Solent for four months. According to Marie Claire, Kate earned just under £60 a day for an 11-hour shift.

Kate’s success in getting a job as a deckhand is certainly impressive when you consider that her only prior sailing extended to family holidays in Norfolk. According to Sir Chay Blyth (former yachtsman) quoted in Nicholl’s book: “Kate applied the usual way and would have submitted her CV and been interviewed, although she would likely have come via a recommendation”.

The royal expert continues: “Kate mucked in and was very professional”. She would start her work early in the morning, scrubbing the yacht, serving breakfast and socialising with the guests.

Her fellow deck mates reminisce on their time onboard, with one of the crew commenting: “She wasn’t aloof, but she wasn’t part of the 24/7 Ocean Village lifestyle. I don’t remember her drinking at all. She was always very professional and very private, and very careful with what she said”.

A love for sailing runs in Kate’s family, with Kate’s grandfather, Peter, sailing across the Atlantic to the Caribbean in a 35-foot boat after his retirement. And, in the summer months, Peter would take his grandchildren, including Kate, sailing on the Hamble estuary near his residence.

Moody also writes that Kate and William bonded over their sailing experience, with William’s sailing experience in Africa.

Interestingly, Kate’s first royal duty was the launch of the new Hereford Endeavour lifeboat, where she smashed a bottle of champagne for good luck.

What’s more, the couple’s first official trip overseas was a Canadian tour, taking them through Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Prince Edward Island and Calgary – sounds like the perfect cruise itinerary to us.

How did Kate and William first meet?

William and Kate first met after a tumultuous few years for William. After all, the 21st century marked the end of a decade of divorce between his parents, Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Worse still, the media remained fixated on the death of Princess Diana following a paparazzi-heavy car crash in Paris, France.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that William wasn’t necessarily looking for love. Instead, he simply wanted a ‘normal’ university experience, which he guaranteed through a deal with the media.

This deal meant the press would leave him alone in exchange for consented photos, with this deal being a success for both sides – despite reports of a student being offered £3,000 for information about the Prince, according to the Daily Mail.

William and Kate met during their first year at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Kate recalls in an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby that she went “bright red” and walked hurriedly off.

It’s commonly believed that William’s first interest in Kate began after her iconic charity fashion show walk down the runway in a semi-sheer dress – a scene recently recreated by the popular Netflix show The Crown.

After growing closer, the two moved in together (strictly as friends, of course) during their second year with two mutual friends. This allowed the two to get closer, with William stating their romance ‘blossomed from there’ in the couple’s interview with ITV.

Romance was bubbling behind the scenes, but William got himself into trouble before his return to St. Andrews, as he boarded a Mediterranean cruise – with an all-male passenger list but with an entirely female crew, which, according to Christopher P Andersen, author of William and Kate: A royal love story, Kate felt “humiliated” by.

The pair famously split halfway through their relationship, with Katie Nicholl writing: “Kate knew that the worst thing was to back William into a corner, but the time had come when she felt she had no alternative but to deliver William an ultimatum".

Subsequently, the couple agreed to split up that Easter, with both Charles and the Queen advising William not to rush into a marriage, as attested to by Nicholl.

Nicholl continues: “A long-distance romance didn’t worry Kate, but she did have a problem with William coming to London to party instead of spending time with her, which had become a pattern since he had moved to Dorset”.

In the couple’s ITV engagement interview, they reflected on their time apart, with William stating “we did split up for a bit, but we were both very young, at university and we were both finding ourselves. It was a bit of space, and it worked out for the better”.

It wasn’t long before the pair reconciled, being seen together in March 2008 at the ski slopes and in 2010 while on holiday in Kenya. William soon proposed with Princess Diana’s diamond and sapphire ring. This iconic ring contains 14 diamonds and a large sapphire, costing around £30,000.

Kate’s family was quickly accepted and integrated into the royal family, with Kate’s parents quickly invited to join members of the royal family for a shooting holiday at Balmoral.

Excitement spread across the world after the news was officially announced, with Kate and William memorabilia already churning out across factories in the UK. In fact, according to Mary Boone’s Royal Romance: The love story of William and Kate, in only one hour on the day of the announcement, 45,000 different news stories were indexed through Google News with the term ‘Prince William’.

In typical Brit style, bets were wagered on various details of the marriage ceremony, such as ‘how long will the train on Kate’s wedding dress be’. According to online bookmaker William Hill, bets were made even before the engagement was announced, with the firm paying out £34,672 to gamblers who bet William and Kate would be married in April.

Therefore, on 29 April, 2011, the couple made it official at Westminster Abbey, with almost 72 million people worldwide watching eagerly – and Kate was granted the title Duchess of Cambridge, the Countess of Strathearn and Lady Carrickfergus.

Kate Middleton names Princess Cruises' Royal Princess

Fast forward to 2013, Kate, pregnant with her first-born, Prince George, attended her last official engagement before the birth – the Royal Princess naming ceremony.

The event began with The Pipe Band of 1st Battalion Irish Guards and the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Portsmouth.

Chief executive of Princess Cruises, Alan Buckelew commented: “We can think of no more fitting godmother for our magnificent new ship.

“Her Royal Highness is an inspiring ambassador for Britain, and she is admired around the world for her style, her grace and for her compassion for others. We thank the duchess for graciously agreeing to name our new vessel”.

Kate officially named the ship and blessed her: “I name this ship Royal Princess. May God bless her and all who sail in her”, she was heard saying before cutting a ribbon that released the Champagne bottle against the side of the ship.

And it wasn’t just any bottle of bubbly, this was a £1,200 bottle of Moet et Chandon Champagne.

In 2013, Royal Princess was Princess Cruises’ largest vessel, holding 3,600 passengers.

Beyond being a godmother to Royal Princess and patron of the sailing charity 1851 Trust, the Princess of Wales has passed her love of sailing to her children. The family now own a ‘shrimper’-style sailboat, with two sails and a small cabin, to sail the north Norfolk coast.

While recovering from cancer treatment at Anmer Hall, Kate has sent Prince George and Princess Charlotte to sailing lessons at a club locally to them.

Despite the fact the royal family run a tight ship (pun intended), it’s easy to see past their polished facade to the real people underneath, with Kate as the guiding star of the royal family.