As a fresh-faced member of the Royal Family, the Princess of Wales turned to Prince William‘s grandmother for guidance on navigating the Firm.
The Daily Mail’s Richard Kay described the two as sharing a ‘grandmotherly’ bond – with Kate describing the Queen as ‘a gentle guide’.
And like any grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II was not afraid to point out areas in her granddaughter-in-law’s life that needed attention – even before Kate and William were engaged.
Royal correspondent Katie Nicholl wrote that the Queen was concerned about Kate’s lack of a stable job and the number of holidays she was taking in her book, William and Harry.
She wrote: ‘If Kate was not with William at Balmoral then the couple were skiing or holidaying on Mustique.
‘Kate was there so often the press dubbed her Queen of Mustique, a title that had previously belonged to Princess Margaret.’
The royal author noted that while Kate and William were enjoying island life, people back home were struggling through the recession.
Nicholl wrote: ‘Such frivolous displays of wealth were unpalatable to the Queen.
‘While the rest of the world speculated that an engagement was on the horizon for William and Kate, the Queen believed an announcement should be postponed until Kate was settled in a career.’
One insider told Nicholl at the time that ‘it is Her Majesty’s opinion that if Kate is one day going to be William’s consort, then she needs a proper job.’
MailOnline reported at the time that sources close to the Queen said she was acutely aware that William’s public image could suffer if his girlfriend were not recognised as a working professional in her own right.
‘The Queen has had conversations with a few trusted friends about how to tackle what is being called the Kate problem,’ a senior aide told The Mail on Sunday.
‘On the few occasions the Queen has met Kate, she has thought she is a nice enough girl. But the Queen has admitted she has no idea what Kate actually does.
‘Privately she is very concerned about what the repercussions could be if Kate is not in a stable job as and when William is ready to propose.
‘Although they are not yet engaged, it seems more likely than not that Kate will be a Royal bride one day, and the Queen is of the opinion that Kate should be working.
‘She believes in a modern Monarchy and feels very strongly that the Royals should be leading by example.
‘That’s one of the reasons the Queen is so fond of Sophie Wessex.
‘She was a hard-working career girl before she married Edward and she still works hard carrying out lots of charity work, despite raising a young family.’
In June 2008 Kate was working for her parents’ mail-order company, Party Pieces.
She quit her job as an accessories buyer for Jigsaw at the end of the previous year and announced that she wanted to pursue a career as a photographer.
When she left St Andrews with a 2:1 in art history, Kate attempted to set up her own children’s clothing line as a subsidiary to her parents’ company.
But she was forced to close it before it launched for financial reasons.
At the time, she sought advice from William’s best friend, internet entrepreneur Jamie Murray Wells, and said she did not want to ask her parents for money.
She started working at Jigsaw, which is owned by her parents’ close friends John and Belle Robinson, who let William and Kate take a holiday in Mustique
