Prince William's 'advice' that helped guide Kate Middleton through nerve-wracking royal first

The Princess of Wales is so skilled at putting people at ease, giving speeches and championing causes close to her heart that we can sometimes forget that she hasn’t always been part of the royal bubble. Since her marriage, Kate has gained a huge amount of experience and confidence, though one royal first made her very nervous.

Prince William stepped in with a piece of "advice" that encouraged his wife and it led to one of Kate’s most personal interviews ever. Even now, almost six years after the Princess appeared on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, it’s still a huge moment in Kate’s royal story and the host recently explained William’s role.

"What I think surprised me was how nervous we both were at the top of the chat," Giovanna told The Times, before recalling, "She was nervous because she knew that she was about to speak in a way that she’d never spoken before."

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"Prince William came into the room and he said, ‘Just talk’," the podcast host added, whilst the publication’s profile of the future Queen went on to share that William "reasoned" they could always cut bits out later on because it wasn’t live. Kate took her husband’s advice and what was going to be a 45-minute chat turned into a 90-minute interview that touched on some incredibly poignant and intimate details.

It was in this interview that we heard the Princess of Wales confess she "absolutely" feels mum guilt as a working parent and open up about experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum during her pregnancies.

Without feeling calm and comfortable, Kate also surely wouldn’t have revealed so much detail about the "slightly terrifying" moment Prince George was introduced to the world.

"Everyone had been so supportive and both William and I were really conscious that this was something that everyone was excited about... and actually for us to be able to share that joy and appreciation with the public, I felt was really important," she said. "But equally it was coupled with a new-born baby, and inexperienced parents, and the uncertainty of what that held, so there were all sorts of mixed emotions."

Hearing these revelations in her own words was an extraordinary turning point in terms of how candid Kate is with the public and forging a relatable connection with people. She "just talk[ed]" like Prince William said and his reminder that it wasn’t live helped her approach it as a relaxed conversation.

This 2020 episode of Happy Mum, Happy Baby was a stand-out first ever podcast episode for her and the Princess of Wales has appeared on another since then. Kate and William joined Princess Anne for a special episode of Mike Tindall’s The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast filmed at Windsor Castle in 2023.

Drawing on her previous experience, the Princess didn’t shy away from sharing personal details and allowed her personality to come shining through. It emerged that competitive Kate is surprisingly good at beer pong and she admitted that she and William have never finished a tennis match.

"I don't think we've actually managed to finish a game of tennis, the two of us," Kate declared, adding it "becomes a mental challenge between" her and her husband instead.