Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William married in their spectacular royal wedding in April 2001. Royal fans around the globe were delighted a “commoner” was marrying the second-in-line to the throne, and looked back to Anne Hyde’s marriage to the future James II as the last time this had happened. Historian David Starkey outlined just why the royal wedding was so significant, and how Kate had helped the monarchy become “ever more genuinely democratic”. Related articles Revealed: How Prince William learned from Charles' past mistakes Kate Middleton’s 'secret weapon' in Royal Family revealed In an interview with entrepreneur Sir David Tang ahead of a visit to Hong Kong in 2011, Mr Starkey spoke about the significance of the recent royal wedding. Sir David asked: “A royal prince, a commoner, is that a symbol that in fact the British monarchy, which is one of the oldest in the world, does that herald a different kind of monarchy that might be labelled distinctly modern?” Mr Starkey replies: “I think the British monarchy became modern in another great crisis, in 1917 – the height of World War 1 – when what had essentially been a German royal house decided it was going to be English. “At that point it starts marrying English men, and English women. The Duchess of Cambridge (Image: Getty) Kate Middleton and Prince William announced their engagement in 2010 (Image: Getty) She is a supermarket trolley princess David Starkey “But what is quite remarkable, is that it not only decides it is English in 1917, it does what the Chinese monarchy was not capable of doing, what the great empires of Europe were not capable of doing – it reconciles itself to democracy. “It becomes a contradiction in terms, a democratic monarchy." He continues: “I think what the wedding in the last few weeks has demonstrated is that its becoming ever more genuinely democratic. “At first , of course, it was a kind of oxymoron, it was a contradiction in terms, it was a clever selling line. Related articles Why historian claims Prince William and Kate are 'NOT special' Royal security BREACH: How Prince William accosted security threat “I think the selling line is becoming real.” However, he adds: “Kate Middleton, of course, is not as common as all that. “She is a woman of serious education – in fact the first seriously educated royal spouse of the twentieth century. “But she, of course, represents a world outside the Palace, a world outside that privilege. “She is a supermarket trolley princess. She can confidently walk down the aisle at Waitrose and pick things off in front of the television cameras, and still somehow contrive to be both 'common' and 'princess'." The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge married in 2011 (Image: Getty) The Cambridges with their youngest son Prince Louis at Trooping the Colour last weekend (Image: Getty) However, in other ways, the historian argues, Prince William and Kate Middleton are not special at all. He told The Telegraph in 2011 that the narrative that the wedding was “revolutionary” was “absolute nonsense.” He said: “This isn’t a new beginning for the monarchy – it’s scarcely even a new chapter.” Mr Starkey reflected that many royal unions, before the accession of the German Hanoverian monarchs in the eighteenth century, actually did not follow class-bound tradition at all. Related articles Royal REBEL: How Palace aides were ‘SCARED of Prince William’ Royal SHOCK: How Prince William was 'TARGETED' at university He cited the marriage of Elizabeth Woodville, the daughter of servants who married Edward IV in 1464, as an ancient precedent of this principle. Queen Victoria, who matched most of her nine children with European royal houses, is an example of the distinct shift in royal unions. However, even Victoria’s daughter Louise married a “commoner”, John Douglas Sutherland, with the full support of her mother and the British people. Mr Starkey also gave his opinion that Kate and William are equals in many ways, and their romance showed how fluid the social hierarchy of Britain actually is. He continued: “They’ve lived together, separated, got together again – they’ve done what any sensible middle-class couple does. “What has always been true is how incredibly fluid class is: it’s money-driven, if you can buy your child the right privileges, that’s all that matters. “Kate Middleton has proved that under the right circumstances, the social ladder can be climbed with relative ease.” All rights reserved for this news site express.co.uk and under his responsibility