Kate Middleton and Prince William share anniversary video

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Kate and Prince William celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary this week, sharing intimate snapshots of their family life and new photographs with delighted royal fans on social media. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have moved to the forefront of the Royal Family in recent years, despite once being known as the “reluctant royals”. The couple have also weathered serious criticism recently, following Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Both Kate and William were in the firing line — but their popularity does not appear to have taken a hit in the UK, and the couple have been praised for stepping up during the pandemic.

YouGov’s latest polls show the couple are just behind the Queen in terms of popularity.

Kate has also been hailed as the ideal “Queen-in-waiting” recently, and the perfect future consort to her husband, the second-in-line to the throne.

Glancing back at the couple’s wedding day, there is also a subtle hint that the Queen predicted her granddaughter-in-law’s success.

The monarch lent Kate the Cartier Halo tiara, a 739-brilliant cut diamond with 149 baguette diamonds.

There were claims Kate was not intending to wear a tiara on her wedding day shortly before she walked down the aisle.

She reportedly wanted to wear a flower crown, but this would have been out of place with the formality expected of the future Queen.

Society magazine Tatler explained: “Tradition dictates that tiaras should only be worn by brides on their wedding day or by married women.

“This is because of a tiara’s roots in classical antiquity — it was seen as the emblem of the loss of innocence to the crowning of love.”

The tiara she wore instead was borrowed from the Queen’s collection with the sovereign’s approval, and was considered a “beginner” tiara usually, ideal for younger family members.

Tatler continued: “The tiara was considered an apt choice for the bride thanks to its early beginnings, one that echoes the same trajectory that Kate herself is making — given to a non-royal who became a Duchess and later Queen.

“A transition the Queen Mother made successfully — and one we know Kate will succeed at.”

It was first commissioned in 1936 by the Queen’s father, King George VI, three weeks before his coronation — he and his wife were then known as the Duke and Duchess of York.

His wife Queen Elizabeth — later known as the Queen Mother — wore it only briefly before she was crowned alongside her husband, at which point she began to wear more ornate pieces.

Their daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was then given the tiara on her 18th birthday in 1944, although she has never worn the headpiece publicly as post-World War 2 Britain was still struggling with rations.

Princess Margaret started to wear the piece on loan from the Queen during the Fifties, and Princess Anne borrowed it from time-to-time as well.

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It then disappeared from view between 1970, the last time Anne wore it, and 2011, when Kate wore it on her wedding day.

The Queen Mother was one of the most popular royals of her time, known for her warm smile and “never explain, never complain” mantra — two traits Kate has taken on for herself.

The Queen’s parents also wed on April 26 in Westminster Abbey — just three days before the date Kate and William walked down the aisle, in the same venue.

The Queen Mother was considered the perfect consort to King George VI, and helped the reluctant royal adjust to his role as the sovereign.

Royal commentator Katie Nicholl told OK! Magazine: “I think the Queen is incredibly grateful to Kate.

“She makes William happy, is an incredible mum, hard-working, dutiful, and does everything with grace and a smile.

“She makes William happy, is an incredible mum, hard-working, dutiful, and does everything with grace and a smile.

“She’s also totally unflappable. People say she and the Queen are alike but I think Her Majesty recognises similarities with the Queen Mother.

“Kate has a sweet, soft, charming exterior but a core of steel.

“She is incredibly strong and resilient.”

Ms Nicholl added that the Queen “knows the future of the monarchy” is safe with the Cambridges.

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