Kate Middleton and Prince William: A look at their 2020 highlights
It is Kate’s 39th birthday on Saturday, which she will spend in a national lockdown with her family. However, past birthdays have not always been so quiet and one particularly memorable one was her 25th, when she was harassed by paparazzi outside her London flat. Kate had to walk the gauntlet of over 20 photographers and five broadcasters, who captured her making her way towards her car and driving off.
At the time, there was a huge backlash to this and a number of publishers promised to no longer print paparazzi shots of Prince William’s then-girlfriend
However, the Duchess of Cambridge has made this easier by coming up with a great idea herself to disincentivise such behaviour.
She has taken to being an amateur photographer and has produced some fantastic shots of her family.
By releasing these on dates such as birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day she has successfully killed the market for any potential paparazzi shots.
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Kate came up with a clever way to prevent paparazzi taking pictures of her and her children (Image: GETTY)
Kate Middleton surrounded by photographers on her 25th birthday (Image: GETTY)
Last year, the public were treated to portraits of each of her children on their birthdays, as well as shots of the family on William’s birthday, Father’s Day and Christmas.
The pictures show Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis 2, laughing and playing.
No outlet would rather print grainy pictures of the Cambridges out and about over beautiful, good quality images they release themselves.
What’s more, it allows the public to peek behind the door at the royals’ real lives, as Kate catches her children off-guard during intimate moments such as playing together.
The Cambridges at Christmas 2020 (Image: GETTY)
These are in stark contrast to the more traditional and staid official photographs that the Royal Family has been known to release.
Kate was inspired to do this by the future Queen of Sweden, according to a royal expert.
Camilla Tominey claimed Kate copied Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s similar approach and that she had now become a “leading chronicler of modern royal life”.
She added that the intimate photos have “killed, stone dead, the market for paparazzi shots”.
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Princess Victoria of Sweden (Image: GETTY)
Ms Tominey wrote in the Telegraph: “Why would any newspapers or magazines run grainy long-lens images of the royals in private when they are willing to serve up crystal clear Instagram-style shots?
“Of course there still is, and always will be, a place for experienced lensmen and women to capture the big royal moments.
“However, it has always been these more candid camera shots that the public has craved.”
She added: “When it comes to seeing the ‘real’ royals behind their public personas, the Duchess is fast becoming the monarchy’s leading chronicler of modern royal life.”
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Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, is a mother-of-two and heir apparent to the Swedish throne.
She started by releasing her own photographs of her child Crown Princess Estelle, eight.
One adorable picture she posted on Instagram showed Estelle smiling for a back-to-school image posted on Instagram.
These went down a treat with the public and Kate realised she could give people what they wanted without having to have her children shoved in front of paparazzi cameras.
Ms Tominey’s remarks last year came after royal sources told People magazine that Kate is “relishing the role more than ever” despite the “phenomenal workload”.
This workload is in part due to the sudden exit of three senior royals.
In 2019, Prince Andrew stepped back from his duties in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and his disastrous interview on BBC Newsnight.
Then in January 2020, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their decision to step down as senior royals.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex then moved to the US, where they have been operating independently of the Royal Family.
William and Kate have had to shoulder even more responsibility and fill the vacuum left by these three.
