Queen had 'grave concerns' for Kate Middleton before marrying Prince William

While Kate Middleton certainly proved herself to be a pivotal member of the royal family, it was not always the case as the Queen had her doubts.

Before the Duchess of Cambridge’s marriage to Prince William, the Queen was said to have had some reservations against Kate as she did not appear to have her own identity.

According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, the monarch has always liked Kate but feared that because she did not have a proper job, she would not be able to establish an identity of her own when she would get married into the royal family.

In her book, The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie writes: "Privately she had grave concerns and believed that Kate needed to have a job and an identity in her own right before an engagement was announced."

This sentiment was also expressed by royal correspondent Phil Dampier who told express.co.uk: "Kate was William's girlfriend for eight or nine years before they got engaged and got married.

“There was a phase where she appeared to be doing very little really.

"The Queen once remarked Kate doesn't do very much so I think she had a fairly long entrance to the Royal family."