Princess Kate's awkward conversation with mum Carole ahead of royal wedding

26 January 2024 , 15:33

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Kate had an awkward conversation with mum Carole (Image: Getty Images)

The royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton back in 2011 drew in millions of viewers and global attention, but whilst the big day was still in the early stages of planning, Kate had to have a seriously awkward-sounding conversation with her mum, Carole.

The awkward moment came not long after William had proposed to Kate. He popped the question during a trip to Kenya, leaving Kate facing a tricky conversation with her mum when she got back, which she recalled during their engagement interview.

During the interview, William revealed he had gone back and forth about whether or not to ask Kate's father, Michael, for his permission before getting down on one knee and asking his longtime girlfriend to marry him.

Kate is extremely close to her parents so couldn't wait to share the news (Getty Images)

Kate didn't know what her mum knew (Getty Images)

Eventually, he opted not to, picking the forgiveness not permission route. He said: "I was torn between asking Kate's dad first and then the realisation that he might actually say 'no' dawned upon me. 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".

When Kate was asked how her mother had taken the news, she revealed that there had been an awkward moment when she first saw her mother after the proposal, where she had no idea whether her father had already spilled the beans or not.

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"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," Kate explained. "So I came back from Scotland and my mother didn't make it clear to me whether she knew or not so both of us were there sort of looking at each other and feeling quite awkward about it."

However, despite the initial uncomfortable silence, Kate said that her mother Carole was delighted when she found out Kate had got engaged. "As any mother would be she was absolutely over the moon."

She added that it was "amazing to tell" her mum the life-changing news, and added that "obviously she was very happy for us." Kate also spoke about how important it was to be close with her family, "They've been great over the years - helping me with difficult times. We see a lot of each other and they are very, very dear to me."

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Emma Mackenzie