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Kate Middleton’s “anchors” aren’t Prince William or their three children, Prince George, 10, Prince Louis, 5, and Princess Charlotte, 8. According to a royal expert, the “real anchors” in the Princess of Wales’s life are her parents and siblings. Ahead, how the Middletons are “absolutely fundamental” to Kate’s life, especially amid her cancer diagnosis. 

Carole, Michael, Pippa, and James are Kate’s ‘real anchors’ 

Kate is leaning on her mom and dad — Carole Middleton, 69, and Michael Middleton, 74 — and sister and brother after being diagnosed with cancer, according to Katie Nicholl, a royal expert and author. 

Kate revealed her diagnosis on March 22, 2024, in a rare video statement, saying the news came as a “huge shock.” 

“She has a really tight group of friends and, particularly in Norfolk, really close friends there,” Nicholl told ET of the English countryside town where the Wales family has a home. “But I think the real anchors in her life are her parents,” she added, “and her brother James … and her sister Pippa.” 

Kate is the oldest of the Middleton children, followed by her 40-year-old sister, Pippa Middleton-Matthews, and 36-year-old brother, James Middleton.  

“While you certainly don’t see them photographed together very often, they are very much there in the background,” Nicholl went on. “They are absolutely fundamental.” 

Kate’s parents are behind her ‘grounded’ family life

Kate, Nicholl continued, “comes from a really solid, grounded family.” It’s all primarily thanks to the household built by Carole and Michael. 

“Everything her parents did as she was growing up was about raising that family, keeping them anchored, showing them love,” the author of The New Royals explained. “And that’s why Kate is the person that she is, and she’s always so close.” 

Kate memorably blew her parents a kiss while sitting in the Royal Box at Wimbledon in 2022. Carole and Michael, along with Pippa and James, have also attended major royal family events in recent years. There was Platinum Jubilee Weekend in 2022 and the coronation in 2023. They’re also known to support Kate at her Christmas carol concert. 

According to Nicholl, when Kate married William in 2011, the now-42-year-old made him promise time with family would continue. 

Carole and Michael Middleton are likely feeling ‘very relieved’ and ‘reassured’ about Kate’s cancer diagnosis

Kate’s parents are likely feeling a mix of emotions as their oldest child undergoes cancer treatment. “I think they’re going to feel very relieved that this was found in its early stages,” Nicholl said of Carole and Michael. “And reassured by the fact that the chemotherapy is preventative chemotherapy.”

“Catherine is going to have the very best doctors in the world looking after her. So she’s in safe hands,” Nicholl added. “Carole and Michael, they’ve always been an incredibly strong couple and also very down to earth.” 

“What they’ll be doing right now is they’ll be coming together and supporting her. And not just William and Kate, [but] their grandchildren, too.”

Indeed that seems to be what the Middleton family’s doing. Carole’s reportedly holding the Wales family together. She’s said to have helped out so much she’s become something of a “Mary Poppins-like figure.”

Meanwhile, William and Kate are “hunker[ing] down” at Anmer Hall with George, Charlotte, and Louis while they’re on a break from school. (The family of five didn’t attend the annual walk to church on Easter Sunday.)

“They won’t be photographed, they won’t be seen,” Nicholl said. “They know that where they are, they’re very well protected by the locals. And they can really enjoy a proper family holiday.” 

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