Inside Kate Middleton’s Private Bachelorette Party

Royal watchers buzzed on November 16, 2010, when it was revealed that William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were engaged. In their iconic ITV News interview, Prince William explained that the proposal happened during a trip to Kenya. “I just decided it was the right time, really,” he said, adding, “We had been talking about marriage for a while so it wasn’t a massively big surprise.” However, Kate Middleton didn’t anticipate a proposal on that trip.

Although the royal couple’s engagement has been widely discussed, Kate’s bachelorette party remains somewhat mysterious. Fortunately, royal biographers have provided some insights. In “Catherine, the Princess of Wales,” Robert Jobson detailed Kate’s super-small bachelorette (known as a hen party in the U.K.). Kate’s sister, Pippa Middleton, was the planner, and the party included three friends: Olivia Beasdale, Alicia Fox-Pitt, and Rose Astor.

During the celebrations, Kate had a pop star moment, performing Cheryl Cole’s hit song “Fight For This Love” during karaoke. William later jokingly asked Cheryl, “Did you know you’ve got a bit of competition?” when they met in 2012 at the Diamond Jubilee concert honoring Queen Elizabeth II.

In her memoir, “Cheryl: My Story,” Cheryl Cole recounted meeting William and Kate and learning about the bachelorette party happenings. The pop star wrote, “William looked at Kate, and they both started laughing before Kate confessed that she dressed up as me on her hen night, in a bodysuit and split trousers, and sang ‘Fight For This Love.’ She even learned the dance routine and was step-perfect by all accounts, as her sister Pippa and brother James also came over and told me all about it.”

However, Cole sang a different song at the Diamond Jubilee, where she and Take That star Gary Barlow covered Lady A’s “Need You Now.” In another life, perhaps Cole and the princess could have performed a duet. Notably, Tina Brown’s biography “The Palace Papers” also described Kate’s hen party performance, explaining how “Kate grabbed the mic and with unusual spontaneity, sang her heart out.” The event seemed to follow royal rules for bachelorette parties — unlike Sarah Ferguson’s hen, which involved her and Princess Diana nearly getting arrested while wearing fake police uniforms.

An insider reportedly close to Catherine, Princess of Wales, spoke to The Telegraph in March 2011 about Kate Middleton’s bachelorette party. “She has already had her hen night, but it was very low-key. It was done privately. Not all of Kate’s friends were there, and she will be catching up with other friends over the coming weeks,” they said. Other rumored guests speculated to have attended included Astrid Harbord and Alice Hadden-Paton.

Despite being a beloved royal, Kate is not a big drinker, as two former classmates from Marlborough College and St. Andrews University informed the outlet. Still, even without alcohol, Kate’s karaoke likely kept the party lively! However, St. James’s Palace would not discuss details of the hen night, with a spokesperson asserting, “This is not something we would comment on. It is a private matter.”

The wedding itself was a public affair. In April 2011, William, Prince of Wales, and Kate shared a sweet balcony moment on their big day, sealing their marriage with a kiss in front of excited onlookers worldwide. In the U.S. alone, Nielsen reported that approximately 22.8 million Americans watched the wedding across various networks.