Did Kate Middleton Meet Princess Diana? The Rampant Rumor, Explained

Viewers of "The Crown" collectively gasped when Kate Middleton made her first appearance in the show — and the fact that said appearance happened to see the now-Princess of Wales bump into Princess Diana only added to the excitement. However, it turns out that the meeting was entirely due to artistic license. Not that it's stopped many from believing they met IRL, though. 

On the off chance that you missed it, Kate's first appearance in "The Crown" occurred in the show's final season. In the scene that launched a thousand rumors (well, not quite a thousand, but we're sticking with a creative license theme here), a teenage Kate and her mother, Carole Middleton, are shopping when they realize Princess Diana and Prince William are selling copies of Big Issue magazine for charity. Carole slips Kate some money, which Kate donates. Then, Princess Diana gives Kate a look that seems to suggest she sees something special in her and the future Prince and Princess of Wales lock eyes. It all makes for an interesting story. But that's all it was. 

While Kate hasn't commented on this fictional storyline, she's made it clear in the past that she never had the chance to meet her mother-in-law, Princess Diana. For starters, in her engagement interview, she revealed, "I would love to have met her." More than a decade later, in April 2023, she reiterated that while on a public engagement. Speaking to a royal fan who commented on her engagement ring (which was previously Princess Diana's), Kate shared, "I never, sadly, got to meet her." And, to clear up confusion amongst one of the fans she was speaking to, she doubled down, "I never met her." Say it with us: Kate never met Princess Diana. 

It bears mentioning that the clip suggesting the Princess of Wales met Princess Diana as a teenager wasn't the only time the popular Netflix show played around with the truth regarding Kate Middleton. Notably, "The Crown" got several details about Kate's college fashion show moment wrong. 

In one instance, the fictional Kate told her then-friend Prince William that she'd selected her see-through dress to get his attention (which, ick). This, despite the fact that the designer behind the outfit telling People that it was a mere — albeit history-making — coincidence that Kate was even in the dress. That wasn't all, though. The TV show also depicted Kate and William sharing a kiss — and by all accounts, that didn't happen. In fact, some even say that if the prince did try to plant a smooch on his future bride, she actually turned him down. Yikes.

In addition to all the inaccuracies regarding Kate, one might think the show's writers had something of a bone to pick with the future queen consort's family. After all, there was also a ton of drama involving the show's depiction of Carole Middleton. ICYMI, Carole was made to look like the creepiest momager of all time. Oh, and back to Kate, there was also a scene of her sticking up pictures of the prince in her room after their first meeting. This happened despite Kate laughing off that particular rumor in her engagement interview. "He wishes! No. No, I had the Levi's guy on my wall. Not a picture of William. Sorry!" she chirped to her husband-to-be. Well, Prince Harry has actually shared his thoughts on "The Crown" previously, and emphasized that it's fiction. Perhaps his estranged sister-in-law is just as nonchalant about the inaccuracies.