Queen Elizabeth: Kate Middleton should get a proper job

According to The Mail on Sunday, Queen Elizabeth has said that that Prince William should not announce an engagement to Kate Middleton until she has found a full-time job.

The papers says that an engagement now would be both premature and ill-advised - and Kate should have settled into a job before the couple announce an engagement.

Sources close Queen Elizabeth have said she believes Prince William’s public image could suffer if his fiancée were not recognised as a working woman in her own right.

The Mail on Sunday goes on to report report that Kate is in fact currently working for her parents’ mail-order company, Party Pieces, which supplies children’s party gifts. It says she photographs new stock for the Party Pieces website.

"It’s not what you would call a nine-to-five job," said a friend of the Middleton family. "It’s an easy number for Kate and basically something to fill her days while she waits for William."

The intervention from Queen Elizabeth will create doubt about an early announcement of an engagement between Prince William and Kate Middleton or even the relationship itself.