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The Princess of Wales has become the subject of a new viral video after comments she made about becoming a working royal during her engagement interview in 2010 have resurfaced on social-media site TikTok.
Kate became engaged to Prince William in 2010, with the official announcement being made on November 16, followed by a photocall and joint television interview. To date, the latter, which was filmed at Clarence House in London, is the only time the princess has sat down with William to discuss royal life in front of cameras.
Uploaded to TikTok by @princessofwales_royalty on July 25, the new viral compilation video opens with an excerpt from the engagement interview, in which Kate gave her thoughts on joining the royal family as a working member.
Working members of the royal family are classed as those who undertake official duties on behalf of the monarch. They also carry out engagements that are registered in the "Court Circular," the official list of events and meetings attended by certain royals.
Today, there are 11 working royals: King Charles III; Queen Camilla; Prince William; Kate; Princess Anne; Prince Edward; the Duchess of Edinburgh; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke of Kent; and Princess Alexandra of Kent.
In the British TV interview clip, Kate says: "I'm willing to learn quickly and work hard." This is followed by a compilation of clips from throughout the royal's marriage, which marked its 12th anniversary on April 29.
Not seen in the TikTok clip, Kate elaborated on her answer. Her full response was: "It's obviously nerve-wracking, because I don't know what I'm sort of... I don't know the ropes... William is obviously used to it, but, no, I'm willing to learn quickly and work hard."
ITV interviewer Tom Bradby then asked the future princess if she had contemplated the opportunities and "ability to change people's lives for the better" that becoming a royal would bring.
"Yes," Kate replied. "Well, I really hope I can make a difference, even in the smallest way. I am looking forward to helping as much as I can."
The TikTok video captioned "she is such a natural," has been viewed over 107,000 times on the social-media platform so far. It has received almost 9,000 likes and numerous comments, many of which have praised the princess.
"She definitely works hard. She deserves recognition," wrote one user.
"She understood the assignment. True beauty and class," posted another, with a further comment reading: "She looks like a queen and acts as a queen."
Despite this praise, Kate has faced her share of criticism in past years over the level of royal work she has taken on.
In 2022, data compiled by marketing analyser Reboot SEO company found that the royal had undertaken just 90 engagements over the 12-month period. Princess Anne had performed 214, and King Charles, 181.
Responding to the list, posted by royal author and journalist Omid Scobie, one Twitter user wrote: "It's just funny to me (not really) how the British press will keep on bashing #HarryandMeghan, while portraying Prince William and Kate as the 'hardworking' dutiful royals, when they barely work at all."
Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace commented on the engagement list. The monarchy does not publish an official cumulative assessment of royal work each year, and a number of meetings and so on are likely to be made without being publicly announced.
Harry and Meghan both stepped down from their roles as working royals in 2020, when they left the monarchy and Britain for a new life in the U.S. The couple have since started careers in entertainment content production and philanthropy.
The pool of working royals was also reduced in 2019, when Prince Andrew retired from official duties after questioning and public outrage over his relationship with convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's Royal Reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more