The Queen Just Gave Kate A Special Gift
On Monday, the Duchess of Cambridge was given a very special honour from the Queen. Kate was granted with the title of Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). The awards from the Royal Victorian Order are made personally by the Queen, for services to the Sovereign, which just proves how close of a relationship the Duchess has with the royal family.
The Royal Victoria Order was first instituted by Queen Victoria in 1896 as a way to reward personal services performed on her behalf. Kate was given the highest ranking one can get from the order, with the other ranks being Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCVO), Knight or Dame Commander (KCVO or DCVO), Commander (CVO), Lieutenant (LVO) and Member (MVO).
Kate is a patron of a lot of charities and is one of the most hardworking members of the royal family. In March this year, she got the chance to go to her first solo engagement with the Queen. The pair looked quite happy together as they visited King’s College London to open the latest building, Bush House, and to look around at the latest facilities on the college’s Strand Camus. During their journey to the venue, the pair shared a blanket on their laps, showing the close relationship these two have developed.
The Duchess has always had nothing but respect and admiration for the Queen, even honouring the monarch with giving her only daughter Charlotte the middle name Elizabeth. Kate has talked about her relationship with her grandmother-in-law in a rare interview in ITV documentary, Our Queen at 90. The royal revealed that she didn’t know what to give the Queen for Christmas, but in the end, she settled for homemade chutney made from their own grandmother’s recipe.
“She (the Queen) really cares,” Kate said. “I can remember being at Sandringham, for the first time, at Christmas. And I was worried about what to give the Queen as her Christmas present. I was thinking, ‘Gosh, what should I give her?’ I thought back to what I would give my own grandparents.
And I thought, ‘I’ll make her something.’ Which could have gone horribly wrong. But I decided to make my granny’s recipe of chutney. I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table. I think such a simple gesture went such a long way for me and I’ve noticed since she’s done that on lots of occasions and I think it just shows her thoughtfulness, really, and her care in looking after, everybody.”
Monday was a special day for Kate, not only because of the award, but it was also her wedding anniversary to Prince William. Back in April 2011, on the 29th the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said their wedding vows, with over 23 million people watching them over the world, as well as the thousand fans that went to London in the hope of catching a glimpse of the royal couple. The wedding took place at Westminster Abbey, and since then, William and Kate went on to have three wonderful children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who celebrated his first birthday last week.