Prince William’s wife is already shaping the future of the modern monarchy and she will soon make royal history thanks to an honour bestowed by her father-in-law, King Charles
The Princess of Wales is preparing for her role as the future Queen – and is set to make royal history as a result. Kate Middleton will soon become the first Princess of Wales to issue her own royal warrants for the first time in more than a century.
The move has been seen as a clear sign of the royal’s growing influence in shaping the monarchy. It also represents a major break from recent tradition.
Princess Diana was not granted the same authority following her marriage to the then-Prince Charles. In fact, the last Princess of Wales to grant royal warrants was Queen Mary of Teck, who began issuing them before her husband, George V, ascended the throne in 1910.
Royal warrants serve as prestigious marks of excellence awarded to businesses and individuals who regularly supply goods or services to the royal household. The coveted endorsements can significantly boost recipients’ growth, with warrants lasting up to five years.
While it is not yet known when the Prince and Princess of Wales will grant royal warrants, sources close to Kate told The Times that it was her “hope” that they would be announced in due course and that she’s “keen to recognise British skills and industry”.
Widely-tipped contenders for the Princess’ royal warrants include some of her favourite fashion labels – Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham, Catherine Walker and Mulberry.
It’s not the only way Kate is influencing the monarchy. It was recently revealed that the Princess wasn’t afraid to ‘put her foot down’ and end a gory centuries-old royal tradition for the sake of her three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Writing in his new book Yes, Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, author Tom Quinn revealed that Kate firmly objected to “blooding”, which has long been a practice upheld by the royals.
“Blooding the royal children, a tradition in which a prince or princess’s face is smeared with the blood of his or her first kill, whether it happens to be a stag or a fox,” Quinn writes. “King Charles was blooded after his first fox was killed and after shooting his first stag. Charles’s daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, has put her foot down and insisted there will be no blooding for her children.”
Prince Harry provided an in-depth look into the ritual, which he went through upon his first kill, in his memoir Spare. After killing a stag, the gillie attending the hunt – named Sandy – blooded Harry. “Sandy snapped at me: ‘Closer!’ Close enough to smell Sandy’s armpits. He placed a hand gently on my neck, and now I thought he was going to hug me and congratulate me. ‘Atta boy.’ Instead, he pushed my head inside the carcass,” Harry wrote.
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