Hollywood Royalty Anne Hathaway Is A Longtime Fan Of Real-Life Princess Kate Middleton
Anne Hathaway cemented her royalty status, albeit fictitious, with her iconic portrayal of Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia, in the 2001 favorite "The Princess Diaries." The Hollywood veteran went on to reprise the role in the 2004 sequel of the Disney movie, "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," but she never envisioned the royal franchise as part of her career trajectory. "I never wanted to be a princess," Hathaway said of the beloved role in an interview with Collider, which doesn't necessarily mean the star doesn't admire real-life royalty.
A decade after the last installment of the series was released, Hathaway was still fielding questions about royalty. During an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" in 2014, a child in the audience asked the actor to name her favorite princess, to which Hathaway, after a moment of thought, said it had to be Catherine, Princess of Wales. "I think she's lovely. She makes me very happy, and that royal wedding just could not be beat," she explained (via ABC News).
While Hathaway could've easily gone for a fictional Disney princess like Cinderella or Rapunzel, her choice proved her appreciation for Kate wasn't just for show. Interestingly, Kate's influence even positively impacted Hathaway's relationship with her two kids, which the actor didn't take for granted.
One of Kate Middleton's parenting techniques inspired the actor
Five years after praising Catherine, Princess of Wales, as her favorite princess figure, Anne Hathaway publicly credited Kate for inadvertently instilling her with the ultimate parenting knowledge. As Hathaway shared on "The View," after reading an article on how Kate makes a point to get down to their children's eye level when talking to them, the Hollywood star decided to try the method out herself, ABC News reported.
"I started doing it, and I swear it made a difference," said the actor, who had just one child at the time. She added, "Not only was I able to communicate with [my son] — and I think it empowered him — but I could see what he was seeing." By the end of that same year, Hathaway had welcomed her second child, leaving no doubt that she practices the same royal technique with him too.
Darren Stanton, a body language expert speaking to Marie Claire, supported Hathaway's observations about the effectiveness of the eye-to-eye approach. "It's a powerful way of building trust in a motherly role," he remarked, explaining that being at the child's level fosters feelings of safety and support. Additionally, Stanton noted it serves as a gentle disciplinary method, allowing parents to "address [the child] directly." While Kate has admitted raising kids is a hard job even for a royal mom, she's clearly doing great, at least if you ask Hathaway.
Anne Hathaway is open to portraying the princess in a movie
In addition to being a longtime fan of Catherine, Princess of Wales, Anne Hathaway once even portrayed the royal for a segment on "Saturday Night Live." In a parody clip from 2013, Hathaway masterfully captured Kate's grace while humorously depicting the behind-the-scenes antics of the British royal family, earning praise in the YouTube comment section.
Even though the "SNL" stint was her only time playing Kate on screen, Hathaway admitted she would take on the royal role in a more serious environment. Speaking to The Sun at the premiere of her movie "One Day" in 2011, wherein she had to adopt a British accent, Hathaway shared that she would gladly utilize her acting and linguistic skills to bring Kate to life in a biopic. "She's great. It's such a fairytale," the star told the outlet of Kate's royal story (via CBS News).
While fans eagerly await the possibility of a third installment in "The Princess Diaries" franchise, they may be treated to something even better — Hathaway playing a real-life princess. It's almost as if she could have been a princess herself if she wasn't a famous actor! However, for the time being, Hathaway's portrayal of one, whether it's Mia Thermopolis or Kate, is more than enough for us.