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British RoyalsPrince & Princess of Wales

ROYAL REVIEW OF 2022: A year of change for William and Catherine

Catherine celebrated her 40th birthday in early January, and we covered the milestone in usual style. There were deep dives into her arts-related patronages, sports-related patronages, and children’s patronages; her use of royal jewels and style evolution; how mental health became a defining focus for her work; how her first decade as a member of the Royal Family played out (plus 10 key moments from the first 10 years) and how she’s been central to creating a new branch of the family (while also looking back at her own early years).

We also wondered—eight months before her life would change—what the future held for the Duchess of Cambridge.

The Duchess of Cambridge red dress
Photo: Royal Communications Handout / Paolo Roversi

Paolo Roversi, the photographer behind Catherine’s birthday portraits, spoke about the process; and a majority of her patronages sent out congratulatory messages to mark her birthday.

William, meanwhile, continued to strengthen his power within the Royal Family, reportedly playing a central role in keeping his disgraced uncle sidelined. William and Catherine focused on young people as they carried out their first joint engagement of the year; and Catherine made a new four-legged friend in Lancashire.

It was announced that William would visit Dubai for his first overseas visit since before the pandemic began; Catherine, meanwhile, visited Shout as it marked its millionth helpline conversation. At the end of the month, William visited the new BAFTA headquarters.

Picture by i-Images / Pool

In early February, Catherine became patron of England Rugby (taking over from the Duke of Sussex) and joined the teams for a training session. She would join her in-laws for an arts engagement as well. Catherine also announced a solo visit to Denmark where she’d focus on the early years and how the Danish people support its youngest citizens.

As Queen Elizabeth II marked the 70th anniversary of her accession, we looked at everyone who’d been second in line to the throne during her reign—a group that included William from 1982 to 2022.

Keld Navntoft, Kongehuset ©

For Children’s Mental Health Week, Catherine read a story for the CBeebies Bedtime Story show; in Southwark, she learned about parent power. In the United Arab Emirates, environmental causes were at the forefront of William’s program; in Demark, Catherine slid—literally—into a robust programme of engagements. We examined the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood here.

Catherine paid a visit to Queen Margrethe—celebrating her own jubilee in 2022—and joined Crown Princess Mary on engagements with the Mary Foundation (of course the fashion needed to be covered). The royal couple, long competitive about sports, attended their first rugby match as patrons of rival rugby clubs (with Prince George in attendance!); Kensington Palace shared details of the Cambridges’ visit to the Caribbean for the Platinum Jubilee (we looked at their Diamond Jubilee tour here); and William and Catherine commented on the Ukrainian invasion.

i-Images/ Pool

William and Catherine marked St David’s Day in Wales and later visited a Ukrainian refugee centre in London. Catherine would also choose three ‘homes’ for her official birthday portraits, places that hold great meaning to her. And a return to normalcy: William and Catherine handed out shamrocks to the Irish Guards on St Patrick’s Day—the first time since the pandemic.

As their controversial Caribbean tour rolled out we covered all the details in Belize here and here; including a trip to an archeological site and a jungle trip. On their final day in Belize, William revealed where he was when he found out his A-level results (spoiler alert: he was in Belize!) and we covered Catherine’s Belizean style.

The couple then traveled to Jamaica—covered here—and again, Catherine’s style was a focusas was the price tag of the visit by Jamaican campaigners. In the Bahamas, Catherine talked about the pandemic and the couple continued their sporting rivalry.

Government of Belize Press Office

In a podcast, William spoke about his grandfather’s passion for the environment; and William and Catherine later led the Royal Family at an Easter Service at Windsor Castle with Prince George and Princess Charlotte joining them. The couple also visited the Disasters Emergency Committee in London to learn about the organisation’s response to the Ukraine invasion. On ANZAC Day, the couple again led the Royal Family’s commemorations.

Prince Louis turned four on 23 April and new portraits were taken by Catherine. A rare joint engagement from Princess Anne and Catherine saw them uniting for maternal health.

On 2 May, Princess Charlotte turned seven with new portraits taken by her mother. Catherine later ventured out to the British Design Museum to honour The Queen; and became patron of a maternal mental health alliance. The royal couple attended a memorial service and dedication for victims of the Manchester arena bombing. Later, William celebrated as the Earthshot Prize ceremony received a BAFTA award.

