May 30, 2026

Kate Middleton’s Secret to Royal Grace Revealed by Rami Malek and Reese Witherspoon

Show Notes
Transcript

Actors Rami Malek and Reese Witherspoon share revealing stories about Princess Kate’s warmth, poise and quiet confidence during royal encounters. The episode also explores Kate Middleton’s early jobs before joining the Royal Family, Prince William’s protective role behind the scenes, Kate’s surprising new hobby with her parents, and why parenting experts continue praising William and Kate’s grounded approach to raising George, Charlotte and Louis. Plus: inside the Wales family’s surprisingly “normal” new Windsor home.

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Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace in Drink.

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I'm your host, Mark Francis. It is Saturday, which is

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always a good day to check in on Kate being wonderful.

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The Princess of Wales has a polished way of handling

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personal questions about family life by gently turning the conversation

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back on the person asking. Actor Remi Malick once revealed

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that Kate had a clever tactic when a conversation becomes

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too personal. Malick recalled speaking with Kate at the twenty

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nineteen Baptist shortly after the birth of Prince Louis, appearing

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on Jimmy Kimmel's US talk show. He said, the funniest

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thing about that was I said, if you ever need

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a day of sometime, I'm back up for you. He continued,

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She's like, what do you mean, I go, I can babysit.

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You guys go out have a good time. Malick then

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asked her you just had a baby, right, I think

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she was taken aback. Rather than answered directly, Kate smoothly

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redirected the question back to him. Mallet recalls she said,

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how are you? Yeah? And I know, how are you?

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And in the most regal, elegant way. She gave me

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a look. But you can tell imagine your address to

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the Nines, have to talk to all these actors. Malick

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said the Royals are careful during public exchanges, but praised

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Kate's poise, saying, they're so careful, but it was so cool.

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I think I caught her off guard for a second,

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and you know, had that look of in the most elegant,

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professional royal way. Yes, it's a lot having a kid.

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Reese Witherspoon has also praised Kate's warmth and composure after

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meeting her, writing in her memoir, and she did not disappoint.

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She was just lovely and warm, elegant and composed. She

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also told a joke and I immediately fell under her spell.

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She's just as magnificent as she seems to be. She's

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a very compassionate, socially conscious, deeply caring person. It takes

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a very special person to decide to commit to that

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kind of life. Before she became a senior member of

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the royal family, Kate followed a relatively conventional early career path,

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taking on a series of jobs that reflected a hand

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on work ethic. Long before her public role began as

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a teenager. In the summer before attending the University of

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Saint Andrews, she worked as a deckhand at a marina

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in Southampton, carrying up physically demanding tasks and reporting working

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long hours to earn money for university. While studying at

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Saint Andrews, where she met Prince William, she also took

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on part time workers waitress. Reflecting on that experienced years later,

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she admitted I was terrible, but noted that the role

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nonetheless formed part of her early working life and independence

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during her university years. After graduating in two thousand and

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five with a degree in art history, Catherine moved into

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the fashion industry, taking a part time position as an

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accessories buyer with the British brand Jigsaw. Colleagues at the

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company described her as grounded and approachable, with one senior

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figure noting that she would sit in the staff kitchen

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and chat easily with employees across all levels of the business.

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In two thousand and seven, she left Jigsaw to join

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her family's company, Party Pieces, a male order parties supply

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business founded by her mother. There, she worked as a

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project manager with responsibility for marketing helping to develop product lines,

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organize photo students, and produce seasonal catalogs, including the company's

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Christmas campaigns. The role also saw her working alongside her siblings,

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with the business closely tied to the family's day to

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day life. Following her engagement to Prince William in twenty ten,

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Catherine stepped down from her role at Party Pieces in

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early twenty eleven to prepare for her transition into royal duties.

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During her engagement interview, she addressed criticism of her work

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ethic directly, saying I've been working very hard for the

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family business and adding that what mattered most to her

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was contributing fully to the work she was doing. She

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also made clear that the same approach would carry her

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into her new role, saying she was willing to learn

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quickly and work hard, and that she hoped to make

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a difference even in the smallest way, as she prepared

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to take on life as a working royal. Author Christopher

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Anderson spoke to Zoomer about how cool Kate can be.

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He said, Kate has always had a natural reserve. One

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of her friends, Jules Knight, told me there is a

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serenity about her, a kind of calm and that Kate

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is a great listener. When she first saw William at

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the University of Saint Andrew's, Kate held back rather than

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foist herself on William the way the other students did.

