It gets lonely at the top, even for the British royal family’s Kate Middleton. Despite being a hugely popular royal, an author says the Princess of Wales may find herself in a unique position where she’s “influential” yet “lonely.”
Kate’s position in the royal family as the Princess of Wales could be ‘isolating’
Yes, she’s been named the most stylish British royal. And, yes, she ranks high in polling. But despite Kate’s many triumphs, her position in the royal family could be “isolating,” Tessa Dunlop, a royal author and historian, told OK! Magazine (via Express).
“I think, in some ways, Kate feels probably quite lonely,” Dunlop said. “She’s left the category of a lone ranger or rich girl from her home county and has become this sort of stratospherically famous, influential individual. And I think that’s probably quite a lonely position.”
Since marrying Prince William in April 2011, Kate’s gone from Duchess of Cambridge to Princess of Wales. In some ways, Dunlop added, Kate joined the royal family as “an outsider.” Now, she’s proved herself to be an “incredibly successful import into the royal family.”
The author continued. “Which is why she’s lucky she’s got a good relationship with her mother [Carole Middleton]. And a very good one with her sister [Pippa Middleton].”
Kate’s in ‘uncharted’ territory in the royal family having outlived the previous Princess of Wales
Dunlop continued, saying Kate doesn’t necessarily have much to look back on in the royal family’s more modern history of others in the Princess of Wales position, namely Princess Diana.
Now that Kate, 41, has outlived Diana, who died at the age of 36 in 1997, she’s in “uncharted water,” the author said. “She had died before she got to Kate’s age. They [the monarchy] haven’t had a Kate.”
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“Kate is now in uncharted waters in modern history, and I think that’s worth bearing in mind,” Dunlop continued. “The future Queen Consort’s role is an incredibly influential one, and this is all about soft power.”
Kate takes any comparisons between her position in the royal family and Princess Diana’s ‘lightly’
Despite her position in the royal family, Kate’s not one to “make a big point” of paying tribute to Diana or being compared to her late mother-in-law.
Kate “doesn’t make a big point of it,” Rebecca English, a royal commentator, told OK! Magazine. “I don’t think they set out to be compared if those comparisons are made,” she continued. “It’s very flattering. She obviously wears a lot of her [Diana’s] jewelry, so there’s always a tribute to her there in that way, but I think she wears it — she wears it lightly.”
Since becoming the Princess of Wales, Kate has continued to channel Diana through her wardrobe. Designer Amanda Wakely, who used to work with Diana, even called Kate’s 2023 Trooping the Colour outfit a dead ringer for something from Diana’s closet.
“The suit that she wore to Trooping the Colour this summer, honestly, that could have been out of Diana’s wardrobe,” Wakely said on the Palace Confidential podcast (via Daily Mail).
As for Diana’s jewelry, most notably her sapphire and diamond engagement ring, Kate “wears it as hers,” Wakeley said. “It’s not a pastiche of how Diana would’ve worn it. It’s very much she’s owning her look — which is a wonderful look.”
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