The Crown is wrapping up its final season by introducing Kate Middleton.
In part two of the sixth and final season, newcomer Meg Bellamy joins the cast as the future Princess of Wales as the series recounts Prince William (Ed McVey)’s college years and the beginning of their royal love story.
The Netflix series takes a few liberties with the story of the royal family, but there are a few moments from the latest season that have fans wondering just how much of history has been revised.
In episode 7, "Alma Mater," a flashback takes viewers back to December 1996, months before Princess Diana’s death.
In the scene, Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) is selling The Big Issue magazine for charity alongside her son Prince William. A young Kate and her mother, Carole Middleton (Eve Best), are holiday dress shopping, and Kate stops to buy an issue from Diana. As Kate offers her money, the Princess of Wales asks her for her name, before instructing William, “Say thank you to Kate.”
The scene ends with a giddy Kate cutting out various magazine photos of William to hang on her bedroom wall.
So, how accurate is that fortuitous moment? Here’s what to know.
Did Kate Middleton ever meet Princess Diana? Chris Jackson/Getty; Tim Graham Photo Library via GettyDespite what is portrayed in The Crown, Princess Kate sadly never got a chance to meet her mother-in-law, something both Kate and William have spoken about.
Following his 2011 royal wedding to Kate, William recalled how his mother’s absence from his special day was “very difficult.”
“It’s the one time since she’s died, where I’ve … thought to myself it would be fantastic if she was here, and just how sad really for her, more than anything, not being able to see it,” he added.
Despite her absence, William noted that his mother would have “loved the day,” adding, “I think, hopefully, she’d be very proud. I’m just very sad that she’s never going to get a chance to meet Kate.”
Years later, Princess Kate also reflected on never getting to meet Princess Diana as she talked about their shared engagement ring during a visit to Wales. Speaking with on-lookers at the event, she revealed that she never had to get Diana’s ring resized.
"Same ring," she said in a since-deleted video shared on Instagram by all.thats.pretty. "And exactly the same — the same size."
“I never, sadly, got to meet her,” Kate continued, reflecting on how Diana would have been a wonderful grandmother to her and William’s three children. “She’d be brilliant. We miss her every day.”
Did Kate Middleton really have posters of Prince William on her wall?Chris Jackson/Getty
The Crown tidbit that Kate “fangirled” over Prince William when she was younger has been a topic of discussion over the years. In the book Kate: The Future Queen, royal expert and biographer Katie Nicholl wrote that Kate’s former boarding school roommate Jessica Hay claimed that Kate had a big crush on William during her teenage years and had posters of him in her room.
However, Kate refuted these rumors during her engagement interview with William. “There's a story that goes around that you had a picture of him on your wall," the interviewer asked, to which William jokingly responded, "There wasn't just one, there was about 20."
Kate was quick to shut that down, quipping, "He wishes! No. No, I had the Levi's guy on my wall, not a picture of William. Sorry!" she said. William jokingly responded, "Well, it was me in Levi's, obviously!"
How did Kate Middleton and Prince William first meet? Chris Jackson/GettyJust like the rumor of Kate having posters of William on her wall, there are many stories about how William and Kate first met. According to the royal couple, they initially met during their first year at the University of St. Andrews in 2001, with William saying they were friends for “over a year” before dating.
During that first year of college, they were also seeing other people. Prince William was linked to fellow students Olivia Hunt and Carley Massy-Birch, per Vanity Fair, while Kate had a romance with Rupert Finch (portrayed by Oli Green on The Crown).
As the pair spent more and more time together, William said they found commonalities between them. "[We] realized we shared the same interests," William explained during their engagement interview. "[We] just had a really good time."
