Kate: The Future Queen by Katie Nicholl

Author:Katie Nicholl [Nicholl, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Nonfiction, Retail, Royalty
ISBN: 1602862265
Google: eaUPAAAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00BVTSBFK
Barnesnoble: B00BVTSBFK
Publisher: Weinstein Books
Published: 2013-09-17T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Princess in the Making

KATE WAS STILL coming to terms with William’s about turn. It was late October 2008, and they had flown to Scotland for some downtime. William had recently completed an exhilarating charity motorbike ride across Africa with his brother, so this was the first opportunity he and Kate had to spend some time together.

He knew that his decision to join the RAF affected hugely on Kate’s life and that she needed some reassurance.

The reality was that William would train for eighteen months, and after that he would be expected to serve with the Search and Rescue Force for a minimum of two years. He would be based at the Defence Helicopter Flying School in Shawbury, Shropshire, for a year before being posted to a remote base somewhere in the United Kingdom. The question was hanging: Was Kate prepared to join him? She supported his desires and ambitions, but privately she was crushed. Essentially, William was asking her to be an army wife—without the nuptials. Her frustration was understandable. She had loyally supported William ever since he enrolled at Sandhurst, but the pact they had made in Desroches suggested that his military training was coming to an end and marriage would be the next step. Now that he was joining the RAF, Kate could see that he would be married to his job for several more years.

William was optimistic that he and Kate could make the relationship work. They had coped successfully with long periods apart before. Kate knew there was no point in trying to change William’s mind—he was strong willed and determined.

At twenty-six years old, the prince was not too young to marry or become a working royal, but he didn’t want to commit to either just yet. At the same age, the Queen had already been married for five years and had ascended the throne following the death of her father. Charles had given up his career as a naval officer when he was twenty-seven, five years before he married Diana, to devote his life to official duties. William, however, had been allowed a very different upbringing. Both Charles and Diana had wanted to raise their sons as “ordinary,” within the confines of royal protocol, and as they grew into young men, William and Harry worked hard to pursue careers independently of their HRH (His Royal Highness) titles. The military gave William the chance to live a “normal” life outside of the bubble of royalty, which was about the most important thing to him. The idea of flying Sea King helicopters to rescue ships or mountain hikers in distress was, for the prince, the epitome of this privilege.

For Kate, it was a step backward. It seemed that everyone was getting married except for her. Just days before William had made his announcement, they had flown to Austria for their friend Chiara Hunt’s wedding. Her best friend, Emilia d’Erlanger, was engaged to her long-term boyfriend, David Jardine Patterson, and Oli Baker, their friend from St. Andrews University, had recently proposed to his university sweetheart, Mel Nicholson.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.