Prince William ‘Very Lucky’ to Marry Kate Middleton, Who ‘Gives Him What He’s Always Needed,’ According to Royal Author
Prince William is “very lucky” to call Kate Middleton his wife, according to a royal author. The Princess of Wales’ “very structured upbringing” gave the Prince of Wales “what he’s always needed.” Plus, how they follow a motto from Queen Elizabeth II.
‘Opposites attract’ with Prince William and Kate Middleton
Tom Quinn, the author of Gilded Youth, a book about growing up in the royal family, discussed William and Kate’s relationship with Express. He said the pair are an example of “opposites attract.”
“We know from the book Spare that William is more inclined to emotional outbursts and sudden rages,” he said. “That’s a thing that goes back through the generations of royal males, especially heirs to the throne who tend to have tantrums.”
“It’s interesting that William was drawn to, as you were saying earlier, opposites attract,” Quinn continued. “Everyone I have spoken to said Kate is almost unnaturally calm.”
Kate “represents that solidity that the late queen represented. A kind of never complain, never explain — just very steady all the time.”
“For someone like William, who’s much more emotional and prone to lose it,” the author added, “that’s very attractive because when he loses it, she doesn’t.”
Kate not being from an ‘uneasy’ home fills a need for William
In marrying Kate, William got what he didn’t have as a child, Quinn said. “William was very lucky to get Kate because she’s not from that split, uneasy, emotionally distant background. She’s giving him what he’s always needed.”
“It is their attempt to make up for being children with just nannies looking after them,” Quinn explained, noting William and Prince Harry both married “strong” women.
“Kate has had a very structured upbringing, being very close to both her parents and her siblings,” he continued.
The Princess of Wales grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire, alongside her two siblings, Pippa and James. Meanwhile, parents Carole and Michael founded — and recently sold — a successful party supply company.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to about the family says that that was a key part of it; they just made the children feel good about themselves,” Quinn said. “Especially Kate, who had this solidity that comes from having a good relationship with parents who don’t divorce.”
Whereas William’s was different. King Charles III and Princess Diana had a tumultuous relationship ending in divorce after a nearly four-year separation.
“As we all love Diana, she wasn’t a stable presence for William,” the author said. “I mean, aside from the trauma of her death when he was 15, we’ve got to remember that she was much more cuddly with William and Harry than Charles ever was.”
“But at the same time, she grew up with nannies and governesses so the boys were left very much with staff while she desperately searched for love,” he continued, noting William “didn’t bond with his mother as much as perhaps sometimes we think.”
Kate’s upbringing has helped her and William navigate royal life
Noting how “Kate would never” have “stormed off” like he once witnessed William do at a polo match, Quinn explained that once again, it has roots in the Princess of Wales’ upbringing.
“She comes from a family like that,” the author said. “Kate, whether she is consciously emulating the queen, I don’t think she is, I think she just is a very calm person who learns very quickly.”
“She’s learned how to be a royal brilliantly. But because of her personality and her background, you know, her parents didn’t complain, or if they did, it didn’t make a huge fuss.”
Now, Quinn said, the Prince and Princess of Wales do the same thing. “William and Kate don’t generally complain about the system in the same way they don’t complain about press coverage. They don’t complain about the vast number of aides, that just goes with the territory.”
William and Kate have no “rebel” in them, Quinn said. “But from what I’ve heard Kate’s very good at charming them and getting her way in without sort of going head to head” with “fuddy-duddy courtiers who don’t want things to change.”
April 29, 2023, marked William and Kate’s 12-year wedding anniversary. They’re now parents of three: Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5. Today, the family of five lives at Adelaide Cottage after relocating from Kensington Palace in 2022.
