Prince William and Kate Middleton go way back. The couple met while studying at St Andrews University. The couple have gone through many challenges, not least Kate, who was hounded in the press as she became William’s girlfriend. Meanwhile, today, another member of the royal family, Queen Camilla, has had a similar experience.
Camilla has been connected to the royal family for many decades, and it all began when King Charles was married to Princess Diana. Today, the perception of the queen is much different, and not only has she been accepted by the public but very much liked.
Camilla and Kate have been on royal duty many times together, but their relationship has often been kept in the dark. Nonetheless, some details about their bond reached the surface. And before the princess became a part of the royal family, the now queen gave her clear advice – and a warning – about her future.
On April 29, 2011, William and Kate tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in London. Only years earlier, though, in 2007, it seemed their love story had ended. It was even reported in some places that William and Kate had broken up for good.
When William and Kate split in 2007, rumors about what had happened spread quickly.
Some royal experts claimed Prince William decided to split up with Kate because he felt the “fun” had disappeared from their relationship. Meanwhile, Kate was said to have been left “desperately upset” – she had already pictured how they would marry.
Prince William & Kate Middleton – early relationship
Shortly after the breakup, William allegedly roamed London nightclubs and saw several other girls.
Kate, of course, was left angry. According to reports, “harsh words” were exchanged as Kate thought she had been “humiliated” by William’s behavior. She also felt that he was “cheapening her image.”
“It was the first such warning she had dished out over the course of their four-and-a-half-year relationship,” a report read, as quoted by Express.
“Kate had had enough, and words were exchanged. Kate told William that he was making her look bad, one of her friends explained. She has coped for years with girls flinging themselves at her boyfriend, and for a while, she found it humorous and even flattering.”
At the same time, others argue that neither William nor Kate Middleton was in complete control of their split. According to royal expert Christopher Anderson, author of William and Kate: A Royal Love Story, William’s stepmother, now-Queen Camilla, played a significant role.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Anderson explained that Camilla may have been a driving factor behind the breakup.
“I was in London when the breakup [of William and Kate] occurred. I was shocked, completely stunned, everyone thought it was only a matter of time before William was going to ask Kate to marry him. And then people started telling me that Camilla was behind it,” Anderson said in 2016.
Speculation about what happened between William and Kate in 2007 still rears its head occasionally. Last year, former royal correspondent for Hello! Magazine, Judy Wade disclosed a new theory.
“She might have realized the awful burden she would have taken on”
According to Wade, Kate started to realize how big of a lifestyle change it would entail to become a senior Royal Family member.
“She might have realized the awful burden she would have taken on. It’s a life sentence marrying a royal,” Wade said.
William was stationed with the Household Cavalry in Dorset while Kate was living in London. As a result, they often spent time apart. William and Kate opened up about their 2007 split in their engagement interview.
“We did split up for a bit,” William admitted during the interview. “But that was just, we were both very young, it was at university, we were both finding ourselves and such, and being different characters and such.”
“I think I, at the time, wasn’t very happy about it, but actually, it made me a stronger person,” Kate added.
“You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realized. Or I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you’re younger. I really valued that time for me as well although I didn’t think it at the time, looking back on it.”
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When Prince William and Kate Middleton began dating, another significant event occurred within the royal family. In 2005, King Charles tied the knot with his lifelong love, Camilla.
While the now-queen had a tough time being accepted by the public – and Queen Elizabeth – as the years went by, she became increasingly popular. Today, there is no doubt that royal fans adore her.
Queen Camilla praised for her work as King Charles undergoes cancer treatment
At the moment, as King Charles is receiving treatment after receiving his cancer diagnosis, the queen has stepped up and taken on many of his royal duties.
While Queen Camilla is known not to love life in the spotlight, she has put all her energy towards serving The Crown. For example, she doesn’t like giving speeches, but as King Charles isn’t there at the moment, she does it.
Appearing on GB News, royal expert and author Angela Levin states that Camilla has left her comfort zone.
“She has gone to as many engagements as possible that King Charles would have done, which is a huge load, but she’ll do it with grace,” Levin said.” She would do her absolute best to stand by him.”
About Camilla’s disliking of speaking in public, Levin said, “She’s learned all that and I think it’s a marvelous thing that she’s done,” adding that Camilla truly is King Charles’ “rock” through this difficult time.
“She’s absolutely there when she’s needed,” Levin concluded.
Angela Levin isn’t the only one praising Camilla for her efforts and how she has handled the situation.
On the popular royal podcast Royally Obsessed, co-hosts Roberta Fiorito and Rachel Bowie praised the queen.
“I feel like on the heels of Camilla taking on solo engagements daily last week…to see Camilla step up, keep calm and carry on, and knowing what she’s also managing with her own kind of reactions and mental health over what’s going on with her husband, it’s the whole difference between duty and family,” Roberta Fiorito said, as reported by Express.
Kate Middleton & Queen Camilla’s bond
“You have to continue what you have to do for the crown, but you also have to process your emotions over Charles’s cancer diagnosis.”