Mid-May, William carried out one of the most momentous engagements of his royal career: as a Counsellor of State, he and then-Prince Charles opened parliament for an ailing Queen Elizabeth II. A visit to Scotland for the royal couple spotlighted mental health; and another ‘milestone moment’ of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign was William’s birth in 1982.

House of Lords via Flickr

William and Catherine recorded a message for the Mental Health Minute broadcast on radio stations in the United Kingdom; William was booed at a Liverpool football game (as is tradition from Liverpool fans, apparently); and he later bestowed a special damehood upon Deborah James just as the campaigner entered into the final stages of her battle with bowel cancer. After footballer Jake Daniels came out as gay, William sent him a message of support.

Ahead of Trooping the Colour, William and Catherine presented the unit with new colours. As his 40th birthday approached, William appeared on a commemorative coin for the first time. The Queen’s style became a Royal Central feature in the lead up to the Platinum Jubilee, and we covered her yellow outfit at William and Catherine’s 2011 wedding.

William donned scrubs for a visit to the Royal Marsden; days later, he was in uniform to review the troop before Trooping the Colour.

UK MOD © Crown copyright 2022

As Platinum Jubilee weekend began, William joined his grandmother to light a jubilee beacon. The Cambridge family returned to London for the festivities; Catherine made a surprise visit to Evelina London; William paid tribute to his grandmother; Prince George and Princess Charlotte undertook their first official visit to Wales; the Cambridges were central to Platinum Jubilee weekend and the future of the monarchy; and ahead of the Big Jubilee Lunch, Kensington Palace shared snaps of the Cambridge family baking.

After the fun weekend, Catherine was back at work visiting a baby bank. William was spotted selling Big Issue magazines in support of the homeless community. The royal couple attended a memorial service for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. Ahead of the Women’s World Cup, Princess Charlotte sent a message to the Lionesses (they won!).

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge/ Twitter

Catherine hosted a political roundtable to discuss the early years and recorded a message for Children’s Hospices Week; the couple attended Ascot; and Kensington Palace shared new family photos for Father’s Day.  

William marked his 40th birthday on 21 June and we covered his life in a series of posts. These included his early years and how his late mother’s death affected him; his university years and romance with Catherine; his charities and patronages; his children; his name; and his future.

William and Catherine opened a memorial to the Windrush pioneers and led tributes to the late Dame Deborah James. As Wimbledon returned, Catherine made several appearances cheering on the players (we covered her fashion as well) and presented the trophies again to the ladies and men’s winners.

@KensingtonRoyal/Twitter

In mid-July, William announced that the Earthshot Prize ceremony would be held in Boston for its second year; Prince George celebrated his 9th birthday on 22 July with a new portrait by Catherine; and a job posting was shared for Kensington Palace. William sent a message of condolence after a park ranger’s death by poachers and continued to support the Lionesses, with Princess Charlotte again.

Catherine undertook a friendly Commonwealth sailing race; Princess Charlotte joined her parents at the Commonwealth Games and a visit to her mother’s patronage; and William’s advice to the late Dame Deborah James’s children was revealed. As back-to-school season began, we looked at the educational backgrounds of royals, including Catherine.

A tennis engagement for Catherine and Roger Federer was announced for September—it would ultimately be cancelled due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. After devastating floods in New Zealand, William sent a plea to protect the planet; Catherine wished her young friend Mila, of ‘Hold Still’ fame, good luck at school.

As August drew to a close, Kensington Palace confirmed that the Cambridges planned to move to Windsor for the children to attend school. TWilliam sent a message of support to Lionesses footballer Jill Scott and confirmed that he planned to remember his mother, 25 years after her death, privately on the anniversary.

The day before the death of Queen Elizabeth II, William and Catherine introduced their children to their new school (i-Images / Pool)

The Crown cast its William and Catherine ahead of its final season; William sent a message of support to the people of Saskatchewan following attacks in the Canadian province; and as the children attended their first day of school, the family had no idea that a day later, their lives would change.

On 10 September, William and Catherine were given the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales, with all the new responsibilities that came with it.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS will publish in Fall 2024.