On a ridge overlooking the mountaintop terminus of the Gotschna cable car, 2,000m above the town, a small group of photographers were shivering their way through a blizzard, waiting for Kate Middleton.

They waited with a growing confidence that pictures of her arrival would mirror the arrival of the Princess of Wales, on the same Swiss mountain two and a half decades earlier and herald Ms Middleton’s emergence as a princess and future queen.

Shortly before ten, the snow stopped and sunshine raked over the mountaintop. On cue, Ms Middleton emerged from the cable-car station, followed by Prince William, his guide, his friends and his security team of British and Swiss police.

Spring ski-trips to Klosters have been a fixture in the royal diary since the late 1970s when the Prince of Wales first visited the resort.

Gaudy Barblan, 62, a lifelong resident who runs a bar in the valley, says that Klosters offered him the privacy and exclusivity that he craved. “The new rich people go to San Moritz,” he said. “Europe’s royal families come here.” He and his wife, Veronica, are on first-name terms with most of them.

“This year we had Sylvia and her husband,” he said, referring to the Queen and King of Sweden. “The first thing William asked me this year was: ‘Is Veronica still here?’ He was sitting looking out the window and people didn’t even notice him.”

Locals and the well-heeled visitors who return to Klosters year after year speak fondly of Prince Charles and his skiing abilities; for his part, visits to Klosters became a tradition akin to the annual retreats to Balmoral.

In 1981 the possible inclusion of Lady Diana Spencer among his ski party sparked speculation of an impending engagement. Her first trip to Klosters with him after their marriage caused scores of photographers to take up positions on the mountain.

Images of the Princess skiing with the royal party became a staple symbol of her arrival on the public stage. In 1986 when an invitation was extended to Sarah Ferguson to join the royal couple at Klosters, her inclusion appeared to rubber-stamp her status as a future royal: her engagement to Prince Andrew was announced soon afterwards.

Royal observers have interpreted Kate Middleton’s invitation to ski with Prince William and his father – who arrived in Klosters on Thursday evening – in a similar light. James Whitaker, 67, the veteran royal correspondent who now reports on their movements for ITV, describes himself as “about the only person in the country who doesn’t think she’s suitable to be Queen”.

Even he believes her presence at Klosters to be a statement of her increased acceptance within the Royal Family. “To a degree I think this is a significant thing,” he said. “You have to look at it as a step forward for her.” There has even been speculation that her widely publicised split from the Prince last year was arranged to give the couple breathing space while he completed military service before taking up royal duties next year.

Ms Middleton, meanwhile, has now left the fashion company Jigsaw that she joined after leaving St Andrews University. In November she curated an exhibition by a celebrity portrait photographer. “She has spent the last four years waiting to marry William,” said Mr Whitaker. “She is quite bright, some people think it a pity, but I think being the wife of a man who will be king is far more demanding than any other graduate career.” On Wednesday evening Prince William and Ms Middleton were in Klosters’ only night-club, a dingy and ruinously expensive establishment that was deserted but for his security team and a group of young German aristocrats. The two groups mingled on the dancefloor.

“He is the Prince of Wales, but I am also a Prince,” said one of the German party, holding up an identity card that proved his claim to the title of an obscure former principality. “So it’s no big deal.” The following morning the royal party were back on the slopes.

In the days when Diana came to Klosters, Clarence House attempted to strike a deal with photographers.

The royal party would pose for ten minutes and in return the press would promise to leave them in peace. The foreign paparazzi, many of whom were accomplished skiers, felt less compunction to abide by the rules of a foreign prince, however, and would generally keep up the chase all day. “The English photographers would sanctimoniously say, We will leave them alone,” Mr Whitaker recalled. “But it was only because they couldn’t bloody ski.”

Clarence House called off the deal this year and the Prince’s security team attempted to deter photographers by blocking their view and throwing snow at their cameras. After a few hours Prince William approached them and asked them politely to desist, before informing one British photographer who had struggled to keep up: “You ski like a girl.”

Despite his put-down, there is some debate in Klosters as to whether Prince William is as good a skier as his girlfriend. Christian Rocco, 26, who manages a ski-hire business, said: “My father saw them, he said that Kate is better.” The topic of their relative abilities has almost supplanted the traditional discussion of the skiing abilities of the Prince of Wales. “Charles skis in a quite old-fashioned way, like a lot of old . . .” Mr Rocco paused and corrected himself. “I mean like older people do,” he said.

The royal party meandered down to a chairlift, Prince William and Ms Middleton occasionally lingering behind as the group continued downhill. A chairlift carried them back up the mountain, the Prince staring out over the forest, Ms Middleton resting her head on his shoulder.

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