THE Queen broke a long-standing tradition when she welcomed Kate Middleton into the Balmoral fold for the first time.
The Duchess of Cambridge first visited the monarch’s Balmoral estate before she married William in 2009 – long before her position as a future senior royal.
But the Mirror reports Her Maj “went out of her way” to make Kate feel welcome, as she gave her permission to take pictures at the dramatic landscape, knowing her love for photography.
Writing in her book Kate: The Future Queen, royal author Kate Nicholls said of the occasion: “Until now, the Queen had met Kate only fleetingly at the wedding of Peter and Autumn Philips, but she went out of her way to make her feel welcome, giving her permission to take pictures at Balmoral.”
She added: “As a woman who has lived her entire life in the public eye, the Queen rarely lets her guard down, and very few, apart from her family and closest friends, get to see the real Elizabeth.”
Her Majesty, 96, traditionally greets well-wishers at the gates of Balmoral Castle to mark the start of her annual Scottish holiday.
She would usually inspect a Guard of Honour from Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland – but this year the event remained private.
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