Prince Philip’s guidance in matters of the heart was apparently taken seriously by the Royal Family – and this includes his grandson Prince William. The Prince and Princess of Wales were dating for seven years before he popped the question and it’s been suggested that Philip fully “backed” William taking some time over it.
Writing in William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, royal expert and editor Russell Myers claims that Prince Philip cautioned his grandson after seeing how King Charles and Princess Anne’s first marriages and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s marriage had ended unhappily.
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According to the author, the late Duke of Edinburgh “had been a huge supporter” of Prince William’s decision to “delay taking on full-time royal duties”. He had also reportedly “backed him in taking his time while he considered whether he had absolute confidence in his relationship with Catherine before making the biggest decision of his life.”
In 2010 William and Kate announced their engagement and in April they’ll celebrate their 15th anniversary, showing that this was not only the biggest decision but the best too. Myers remarks upon how Philip and Catherine “enjoyed a close relationship” and wrote letters to each other, and stated that the Duke’s acceptance or rejection of royal spouses was seen as a “moral compass”.
He clearly very much approved of and admired the Princess of Wales and his warning to William makes complete sense given how much of a pressure cooker environment royal life can be.
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In the couple’s engagement interview the Prince of Wales, who is first in the line of succession, even candidly revealed he’d wanted to give Kate time to “back out” if she’d wanted to.
“Her and her family, I really want to make sure that they have the best, sort of, guidance and chance to see what life has been like – or what life is like – in the family,” Prince William said. “That’s kind of almost why I’ve been waiting this long is that I wanted to give her a chance to see and to back out if she needed to before it all got too much.”
Turning to look at his now-wife, the Prince added, “I just wanted to give her the best chance to settle in and see what happens the other side.”
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Kate explained that she was “so glad” to have had the time to grow and understand herself more too and together they’ve laid the foundations for an aspirational royal marriage with echoes of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth. The late Duke and monarch were married for over 73 years and it wasn’t only Philip handing out relationship advice…
Elsewhere in William & Catherine, Myers suggests that Queen Elizabeth gave Kate “guidance” about husbands in their first ever solo meeting. A former courtier is quoted as revealing Her Majesty “offered words of encouragement to Catherine regarding her future role as a senior member of the family, as well as guidance in how to deal with ‘headstrong’ husbands”.