4. Royal Protocols

Kate faces the daunting challenge of mastering centuries of royal traditions and complex etiquette. The Queen arranges private lessons for the future princess, personally guiding her through the intricacies of court life. Palace aides create an intensive crash course covering everything from the correct curtsy to diplomatic protocol, while Kate learns the unwritten rules that govern royal behavior. William worries about the pressure on his fiancée as she transforms from commoner to royal.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Calaruga shark media. Remember head inclined slightly forward, right, knee
bent behind the left, hands at your sides. It's not
a curtsy so much as a controlled descent. Catherine Middleton
repeated the movement for perhaps the twentieth time that afternoon,

(00:26):
watched intently by a former Lady in waiting to the Queen,
who had been enlisted to help the future royal master
the intricacies of court etiquette, the art of the proper curtsy,
which members of the royal family to Curtsey, too, went
to Curtsey. How deeply to bend represented just one small
component of the complex system of protocols that governed life

(00:49):
within the firm. This is Crown and Controversy, Episode four,
Royal Protocols. In the weeks following her engagement to Prince

(01:13):
William in November twenty ten, Kate found herself immersed in
an intensive education, unlike any university course, behind the palace walls,
away from public view. She was undergoing a meticulous preparation
for her future role, learning the Byzantine rules, traditions and
expectations that had evolved over centuries of royal history. The

(01:36):
protocol education for a future royal bride is comprehensive, explained
one former palace aid. It covers everything from the correct
way to exit a car while wearing a skirt, to
the precise order of precedence at state dinners, to the
specific forms of address for different ranks of nobility. For
someone without aristocratic background, the learning curve is extraordinary narily steep.

(02:01):
Unlike Diana, who had entered royal life at just nineteen
with minimal preparation, thirty year old Kate approached her royal
education with the same discipline and focus she had brought
to her academic studies after graduating from the University of
Saint Andrew's with a degree in art history. She now
applied that analytical mind to mastering the unwritten constitution of

(02:24):
royal behavior. Her tutors included not only palace officials, but
also members of William's inner circle who had navigated royal
adjacency for years. One such adviser was Hugh van Koutzen,
whose family had close ties to the royals for generations.
Another was Jamie Lowther Pinkerton, William's private secretary, who had

(02:46):
served as an officer in the Irish Guards and with
the Special Air service before joining the royal household. Kate's
greatest asset in adapting to royal protocols was her willingness
to listen and learn served a long time royal correspondent.
Unlike some previous royal brides who resisted the constraints of
pallace life, she recognized that these traditions, however are caane

(03:11):
they might seem, represented the accumulated wisdom of an institution
that had survived for more than a thousand years. The
protocols Kate needed to master covered every aspect of public
and private royal life. She learned that when the Queen
enters a room, everyone rises, that no one begins eating
until her Majesty takes her first bite. That at formal events,

(03:35):
royal family members enter in reverse order of precedence with
the monarch. Last that black must always be packed when
traveling in case a death in the royal family occurs
while away. More subtle lessons involve the unspoken rules of
royal behavior. Maintain a pleasant but neutral expression in public,

(03:56):
Never refuse a gift graciously presented, keep physical content. Act
with the public to a minimum. A handshake is acceptable,
a hug rarely so avoid political statements of any kind, and,
perhaps most importantly, for a future queen consort, never overshadow
your husband. The Queen herself took an unusual interest in

(04:18):
Kate's preparation, Recognizing both the challenges ahead for the future
royal and the importance of her successful integration into the family,
Elizabeth second arranged for private tea meetings at Buckingham Palace
where she could share insights gleaned from her sixty plus
years on the throne. Her majesty provided guidance no protocol

(04:40):
officer ever could revealed a palace source. She's lived the
role of queen for longer than anyone in British history.
Her advice to Catherine wasn't just about rules, but about
how to maintain one's sense of self while serving as
a public figure. During these tea time conversations, the Queen
reportedly shared practical wisd about balancing public duty with private life,

(05:04):
managing media scrutiny, and preserving a strong marriage amid constant
public attention. Drawing from her experience with previous royal marriages,
including those of her children, three of which had ended
in divorce, Elizabeth offered insights designed to help the newest
addition to the family avoid similar pitfalls. For William, watching

(05:26):
Kate undergo this intensive preparation stirred complex emotions. Having grown
up within the system, he understood its necessity, but also
recognized its constraints. His mother had struggled terribly with the
limitations of royal life, his father had often chafed at
the waiting role of heir apparent. William was determined that

(05:49):
Kate should be better prepared, better supported, and better protected
than Diana had been. William walked a fine line during
Kate's protocol training, noted one friend of the Prince. He
wanted her to understand the system she was entering, but
he didn't want the system to crush her spirit or authenticity,

(06:10):
the very qualities that had drawn him to her in
the first place. Beyond the curtsying and the forms of address,
Kate's education extended to the diplomatic aspects of royal life.

