EXCLUSIVE: Princess Kate's Key Royal Rule Learned From Prince Philip Revealed by Royal Author

Princess Kate has followed one crucial rule passed down by Prince Philip throughout her royal career – remember public attention belongs to the Crown, not the person wearing it.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the future Queen, 44, is understood to have absorbed the lesson while learning the demands of royal life after marrying Prince William, 44, in 2011.

Philip, who died aged 99 in April 2021 after 73 years of marriage to Queen Elizabeth II, believed successful consorts needed to concentrate on the people and causes they represented rather than becoming distracted by their own celebrity.

Royal biographer Gyles Brandreth has now revealed Philip's advice was given to Kate.

In his book Philip: The Final Portrait, Brandreth wrote: "If you believe the attention is for you, for you personally, you're going to end up in trouble."

He added: "The attention is for your role, what you do, what you're supporting. It isn't for you as an individual. You are not a celebrity. You are representing the royal family. That's all."

Philip's practical instruction was simple: when surrounded by photographers during engagements, Kate should resist looking toward the cameras and instead focus on whoever she was meeting.

It was an approach the late Duke of Edinburgh had refined during decades beside Elizabeth, who died aged 96 in 2022.

Philip became the longest-serving consort in British history and was associated as patron, president or member with more than 780 organizations.

Brandreth added Philip had been concerned that intense publicity could affect people entering royal life, but was reassured William had chosen a "level-headed girl" as his wife.

The author said: "I have been on (a) walkabout with the Duchess of Cambridge. She does not look at the camera. Whenever she is interviewed, Catherine talks about the matter in hand, never about herself."

The advice has particular significance as Kate prepares for her eventual position as queen consort when William succeeds his father, King Charles III.

Philip had previously tried to help Princess Diana, who died aged 36 in 1997, negotiate similar pressures after she married the then-Prince Charles aged 20.

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward wrote in Prince Philip Revealed: "When (Diana) found the restrictions of royal life difficult, it was Philip who helped her."

She added: "Once she was married, she never sat next to her husband (the then-Prince Charles.) She was always sat next to Philip at the endless black-tie dinners, and he took care of her."

After Philip's death, William publicly acknowledged the relationship his grandfather had developed with Kate.

The future King said: "I will always be grateful that my wife had so many years to get to know my grandfather and for the kindness he showed her."

Brandreth said while Philip "would take no credit for the successful way" Kate had adapted to royal life, "she appeared to have learnt all the lessons that Philip could have taught her."

Royal biographer Penny Junor has also drawn a direct comparison between them.

"Kate shines in her own light, but she knows her place in the royal family," she noted. "She never tries to overshadow her husband. I think Kate is a bit like Prince Philip, who has always supported Queen Elizabeth."

Philip was born in Greece in 1921 and married Queen Elizabeth in 1947, becoming Britain's longest-serving royal consort.

A naval veteran and driving force behind the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, his public service was extensive. But his legacy was complicated by numerous offensive remarks and a 2019 car crash.