Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Style at Large
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Cummerbund Belts
    • October Books
    • Janine Nabers
    • 2026 Beauty Awards
    • COS New Arrivals
    • VSFW
    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Prince William Claims to Remember a Wedding He Was Famously Not at and People Are Confused

    Kate Middleton shared the story of how she met the Queen for the first time. Prince William added to the story, implying he was there for the meeting, when he was in fact in Africa at the time.

    By Kayleigh Roberts
    Published 20 August 2018 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Green, Clothing, Suit, Formal wear, Event, Dress, Tuxedo, Uniform, Ceremony, White-collar worker,
    (Image credit: Pool)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    You know how sometimes, if you hear a story enough, it starts to feel like you were there—even if you weren't? Well, that seems to have happened to Prince William, who claims to remember something that happened at a wedding he was never at.

    RELATED STORY

    The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Attend The ICAP Charity Day

    (Image credit: WPA Pool)

    Kate Middleton Had Two Very Normal Pre-Royal Jobs

    The wedding in question: The wedding of William's first cousin, Peter Phillips, to Autumn Kelly in Windsor, England in 2008.

    The something that happened: Kate Middleton met Queen Elizabeth for the first time ever.

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    Where William actually was: At another wedding on the other side of the world, in Kenya.

    Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Visit The East Midlands

    (Image credit: WPA Pool)

    So, yeah. How is this even possible? It's hard to say. The invented memory came to light during Will and Kate's joint engagement interview in 2010. During the interview, Kate was asked to reminisce about the first time she met the Queen. Kate was very chill about telling the story.

    You may like
    • Princess Kate wears a navy blue satin dress as she announces her engagement to Prince William, who wears a suit Princess Kate "Had a Very Handsome Boyfriend" Before William
    • Prince William and Princess Kate walking next to each other and smiling in fall outfits Prince William and Princess Kate's Secret Weekend Getaway Revealed
    • Young Prince William has dark blonde hair and wears a suit, while posing with Queen Elizabeth II on Buckingham Palace balcony Prince William Left Royal Staff "Frantic" and "Terrified"

    "Well I first met her at Peter and Autumn's wedding and again it was in amongst a lot of other guests. She was very friendly, and yes, it was fine," she said, according to Hello! Magazine.

    The Wedding of Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly

    (Image credit: Anwar Hussein)

    At this point, Will, eager to get a word in or maybe thinking that Kate was nervous and wanted some back up (who honestly knows, except Will himself?), jumped into the conversation with some details of his own. His addition starts out harmless enough, just peppered with information he could have gotten secondhand from Kate or from his grandma. Then, he swerves left and implies he was personally there for the conversation.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    "She was very welcoming," he said. "She knew it was a big day and everything was going on with Peter and Autumn, she had wanted to meet Kate for a while, so it was very nice for her to come over and say hello, we had a little chat and got on really well."

    This is confusing, of course, since Will was not anywhere near England when this meeting happened. He was in Africa, attending the wedding of his ex-girlfriend Jecca Craig's brother (he remained close to the Craig family after his and Jecca's breakup).

    And, while it might seem kind of messed up that Will sent Kate to meet the literal queen alone, his decision to send her to the wedding in his place was actually a huge landmark for their relationship—it sent a public message about how serious things were.

    Explore More
    Prince William
    Kayleigh Roberts
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Editor at Marie Claire

    Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

    Read more
    Princess Kate wears a navy blue satin dress as she announces her engagement to Prince William, who wears a suit
    Royals Princess Kate "Had a Very Handsome Boyfriend" Before William
    By Amy Mackelden
    Prince William and Princess Kate walking next to each other and smiling in fall outfits
    Royals Prince William and Princess Kate's Secret Weekend Getaway Revealed
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Young Prince William has dark blonde hair and wears a suit, while posing with Queen Elizabeth II on Buckingham Palace balcony
    Royals Prince William Left Royal Staff "Frantic" and "Terrified"
    By Amy Mackelden
    Princess Kate wearing a green cap holding an umbrella and grimacing
    Royals Princess Kate Proves She Can't Quit This Royal Habit
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Royals
    Prince Harry meeting fans with his arm around Meghan
    Royals Harry and Meghan's Latest Event Feels "At Odds" With Security Fears, Says Editor
    Princess Kate wearing a fair isle sweater and smiling
    Royals Princess Kate Made a Secret Appearance in an Editor-Approved Me+Em Sweater
     
     
    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walking in front of a large sign on a building that says CLUB
    Royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "Never Agreed" to Their Working Arrangement
    Meghan Markle pulling up the collar on her coat and smiling
    Royals Meghan Markle's Bare Ears and Simple Rings "Send a Powerful Message"
     
     
    Latest in News
    Prince Harry meeting fans with his arm around Meghan
    Royals Harry and Meghan's Latest Event Feels "At Odds" With Security Fears, Says Editor
    Hailey Bieber attended the WYouth launch party in a metallic Chanel jacket and jeans
    Celebrity Style Hailey Bieber's Chanel Jacket and Jeans Prove Chainmail Is the New Leather
     
     
    Zoë Kravitz styled the red-and-gray color combination trend on the set of 'Die Alive' in NYC
    Celebrity Style This French Girl Color Combination Is the Star of Zoë Kravitz's New Rom-Com
    Princess Kate wearing a fair isle sweater and smiling
    Royals Princess Kate Made a Secret Appearance in an Editor-Approved Me+Em Sweater
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.