(06:31):
She received briefings from Foreign Office officials about international relations,
the Commonwealth, and Britain's complex web of alliances and interests.
As the wife of a future king, her every interaction
with foreign dignitaries would carry diplomatic significance. She learned the
subtle art of royal neutrality, the practice of showing interest

(06:54):
without revealing personal opinions on politically sensitive matters. This skill,
bill which the Queen had perfected over decades, required careful
calibration of language expressions and even clothing choices. Nothing in
royal life was without meaning. Every detail communicated something to
those watching. Kate's wardrobe itself became the subject of protocol discussions.

(07:20):
Royal dressers explained the unwritten rules. Hemlines should be modest,
necklines should never be revealing, weights must be sewn into
skirt hems to prevent wind related mishaps. Colors should be
chosen with symbolic awareness. White in Japan signifies mourning, for instance,
and British designers should be favored, particularly for significant national occasions.

(07:45):
The Royal wardrobe is not about fashion, but about communication,
explained one former palace aid, every choice sends a message
about respect for the occasion, about diplomatic awareness, about support
for British industry. Catherine needed to understand that her clothing
would be analyzed for meaning in ways most women never experience.

(08:09):
The security dimension of royal life required its own special training.
Kate received briefings from police protection officers, about how to
respond in emergency situations, identifying security threats, and the necessity
of sharing her schedule with protection teams at all times.
The constant presence of security personnel, a team that would

(08:32):
now follow her every movement outside palace walls, represented one
of the most significant adjustments to her previously normal life.
For a woman who had grown up in the village
of Bucklebury and lived in a shared apartment during university,
the loss of privacy and independence was perhaps the most
challenging aspect of her royal preparation. Simple activities like shopping

(08:55):
alone or making spontaneous plans would henceforth be impossible. Even
her phone calls and correspondents would require new levels of discretion,
with the understanding that any communication might potentially be intercepted.
The hardest protocol lesson isn't about curtsys or dinner placement,

(09:16):
confided one former lady in waiting. It's accepting that you
are never truly off duty, never completely private. Even in
your most intimate moments, you represent the Crown. That mental
adjustment is far more difficult than learning which fork to use.
As her April wedding approached, Kate's protocol education expanded to

(09:38):
include the minutia of royal responsibilities. She received briefings on
the hundreds of patronages and charities supported by the royal family,
with discussions about which causes she might eventually adopt as
her personal focus. She learned about the system of royal tours,
the expectations for public speaking, and the delicate balance of

(10:01):
showing genuine interest without making promises beyond her authority. Prince Philip,
the Queen's husband, reportedly offered his own unique perspective during
a private lunch at Buckingham Palace. Having spent decades as
consort to the monarch, he understood better than anyone the
challenges of the supporting role Kate would eventually play as

(10:24):
William's wife. The Duke of Edinburgh gave Catherine remarkably straightforward advice.
According to a palace insider, he told her to develop
her own interests while supporting William, to maintain her sense
of humor amid public scrutiny, and most importantly, to remember
that the institution always comes first, but that doesn't mean

(10:47):
you can't be yourself within it. For the Middleton family,
this Protocol education represented just one aspect of the seismic
change affecting their daughter. Carroll and Michael Middleton, successful entrepreneurs
who had built their party supply business from scratch, now
found themselves navigating their own relationship with an institution their

(11:10):
ancestors could never have imagined entering. They received abbreviated guidance
on royal etiquette, focusing primarily on how to conduct themselves
at the wedding and other public occasions where they would
be scrutinized. Throughout this intensive preparation, Kate maintained remarkable composure.

(11:32):
Friends reported that she approached her royal education with determination
rather than complaint, viewing it as necessary preparation for the
role she had chosen in accepting William's proposal. Her focus
remained on the relationship at the center of these sweeping
life changes, her love for William and his for her.

(12:08):
As winter gave way to spring in twenty eleven, Kate's
protocol education entered its final phase. Practice walkabouts were arranged
with royal aides playing the part of well wishers so
she could rehearse the art of brief but meaningful public interactions.
Mock receiving lines allowed her to practice the pacing required
when greeting dozens or hundreds of guests. Media training sessions

(12:33):
prepared her for the constant scrutiny of cameras and the
need to maintain composure regardless of circumstances. The protocol surrounding
Kate's transition from commoner to royal extended to her name itself.
Upon marriage, she would become her Royal Highness, the Duchess
of Cambridge, but would also be known as Princess William

(12:55):
of Wales, taking her husband's name in traditional aristocratic fashion.
The Palace confirmed that she would be referred to as
Catherine rather than Kate in all official contexts, another subtle
indication of her new more formal status. The question of
whether Kate would promise to obey William in her wedding

(13:16):
vows became the subject of serious discussion. Diana had broken
with tradition by omitting this word from her vows to Charles,
a decision that had raised eyebrows in traditional royal circles.
Kate and William ultimately decided to follow Diana's example, choosing
a more contemporary formulation that emphasized mutual support rather than

