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Kate Middleton is one of the most recognizable women in the world so it’s pretty surprising to learn that she once attended a function and was ignored because no one noticed who she was.
Well according to former royal butler Grant Harrold, that’s exactly what happened when the now-Princess of Wales attended her father-in-law’s birthday party one year.
When William and Kate started dating
Prince William met his future wife in 2001 when they were both students attending St. Andrews University in Scotland. They moved into an off-campus apartment together with some other friends and began dating but tried to keep their relationship under wraps.
By 2004, their secret was out and Kate was recognized everywhere she went, well almost everywhere. A former royal employee claims that prior to marrying the future king, Kate attended a royal function where no one seemed to notice that she was William’s girlfriend.
Butler says he felt bad for Kate when she was ignored at Charles’ party
Grant Harrold, who worked for King Charles III from 2004 to 2011 and today is a British etiquette expert, shared with Showbiz Cheat Sheet a story about Kate arriving at then-Prince Charles’ 60th birthday in 2008 and “standing in the middle of a marquee on her own.”
Harrold recalled that there was “a marquee and everything. I remember Kate was standing in the middle on her own. And nobody was talking to her or going near her because they didn’t know who she was or recognize her.” Harrold added he felt bad that she was all alone so he went over and talked with her until her then-boyfriend came up to them.
Speaking on behalf of OnlineCasino.ca, he revealed: “William wasn’t there at that point and she was just kind of standing there. She wasn’t really known. So I went over and started chatting away to her while we waited for Will to come in and it was quite sweet.”
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Harrold said that when he looks back on that evening he thinks to himself: “Can you imagine putting her in the middle of a room now, she’d be mobbed.”
A journalist at the same party remembered that the princess used to be ‘shy’
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The Sun’s royal correspondent Duncan Larcombe was also at the event that evening and said that Kate used to be much more shy and quiet than she is today.
Express noted that while she wasn’t recognized by most of the guests in attendance that night, the journalists present knew exactly who she was and the fact that she was there led to speculation that she and William would soon be engaged.
According to Larcombe: “It was always a question of when, not if, William would ask her to marry him. Kate being at the party fueled the rumors that they would get engaged soon — which were very premature.”
The pair did not announce their engagement until two years later on Nov. 16, 2010. They were married on April 29, 2011, and today have three children together.