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She has always had a natural poison because she had

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reportedly been bullied at school. Even after she became very popular,

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she could empathize with those who didn't quite fit in.

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Kate hated clicks and always stood up to the mean girls.

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There is universal agreement among those who know her that

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she is incredibly kind and always has been. I don't

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think her parents get enough credit for instilling those qualities

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in her. Annason also talked about her protective husband, saying

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William has always been very protective of Kate. He was

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worried from the start that she might fall victim to

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the same precious his mother Diana did, and that she

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might also be hounded to her death as he believed

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Diana was. But people don't appreciate how much emotional support

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Kat has given William as he battled trauma and grief

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following Diana's death. As he is publicly discussed and it's aftermath,

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he was also in a very dark place while he

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worked as an air ambulance pilot in Norfolk. He came

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home feeling that, as he put it, death was around

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every corner. Kate has been there for him in all

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these moments when he was suffering extreme mood swings, anger

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issues and feelings of hopelessness. Kate has always been William's rock.

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At the same time, she had to deal with the

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pressures of royal life. No sooner did she join the

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royal family than she was criticized for not working hard enough.

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Kate made it clear that her husband and the young

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family were her first priority and that she needed to

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be there for her children, not spending all of her

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time unveiling pluques, planting trees and cutting ribbons across the UK.

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Kate revealed a surprisingly trendy new hobby and it's something

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she enjoys with her parents, Carol and Michael Middleton. While

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attending the second Royal Guarden party of the season at

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Buckingham Palace, Kate spoke with representatives from the Lawn Tennis

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Association and share with enthusiasm for paddle, the fastest growing

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racket sport that has become hugely popular in recent years.

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Paddle is a fast paced racket sport that combines elements

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of tennis and squash. It is usually played as a

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doubles on a smaller, enclosed court surrounded by glass and

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mesh walls, with players allowed to balance the ball off

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the walls during rallies. The game uses solid rackets with

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no strings and a softer tennis style ball scoring similar

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to tennis, but the enclosed court creates longer rallies and

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more social style of play. Because the court is smaller

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and the game relies more on positioning and reflexes than power,

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pedal is considered easier for beginners to pick up than

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traditional tennis. Kate said, have you adopted paddle? I love paddle.

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It's such a good game, such a great level for

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those who don't play tennis. It's so sociable and all

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generations can play. I play with my parents. Paddle has

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seen a surgeon popularity across the UK and internationally, and

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attractinglebrity fans including David Beckham and Eva Longoria. The Lawn

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Tennis Association has described it as the fastest growing sport

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in the world. William and Kate have been praised for

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their grounded approach to parenting by television parenting expert Joe Frost,

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better known as Supernanny. Writing on Instagram, Frost said parenting

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is no easy task and when lived under the world's gaze,

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the challenge magnifies tenfold. Yet in Prince William and Catherine,

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Princess of Wales, I see not only future monarchs, but

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devoted parents whose grounded approach provides reassurance for their family

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and inspiration for others. Despite their titles and difficulties of late,

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they remain grounded in everyday life, intentional in giving George

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Charlotte Lewis's normal childhood as possible. Their parenting is not

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about privilege, but responsibility. Their children learn the true leadership

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lies in service, kindness, and contribution. Frost concluded by calling

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William and Kate a dynamic duo and said their parenting

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style leaves the future feeling steady, compassionate, and hope more

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palacing just a moment, there have been a few glowing

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articles about the new home of the Wales family. They

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moved late last year to Forest Lodge on Windsor Estate,

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a property widely known as Therefoever Home. Royal biographer Keating

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Nichol said they seem to prefer smaller residences homes that

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offer a more intimate family setting than giant, ostentatious palaces.

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Royal commentator Richard Palmer echoed that view, saying they wanted

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a more normal, upper middle class home with just enough

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bedrooms for them and their children, but not enough space

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for nanny to live in because they just wanted to

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be a family unit. A Wikipedia article suggests this normal

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upper middle class home contains eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, a

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long gallery and a principal drawing room access from a

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central hall. The grounds include a tennis court and a

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large pond. And there you have it. Follow a Palace

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you think about today's show. I'm Mark Francis my thanks

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to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue and good times

Kate Middleton’s Secret to Royal Grace Revealed by Rami Malek and Reese Witherspoon

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