(13:39):
wifely obedience. This decision reflected the couple's approach to royal
protocols more generally respectful of tradition but willing to adapt
them for a modern era. William, having witnessed his parents
unhappy marriage, was determined to build a partnership based on
equality rather than hierarchy. Kate, though diligent in learning the

(14:03):
required protocols, maintained a quiet confidence about which traditions needed
honoring and which could evolve as the wedding approached. Kate's
progress in mastering royal protocols impressed even the most traditional
palace courtiers. Her natural grace and composure suggested an intuitive
understanding of the dignity required, while her warmth in interactions

(14:27):
prevented this composure from appearing as aloofness, a balance that
even born royals sometimes struggled to achieve. What we witnessed
was quite remarkable, recalled one's senior household member, Catherine absorbed
the lessons of royal protocol without letting them change her
essential character. She learned the rules while maintaining the authenticity

(14:51):
that had attracted Prince William in the first place. For
the queen, this balance represented the ideal outcome her majesty.
She had seen how strict adherence to protocol had sometimes
created brittleness in royal family members, while too much deviation
risked undermining the mystique and dignity of the monarchy. In Kate,

(15:13):
she recognized someone who could navigate this delicate balance, honoring
tradition while gradually carefully modernizing it. In one of their
final meetings before the wedding, the Queen reportedly gave Kate
a piece of advice that encapsulated this philosophy. According to
Pallas sources, she told her future granddaughter in law, the

(15:34):
protocols exist to serve the monarchy, not the other way around.
Learn them well, follow them faithfully, but remember they are
the framework, not the picture itself. This guidance reflected the
Queen's own evolution over nearly sixty years on the throne.
Having inherited a monarchy steeped in Edwardian formality, she had

(15:56):
gradually adapted its protocols to changing times while maintaining its
essential dignity and purpose. In Kate, she saw someone who
understood this balance intuitively, a quality that would serve both
the young woman and the institution well in the decades ahead.
As April twenty ninth approached, Kate's protocol education necessarily gave

(16:20):
way to the immediate preparations for the wedding itself. The
months of learning royal etiquette would soon be put to
their first major test, as billions worldwide watched her transformation
from commoner to duchess. Yet those close to the future
royal bride noted a remarkable transformation had already occurred, not

(16:43):
in her personality or values, but in her readiness to
step into a role few women in history had been
prepared to fill. For William, watching Kate master these complex
protocols confirmed what he had long believed that she possessed
the strength of care, character, intelligence, and adaptability to thrive

(17:03):
in royal life where others had struggled. Her willingness to
learn the system without being subsumed by it matched his
own approach to his birthright, respectful of its history and significance,
while determined to make it relevant for a new era.
The protocol education that had begun in November would never

(17:23):
truly end. Royal life would continue to present new ceremonial challenges,
new diplomatic situations, new traditions to be learned and honored.
But as Kate completed this initial phase of preparation. Those
responsible for her training expressed quiet confidence that the monarchy

(17:44):
had found in Catherine Middleton not just a suitable bride
for the future king, but a woman whose natural dignity
and genuine warmth made her ideally suited to royal life.
In mastering royal protocols without losing her authentic self, Kate
had already achieved something significant. The true test, however, lay

(18:05):
ahead in the wedding that would transform her from private
citizen to public royal, and in the lifetime of duty
that would follow. The rules had been learned, now, they
would need to be lived day after day, year after year,
in the unforgiving spotlight of global attention. As one senior

(18:26):
Lady in waiting observed, protocol can be taught, but the
wisdom to know when to follow it strictly and when
to soften it with humanity, that's something that cannot be
learned from any manual. In Catherine, we've found someone who
seems to understand this instinctively. The Queen recognized it immediately.

(18:46):
It's why her Majesty has taken such a personal interest
in her preparation. This instinct would serve Kate well in
the years ahead as she navigated the complex world of
royal duties, related ships, and responsibilities. The protocol education she
had received represented not just preparation for a wedding, but

(19:08):
for a lifetime as one of the central figures in
an ancient institution, one that would someday decades in the future.
See her husband crowned King and herself as Queen Consort
next time on Crown and Controversy. Harry organizes an unforgettable

(19:31):
bachelor party for his royal brother. William's closest friends gather
for one last celebration before he takes his vows. Security
teams work to keep the event private. Amid media frenzy,
the brothers reminisce about childhood adventures and shared grief. Palace
officials worry about potential scandals, and as William prepares to

(19:51):
settle down, Harry confronts his own uncertain future and role
within the royal family. While no one truly knows what
happens behind closed palace doors. This entertainment series uses news sources,
on the record, quotes, and some artistic license. Some moments

(20:12):
have been dramatized for storytelling effect. A I narration was
used in creation of this series. To keep up with
the modern day Royal family, follow our sister podcast, Palace Intrigue,
a seven day a week, ten minute update on the Royals,
crown and Controversy. Is a production of Calaroga Shark Media
executive producers Mark Francis and John McDermott.