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

    The ultimate daily digest for women of power, purpose, and style.


    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
    • Nordstrom's Sale
    • Brushed Cashmere
    • Hopeful Books
    • Nice Talk
    • Airport Dressing
    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    One Element of Dating Prince William "Spooked" Princess Kate, According to a Former Royal Courtier

    "Things felt incredibly different."

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 6 April 2026 In News

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

    Prince William wears a suit and Kate Middleton wears a pale pink suit and matching hat
    (Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Prince William and Princess Kate have been happily married since April 29, 2011, but the couple encountered some issues early in their relationship. While William was initially "concerned" Kate would be "overawed" by his royal lifestyle, the Princess of Wales allegedly got "spooked" by one element of the romance.

    In the new book, William and Catherine: The Monarchy's New Era: The Inside Story, royal expert Russell Myers shared, "Having grown up under the media glare his entire life, William was clearly aware of what lay on the horizon. For Catherine, however, it was entirely new territory."

    Myers continued, "William had done his best to inform her about how the media operated, but now she was the subject of their pursuit things felt incredibly different."

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    William and Catherine

    Russell Myers
    'William and Catherine'
    $28
    SHOP NOW

    Describing the Princess of Wales's reaction, a former royal courtier told Myers, "She was spooked by the attention." They continued, "No matter how much you're told about what can happen, you literally can't have any idea about it until you're on the other side, and now she was very much on the other side."

    Unsurprisingly, interest in the couple's relationship continued to grow, which must have felt quite overwhelming at times. "William and Catherine found themselves at the centre of a media storm," Myers explained.

    You may like
    • Prince William Princess Kate dating Royal Editor Reveals the “Sincere” Advice Given To Kate Middleton While Dating Prince William
    • 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
    • Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend a dinner hosted by the Governor General of Jamaica at King's House on March 23, 2022 in Kingston, Jamaica. Princess Kate and Prince William Were "Left Incredibly Scarred"

    Kate Middleton and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge hold hands

    "William had done his best to inform her about how the media operated."

    (Image credit:  John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

    Defending the media's interest in William's romance, a former editor told Myers, "The world had been waiting for the news that William had a proper love interest and once it was all but confirmed by him or the palace, it marked a turning point for sure."

    They continued, "The public were desperate to know if the future King had found his Queen and what that would mean for the future of the monarchy in an ever-changing world."

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    The ultimate daily digest for women of power, purpose, and style.

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

    LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 12: The Prince of Wales, Prince William, (not seen) and the Princess of Wales, Catherine (R), depart from the RNLI Tower Lifeboat Station in London, United Kingdom on March 12, 2026. The royal couple met with the RNLI lifeboat crew and volunteers operating on the River Thames and received information about their life-saving work. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    "Now she was the subject of their pursuit things felt incredibly different."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    In 2026, Kate and William appear united in their confidence as a unit, and the world is seemingly ready for their future tenure on the throne. Still, dealing with such a huge amount of pressure early in their relationship can't have been easy.

    Explore More
    Princess Catherine Prince William dating relationships Romance
    Amy Mackelden
    Amy Mackelden
    Social Links Navigation
    Weekend Editor

    Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.

    Read more
    Prince William and Princess Kate stand behind King Charles while all three look serious and wear black
    Royals How Kate and William Are Ditching "Institutional Secrecy"
    By Amy Mackelden
    Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend a dinner hosted by the Governor General of Jamaica at King's House on March 23, 2022 in Kingston, Jamaica.
    Royals Princess Kate and Prince William Were "Left Incredibly Scarred"
    By Amy Mackelden
     
     
    Princess Kate and Prince William in 2025 in an outdoors setting wearing country inspired clothing
    Royals One of Princess Kate's Hobbies Started as an Unexpected Gift
    By Amy Mackelden
    King Charles and Queen Camilla wearing tweed jackets and kilts sitting next to each other
    Royals King Charles Treats Queen Camilla Differently Than Diana in One Major Way
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Royals
    Prince William wearing a camouflage jacket
    Royals Prince William Has Been on a Secret Fact-Finding Mission to Support Women
    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle holding hands and wearing dark coats
    Royals Prince Harry Says He's "Here as a Father" in Emotional Speech
     
     
    Marius Borg Hoiby wearing a black suit and tie
    Royals Queen Mette-Marit's Son Marius Borg Høiby Attacked at Royal Palace
    Princess Kate wearing a black coat and hat and a poppy pin
    Royals Jewelry Expert Weighs in on Kate and Camilla's Remembrance Sunday Jewelry
     
     
    Latest in News
    Prince William wearing a camouflage jacket
    Royals Prince William Has Been on a Secret Fact-Finding Mission to Support Women
    Hailey Bieber's New Balance 740 sneakers are discounted for Nordstrom's early Black Friday Sale
    Celebrity Style Hailey Bieber's New Balances Are Black Friday's Biggest Sneaker Sale
     
     
    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle holding hands and wearing dark coats
    Royals Prince Harry Says He's "Here as a Father" in Emotional Speech
    Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi wore '90s-inspired denim for their date in New York City
    Celebrity Style Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi Complement Each Other's "Cute Jeans"
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    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.