Princess Kate has always had a polite relationship with the royal press. While her feelings of frustration towards invasive paparazzi have been clear, the royal rota usually sings Princess Kate’s praises as being kind, funny, and sincere. Many have praised the Princess of Wales’s ability to turn the conversation away from herself, directing attention to charity workers, patients, children, or volunteers rather than sharing a tidbit about herself that will make headline news.
Royal author Catherine Mayer, who was previously London Bureau Chief for TIME magazine, met the Princess of Wales on a number of occasions in her early tenure within the Royal Family. “I remember Kate chatting to me at a small party for press with baby George on her hip,” Mayer wrote for the Daily Mail. “Though typically guarded, she seemed comfortable talking about him,” she said, noting that motherhood had made Princess Kate more confident and self-assured. “It made a marked contrast to our first encounter.”
Mayer refers to a press event years earlier, while viewing pieces from the Royal Collection. “During our first conversation, the paintings, hung in tiers around the room, seemed to offer an obvious ice-breaker—Kate has a degree in Art History—but when I asked her which most appealed to her, she refused to be drawn.” Mayer felt this was due to a lack of knowledge, but Princess Kate has proved again and again that she is meticulously well-read when attending events, but very purposeful in what secrets she gives away.
“She had not yet familiarised herself with the royal collection, she said,” Mayer wrote, recalling their conversation. “What kinds of art interested her most? Her answer—she had ‘varied tastes’—discouraged further inquiries.” The Kensington Palace team had already made Princess Kate’s interest in the arts public knowledge, so the princess’s reticence seemed at odds. “This apparent detachment jarred with palace briefings that identified the visual arts as the pinnacle of her passions after William and her family.”
“She is one of the most photographed and talked-about women in the world, yet we know remarkably little about her,” Mayer wrote, but that’s exactly how Princess Kate wants things to be. She is required to live an unimaginably public existence, but chooses to remain as private as possible. Mayer notes that “her media management looks majestic,” which allows her to keep her relationship with the press is exactly where she wants it.