Meanwhile, Rachel Bowie added that Camilla has put on a brave face and that it must be hard to “bite her tongue about the real issues that were going on.”
As Kate Middleton entered the royal family, Camilla did her best to grow a relationship between the two. She had done the same with Prince William and Harry; however, it could have gone better with the Duke. Harry’s feud with the royals means he doesn’t have many friends left within the family, including his brother and Kate, which also includes Camilla.
Right before the 2011 wedding between the now Prince and Princess of Wales, Daily Mail reported that Camilla invited Kate, her sister Pippa, and her daughter, Laura Lopes, to a lunch. There, the queen is said to have given Kate some advice for what was to come, as a person dining next to them overheard Queen Camilla saying, “If I can give you one bit of advice.”
“They were all getting on very well and they clearly hadn’t asked for an out-of-the-way table and nor did they attempt to lower their voices,” the person told the Daily Mail.
“There was one moment which was clearly meant to be amusing when Kate said, ‘What happens if William doesn’t turn up?'”
The person at the dinner added that there were several “hand-holding” occasions, a sign that Kate and Camilla were getting along very well.
Queen Camilla gave Kate Middleton a ‘warning’ before wedding to William
Moreover, for the wedding present, Camilla is said to have given Kate Middleton a very personal gift: a bracelet with the engraved letters Cs on either side of the charm. It’s not a wild guess that they stand for “Catherine” and “Camilla.”
As per Yahoo, Kate has worn it for several years when appearing at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla became good friends at the time of her and Prince William’s 2011 wedding. The princess had to learn everything about the royal family, and getting married to a future king meant her life would change even more.
Therefore, when the two had dated for a while and discussed possibly getting married, Camilla decided to try to advise Kate on what was to come.
In his royal biography, Battle of Brothers, author Robert Lacey stated that Kate struggled to take advice from her stepmother-in-law.
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Camilla wanted to ensure that Kate knew what she had to do to make her marriage with William work. It was a subtle warning to Kate and a guide regarding how she’d make a successful royal career with her future husband, William.
“Camilla had confided to Kate the secret of hanging on to a busy prince: fit your timetable – well, basically your whole life – around his,” Lacey wrote in Battle of Brothers.
However, it appeared that Kate wasn’t interested in Camilla’s advice at the time, Lacey argued. After graduation from St Andrews, William began his royal duties while Kate was ‘left on the sidelines.’
Inside Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla’s strong bond today
According to the royal author, that meant that Kate had to carry out a new plan.
“While Kate’s medium-to-long-term objective was quite simple – to lead William in handcuffs to the altar – for the time being, she had to devise her own independent career path as camouflage. This was a matter of both personal and public tactics. In neither respect would it help Ms Middleton to appear the slightest bit needy – and of course, there was the ultimate unthinkable possibility that she might end up getting dumped!” Lacey wrote.
While there has been plenty of drama within the royal family in later years, Kate and Camilla have withstood the challenges. In November last year, BBC’s former royal correspondent Jennie Bond spoke to OK! Magazine about the queen and princess’ unique relationship, saying that it has grown very “strong.”
At the same time, however, Bond stated that the bond could have been different if Queen Camilla had been King Charles’ first wife and not second.
“The two women looked at ease with one another; united in the solemnity of it all,” Bond said about Camilla and Kate’s appearance next to each other for the National Service of Remembrance, held at the Cenotaph. “Camilla is the only mother-in-law Kate will ever have, but it can never be quite the same when it’s a second marriage.”
Jennie Bond added that Queen Camilla’s role as stepmother-in-law could influence things in the future. However, their bond is powerful.
“Unique relationship”
“I think Camilla will always feel one step removed from being a real mother-in-law to Kate – but they do appear to have a strong relationship, and, quite frankly, what’s not to like about one another?” the royal expert told OK! Magazine.
“I’m sure Kate must have been watching Camilla’s metamorphosis from commoner to queen with particular interest and I think it must be reassuring for them both. What a unique relationship it must be there is literally no-one else for Catherine to turn to who has direct experience of the role that will one day be hers.”
The fact that the Queen and Kate Middleton have a strong bond today is comforting for the Princess of Wales. After Meghan Markle left the royal family – and Queen Elizabeth passed away – there aren’t many senior working royals left.
Not long ago, royal expert Jennie Bond also spoke about the fact that Kate doesn’t have many people in the royal family she can “confide” in, and since that, royal life can get lonely.
“Being in the Royal Family is a lonely place, and Kate’s got very few people now, especially after the Queen’s death, who she can go to and confide in,” she told GB News. “Think back to when Diana and Fergie were always giggling and would help each other let off steam… Kate hasn’t got that.”
Kate and Queen Camilla are forming that specific relationship with each other, just like Jennie Bond claimed Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, had. If not, the two seem to have fun when appearing on royal duty together – and if Kate’s recovery is going according to plan, we will see more of them together soon!
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