Kate Middleton's Private Battle With "Onslaught" of Press Abuse Revealed
During the early part of her romance with her now-husband, Kate wasn’t quite as beloved as she is now.
Meghan Markle's angst over the abuse she received by the press when she started dating Prince Harry is no secret. Not only was it addressed by the royal family soon after the couple started dating, but she discussed it in depth during her explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. The Suits star was regularly compared to her now-sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, with Meghan maintaining that she was often painted as the villain and her brother-in-law's wife, "perfect." However, according to a new report, Kate also experienced a great deal of stress as a result of being mistreated by the press during the early stages of her romance with the future king.
Kate and Will first met at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Of course, there is the famous photo of Kate on the runway of their university fashion show, which was said to be the moment she first caught her future husband's eye. While they started out as friends, they ended up roommates and then a secret couple. Their romance was first revealed in 2004 during a ski trip in Switzerland.
According to royal writer Daniela Elser, shortly after their relationship went public and Kate and William graduated from St. Andrews in 2005, the couple appeared to grow closer and of course, rumors of an engagement followed. At the time, Kate was working in London and often photographed around town in her casual clothes. At this time, the Duke started training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, while Kate lived in London at her parent's flat.
This is when Kate started experiencing abuse at the hands of photographers. The 20-something was often called derogatory names, in hopes that she would get angry and retaliate, start crying, or make an ugly face. "For nearly five full years, Kate was chased, harangued, dogged and generally harassed by certain quarters of the media," Elser wrote in the New Zealand Herald.
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"She was photographed at the supermarket in her tracksuit pants, repeatedly at airports and train stations, with her parents in London, with her family in the Caribbean, shopping, out with her sister, at cafes, on holiday, in taxis, in cars, and in so many other locations that it would take a doctoral thesis and the patience of a saint to fully enumerate. Some paps used to yell things like 'b, w and s***g, look this way!' at her to try and get a reaction. A photo of Kate making some terrible face or losing it was far more valuable than her just going about her business," Elser said.
Despite the onslaught of abuse, Kate responded with class. "What is remarkable, in hindsight, is her poise and grace under fire," said Elser. "There are not any videos of her crying, hysterically yelling at the press or crumpling as you or I probably would." In 2007, the couple briefly split while William was in the armed forces. Once back together, they started making more high-profile appearances together at events, and it became clear Kate was around for good. Now, Kate seems to be an old pro when it comes to the paparazzi and never has a bad hair day or angle!
