Prince William is widely understood to share a particularly warm relationship with his in-laws, enjoying a close bond with both of Kate Middleton’s parents.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson has now offered a deeper insight into the future King’s relationship with his mother-in-law, Carole Middleton, 71. Their connection reportedly grew even stronger as Carole supported William during Kate’s cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Speaking to Hello! magazine, the journalist said Carole would sometimes take her son-in-law to the pub, where the pair could sit together and talk. For William, it offered a welcome escape during what he later described as an exceptionally “brutal” period.
“[Carole] was there to support William and was there all the time for the grandchildren. She’s been as solid as a rock,” Robert said.
“When everything was falling apart and he needed someone to talk to, she was the one. She took him out to the pub and they would sit and talk. She’s been a good sounding-board, a wise head.”
Although the easy rapport between William and Carole has long been noted, their genuine affection became especially visible when they attended Royal Ascot together in 2024.
During the event, Carole’s heel became caught in the grass. William immediately stepped in to help his “second mum” regain her balance, after which they continued chatting and laughing with fellow guests.
The spontaneous exchange, captured in a series of photographs, offered a touching glimpse of the close relationship Prince William has built with the Middleton family, particularly its matriarch.
Carole Middleton holds hands with Prince William, Prince of Wales, as they attend day two of Royal Ascot 2024
The appearance marked Carole’s first public outing after news of her daughter Kate’s cancer diagnosis. She attended Royal Ascot alongside her husband, Michael Middleton.
William is believed to have embraced the Middleton family soon after beginning his relationship with Kate in the early 2000s. Today, Carole is considered an important part of the close-knit family life shared by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Carole is even known to prepare some of William’s favourite treats, including cheese on toast, while keeping a supply of the sea-salt chocolates he enjoys.
In her 2022 book The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor – the Truth and the Turmoil, royal commentator Tina Brown wrote that William had effectively “adopted” the Middleton family after only a year of dating Kate.
One acquaintance told Brown: “Not only did he fall for her but them. A warm nest with a complete nuclear family and seemingly wonderfully uncomplicated.
“The dad played the dad, the mum the county’s tiger mum, but he also saw the daughters and James getting along – and wanting to get along – with their parents. What a contrast.”
Despite having access to royal residences across the country, William reportedly preferred spending weekends at the Middleton home, enjoying “tennis, TV and Carole’s creature comforts at the Middleton manse”, according to Brown.
His affection for the family was also apparent in 2011, when he chose to spend Christmas at the Middletons’ home in Bucklebury, West Berkshire, instead of celebrating with the wider Royal Family.
Carole Middleton, Princes William, Louis, George, and the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte, Michael Middleton and James Middleton after Kate completed the Three Peaks Challenge
William became such a familiar visitor at the Middleton family home that he moved his quad bike there from Highgrove.
He also joined the family on holidays, including trips to Mustique, the Caribbean island that was once a favourite destination of Princess Margaret.
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And his closeness to Carole was evidenced by the fact that she joined Kate when she made her first official public appearance at William’s passing-out parade at Sandhurst in December 2006.
After Kate’s cancer diagnosis, it was the continued support of Carole and Michael that allowed William to continue undertaking some royal duties.
In April 2024, William was spotted at a Norfolk pub with his mother-in-law. It was another sign of how close they are.
During the Easter school holidays that year, Carole stayed with the Wales’, according to the Mail’s Richard Eden.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, previously said: ‘Carole and Michael are just as much family to William as they are to Catherine.
‘He loves Carole being around to help as she has been with the children from the beginning and it is easy and reassuring having her invaluable help. Both with the children and keeping Catherine’s spirits up. She is a strong woman!’
Carole Middleton grabs hold of son-in-law Prince William’s hand as she gets her heel stuck in the grass at Royal Ascot in 2024
Carole and Michael have also formed a very tight bond with their grandchildren.
They were the first members of the family to visit Prince George when he was born in 2013 and have been a constant presence in his life ever since.
A month after the young royal’s birth, Michael volunteered to take the first picture of his new grandson so that William and Kate would not have to bring in an external photographer.
In 2014, Carole joined William and Kate on their tour of Australia and New Zealand so she could help look after George alongside the couple’s nanny, Maria Borrallo.
The Middletons’ support has no doubt meant so much to the Prince of Wales that he may ‘rewrite the fabric of the monarchy’ to give Kate’s parents a greater role, royal experts claimed earlier this year.
The Daily Mail’s Sarah Vine said: ‘In the 21st century, royalty is about how you behave. It’s not a given. And if the royal family is anything in this day and age, it’s to set an example.
‘It’s to uphold certain standards… It means that a door is open to other people becoming royal through their behaviour.’
To make Carole and Michael working royals, William would have to ‘completely rewrite the entire fabric of the monarchy’, said Newsweek’s chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston.
‘But the guy does say he wants change. Anything is possible,’ he added on Channel 5’s The Middletons: Should They Be Working Royals?.
One of the most telling clues about the Middletons’ importance in Kate and William’s family life came from their daughter’s emotional video message about her cancer journey in 2024.
Kate announced she had completed chemotherapy treatment in a three-minute-long clip that was unprecedented for the Royal Family. Footage showed William and Kate spending quality time in Norfolk with their three children, and Carole and Michael.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis could be seen cuddling their grandparents and playing card games around the dinner table, but no other family members appeared in the clip.
‘It just goes to show the influence that that family has on William, and how much he loves and respects them, that he doesn’t want them to be out of the loop in his family unit,’ said Jo Elvin, former host of Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential, in the documentary.