Princess Kate and Prince William's very 'awkward situation' with her mother Carole following their engagement
Oops!Prince William and Princess Kate found themselves in a bit of an “awkward situation” with her mum, Carole, after their engagement.
The Prince and Princess of Wales announced their engagement back in November 2010, before tying the knot in April 2011.
William and Kate’s ‘awkward situation’ with Carole
William proposed to Kate back in October 2010, during a holiday together in Kenya.
The future king managed to keep the proposal a secret. However, he did let one person in on the know – Kate’s dad, Michael Middleton.
However, this did lead to a bit of an awkward situation with Kate’s mother, Carole, as the couple weren’t sure if she knew about their big news!
Speaking during their engagement interview in November 2010, Kate opened up about the “awkward” situation.
‘I didn’t know if my mother knew’
Speaking to ITV News’ Tom Bradby, Kate said: “I think as any mother would be, she was absolutely over the moon.”
“We had quite an awkward situation because I knew and I knew that William had asked my father but I didn’t know if my mother knew,” she then continued.
Kate explained that she came back home, and Carole “didn’t make it clear” whether she knew the engagement news or not.
We had quite an awkward situation because I knew and I knew that William had asked my father but I didn’t know if my mother knew.
This left Kate and her mother standing there “sort of looking at each other and feeling quite awkward about it”.
It seemed as though Michael hadn’t spilled the secret, which meant that Kate could tell her mother the news in person!
“But it was amazing to tell and obviously she was very happy for us,” she said.
Meanwhile, William admitted that he went against tradition when it came to the proposal.
Rather than asking for Michael’s permission for Kate’s hand in marriage, William proposed first, then asked Michael!
William went against tradition
William admitted he was “torn” about asking Michael if he could propose to his daughter. Then, the “realisation that he might actually say ‘no’ dawned upon [him]”.
“So I thought if I ask Kate first then he can’t really say no. So I did it that way round. I managed to speak to Mike soon after it happened really,” William said.
Whilst asking Michael for Kate’s hand in marriage is a matter of tradition, asking his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II was a matter of law.
William had to ask for the queen’s permission to propose to Kate, and just eight days before the marriage, the queen signed a notice of approval to give her consent for the nuptials to go ahead.
This was due to the Royal Marriages Act 1772. This act states that all descendants of King George II must obtain the Sovereign’s agreement before they get married.
The queen was “absolutely delighted” about the engagement news.
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