LONDON - Royal bride-to-be Kate Middleton has visited the grave of Princess Diana, mother of her future husband Prince William, ahead of their wedding next week, Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper reported on Thursday.

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William took Kate to the resting place of Diana at the Althorp Estate, home of her family in central England, and laid flowers there, the paper reported.

"It was very important for William to take Kate to visit his mum just before their wedding day," an unnamed source told the Mirror, adding it was important for Middleton to understand her future husband's love and grief for his mother.

"Diana is a huge part of her boys' everyday life and always will be. It is tragic that she won't be there to see the wedding and that she never got to meet his bride."

Diana, first wife of William's father and heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 with her lover Dodi al-Fayed as they tried to escape paparazzi who were chasing them on motorbikes.

She was buried on a leafy oval island in the grounds of Althorp.

A spokesman for William and Middleton, who will marry in London's Westminster Abbey on April 29, said he could not confirm the visit.

"We wouldn't comment on a speculative story about what would be an entirely private matter," he said.

However, William has regularly spoken about how important his mother is to him and he gave Middleton the large blue oval sapphire and diamond engagement ring which had belonged to Diana when he proposed.

"It's very special to me," William told reporters when the engagement was officially announced last November.

"It's my way of making sure my mother didn't miss out on today and the excitement and the fact we are going to spend the rest of our lives together."

Meanwhile, Middleton's parents Michael and Carole met Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip on Wednesday, the royal spokesman confirmed, for what is believed to be their first ever get together.

They enjoyed a private lunch at Windsor Castle, the queen's residence to the west of London, where the Mirror reported they tucked into sandwiches and drank tea.