Queen Elizabeth Blocked William’s Kate Security Plan
Queen Elizabeth II vetoed a request from Prince William to arrange private security for Catherine, now the Princess of Wales, before the couple became engaged, according to a new account of their early relationship. The claim is detailed in a forthcoming royal biography and revisits the pressures the couple faced as Kate Middleton was pursued by photographers and media attention.
In extracts from royal author Mr Russell Myers’ book William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, Hello Magazine reported that Prince William approached the late Queen with an “unofficial request” to see if security could be arranged for Catherine while she was still his girlfriend.
Mr Myers wrote that Catherine’s situation had become difficult after she was “chased by the media” and nearly forced to leave her job at Jigsaw, with the pressure said to have prompted her to consider walking away from the relationship. The book adds that the Metropolitan Police’s then Royalty Protection Command could not assign taxpayer-funded protection to a non-fiancée, leading William to ask whether the family could privately fund it.
According to the account, the royal household decided that until the prince was engaged, no such arrangement could be made—a moment that adds to wider scrutiny of how the couple navigated intense attention in their early years together, including their reported strain after the 2007 breakup.
The renewed discussion comes as security arrangements for senior royals and their families continue to attract public interest, with debates over funding, eligibility and protocol often resurfacing when members of the Royal Family travel or return to the UK. The book’s claims highlight the line royal households have historically drawn between personal requests and official protection, particularly before marriages are formalised.
