Kate Middleton is being ‘watched carefully’ by the Queen and Prince Philip

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are being ‘watched closely’ by senior royals including the Queen and Prince Philip, royal author Tom Quinn has claimed. 

Speaking in Channel 5’s William & Kate: Too Good to Be True?, which aired last night, the expert said the Queen, 94, and Prince Philip, who just celebrated his 99th birthday, were monitoring second-in-line to the throne Prince William, 37, and Queen-in-waiting Kate Middleton, 38.

Explaining that The Firm was anxious the Cambridges wouldn’t ‘repeat mistakes made by other young royals’, Tom said they ‘didn’t want that to happen again’.  

The documentary also shone a light on the love story uniting Kate and Prince William, who met while studying at St Andrews in 2001 and married in 2011, revealing that the Prince had ‘tripped over’ in his haste to meet Kate at university.  

Speaking on the programme, Tom said:  ‘The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, will be watching very carefully, especially given that younger royals in the past have got things very badly wrong and they don’t want that to happen again’.  

Kensington Palace have not commented on the documentary when approached by Femail. 

Prince William is second in line to the throne, following his father Prince Charles. The Queen, 94, is the longest reigning British monarch to date, having reigned for 68 years.

Her Majesty will turn 95 next year – the same age at which her husband Philip withdrew from his public duties – and there is talk among courtiers that she may use the milestone to effectively hand over day-to-day control of the monarchy to Charles.

Meanwhile Kate, mother of Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, has been stepping up and taking on more responsibilities to assist the Queen in her reign in recent years. 

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have kept a close eye on Kate’s progress, to make sure she strayed from royal faux-pas (pictured on June 1 at Windsor Castle)  

Romance between Prince William and his future wife first blossomed away from the cameras in Scotland, as the future king fell for the History of Art student. 

Tom Quinn revealed  love-struck William was so eager to introduce himself to Kate in 2001, he tripped over and fell.

‘One of the funny stories is he was so desperate to meet her that as he walked towards her, he apparently tripped and said, “Oh that’s a terrible start, you’re going to think I’m a complete clot”.’ 

The documentary also recalled how, as a St Andrews graduate, Kate was already making space in her life for her relationship with ‘high profile’ William. 

The young woman was working as an accessory buyer in Jigsaw, having asked to work part-time due to her relationship with a very ‘high profile man,’ the same documentary revealed. 

Before their wedding in 2011, Kate and William were trying to navigate their relationship. Kate Middleton took a job at Jigsaw in 2005, and demanded it was part-time due to her ‘relationship with a high profile man’ royal commentator Rebecca English said 

Kate took the job a year after leaving St Andrews, Daily Mail royal commentator Rebecca English recalled.

‘Kate did get a job. She worked as an accessories buyer but interestingly, someone at the firm told me at the time she went to the boss and said to them, “I need a job, but it needs to be part-time so I can work it around my relationship with this very high profile man”.’

Noting the decision to work part-time was ‘unusual for a modern woman,’ English went on to say Kate could only entertain the job for a short period of time. 

‘She did that job for a while, but unfortunately the attention of photographers following her to and from work became too much.’ 

The future king was so eager to meet Kate during their university days at St Andrew’s that he tripped in front of her, the documentary revealed (Kate and William, pictured in 2005 at St Andrew’s in Scotland)

William and Kate have stepped up in recent years, becoming more involved in royal duties, especially during the coronavirus  pandemic where they had countless video calls with charities. 

In fact, royal experts have said the couple felt it was their responsibility to ‘comfort people’ during the lockdown. 

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told The Sun in May that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were determined to use their influence to benefit the royal family during the health crisis.

As the couple celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary today, she also said that mother-of-three Kate seems to be the driving force between the couple, and ‘wears the trousers’ in the relationship.

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told The Sun in May that Kate and Prince William were using their influence in order to benefit the royal family during the coronavirus health crisis. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, four and Prince Louis, two, take part in the BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief’s ‘Big Night In’ an clap for the NHS from their home of Amner Hall on April 23)

Since the start of the nationwide lockdown on 23rd March, the The Duke and Duchess have held multiple Zoom calls with frontline workers, joined the weekly Clap For Carers, and William proved himself a good sport by joining in a comedy sketch for the BBC’s Big Night In.

They have also launched a mental health initiative, Our Frontline, to help keyworkers coping with the stress of the pandemic.

Ingrid Seward, which has years of experience commenting on royal affairs, said: ‘They feel almost wholly responsible as they are the only influential ones young enough to be out there at the moment, apart from Sophie and Edward and The Princess Royal.

‘They have the highest profile and want to use it to the benefit of the monarchy, which has to be seen as being a comfort to people at this time.’

Before retreating to their home of Anmer Hall, near Sandringham in order to isolate with their children, William and Kate visited the London Ambulance Service 111 control room in Croydon and thanked the staff for their service.

On April 8, William and Kate surprised staff and pupils at Casterton Primary Academy in Burnley, where children of keyworkers were still attending classes with a video call (pictured)