Kate Middleton style: Tips for dressing like the Duchess

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The Queen’s soon-to-be granddaughter-in-law first visited the Aberdeenshire residence in the summer of 2009. According to Katie Nicholl, a royal expert and biographer, Elizabeth, 95, offered a “true gift” to Kate, 39.

Her Majesty went out of her way to make Kate “feel welcome” letting her take photos around the castle, located near the village of Crathie.

Writing in her 2013 biography, Kate: The Future Queen, Ms Nicholl said: Until now the Queen had met Kate only fleetingly at the wedding of Peter and Autumn Phillips, but she went out of her way to make her feel welcome, giving her permission to take pictures at Balmoral – a true gift to a photographer, with its turreted and Gothic-inspired architecture.”

The break from royal protocol was even more significant given Prince William and Kate Middleton would announce their engagement more than a year later in November 2010.

Nicholl added: As a woman who has lived her entire life in the public eye, the Queen rarely lets her guard down, and very few apart from her family and closest friends get to see the real Elizabeth.

“Now Kate was being granted an audience in a most intimate capacity.

It was a generous move on the part of the Queen and an astute decision, given that the romance seemed to be very serious.”

Kate and William eventually tied the knot at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.

The Duchess of Cambridge remains a keen photographer.

She became patron of the Royal Photographic Society in 2019.

More recently, Kensington Palace released some sweet snaps taken by the Duchess for Prince George’s eighth birthday.

When the Duke of Edinburgh passed away in April, another photo taken by Kate Middleton was published.

The snap showed the late Prince Philip, with the Queen and their seven great-grandchildren.

The Firm’s 500-mile trip to Balmoral this summer was the first time the Queen went on her Scottish summer break without her late husband.

Elizabeth and Philip had been married for 73 years.

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Before her grandfather’s death, Princess Eugenie told the Our Queen at 90 programme about her thoughts on Balmoral.

“It’s the most beautiful place on earth,” she said.

“I think Granny is the most happy there, I think she really, really loves the Highlands… walks, picnics, dogs, a lot of dogs, there’s always dogs, and people coming in and out all the time.”

Eugenie added: “Family-wise we’re all there, so it’s a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa to be – for us to come and see them there where you have just room to breathe and run.”

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