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The entire world watched on April 29, 2011, when Prince William and Catherine Middleton wed in a beautiful ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London. The heavily publicized wedding prompted all kinds of celebrations, including street parties across England, William and Kate merchandise and plenty of speculation about how the royal couple would navigate their roles as the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The couple is particularly prominent in the royal family given that William is the next in line to the throne after his father, King Charles III, who ascended on Sept. 8, 2022, following his mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. At the time of their marriage, the couple had been together for eight years after they started dating when they were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where the two completed their undergraduate degrees.

A lot has happened since those days, including the couple’s official engagement announcement on Nov. 16, 2010, followed by their 2011 wedding. Since then, the Prince and Princess of Wales have been busy building a family, which includes the future king, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.

Before Queen Elizabeth II passed away, she made a note to tell royal officials that Kate had grown to be a part of the family over the last decade. After Queen Elizabeth II’s tragic passing in September 2022 at her home in Balmoral Castle, many events were held in her honor. Following that, royal fans speculated that Kate has taken a toll from her grief over the late queen. However, other royal fans have stepped up to defend her.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince George (2022), (Bryn Colton/Getty Images)

While mourning Queen Elizabeth II, the world took the time to reflect on Kate and the late queen’s relationship. While it may have started off less than perfect, over the last decade of Kate being in the royal family, their relationship blossomed into something special.

According to Express, Joe Little, editor of Majesty Magazine, shared, “It’s speculation and conjecture, but you would think the Queen very much regarded Kate as a safe pair of hands, she’s been a member of the Royal Family for 10 years now.”

However, he also added that the relationship between Kate and Queen Elizabeth II was not always that way. “But she was very much on the scene for quite a few years prior to that because, as well documented, Kate and William were living together, which in itself was quite revolutionary,” he said, and added, “I think given all that’s gone on in the Royal Family over the past few years; the supposed fall outs, the Duke of York and the death of the Duke of Edingburgh, the Queen had great trust in Kate.”

Little also shared that not all royal family members, especially women in the family, had been seen as helpful to the queen. “(It was) only a few years ago, she gave her the Royal Family Order – it’s something that’s only given to the female members of the Royal Family who have been around for quite some time and are deemed to be of great support to the Queen. So not every female member of the Royal Family has got it, but Kate has,” he added.

“I would say the Queen had great trust in the Prince and Princess of Wales, and in the future, King William V and Queen Catherine,” Little remarked.

 

Princess Diana, King Charles III, Catherine Middleton, Prince William (1981/2010), (Tim Graham Photo Library/Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The editor acknowledged that when Princess Diana married King Charles III, she entered royal duties too quickly without structure. “In the past, certainly when Diana came on the scene, she threw herself and was thrown into royal duties almost immediately with mixed success, there was no real template, things went well and sometimes things went really badly,” Little revealed.

Little shared that Kate watched from afar before stepping up and into her role as the “Children’s Princess.” “Kate was very gradual, she appeared very occasionally, for the first few years, she was really William’s wife rather than a working member of the Royal Family,” he said.

“She was then selective in the duties she took on and the charities she was associated with, and we now see her performing to a very high standard with the charities that mean so much to her,” he went on to share.

The late queen believed that the Prince and Princess of Wales were looked at as leaders by Queen Elizabeth II. “It seems safe to assume the Queen regarded this couple as the future of the British monarchy in the 21st century,” Little remarked.

Being part of the royal family for over a decade, the Princess of Wales has found a healthy and helpful spot within the royal family. “Kate has found her own niche within the Royal Family, she focused on things that mean a great deal to her and she feels she can give something to the charities, rather than just cover lots of charities but not in a great way,” he added.

Prince George, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte (2018), (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

It was also undeniable that Kate would be consistently compared with Princess Diana. But royal correspondent for Vanity Fair, Katie Nicholl, believes the Princess of Wales isn’t trying to emulate her late mother-in-law. “I think one of the great strengths of Kate, and one of her real successes, is that she hasn’t followed in Diana’s footsteps,” she shared, according to Express.

“I think she was so aware of the comparison right from the outset, but despite the weight of that engagement ring on her finger, and the significance that that holds and the comparisons it inevitably draws, she is actually a very different woman,” Nicholl added.

With Kate being named the “Children’s Princess” and Princess Diana being named the “People’s Princess” Nicholl revealed that Kate has tried to forge her own path and identity. “Her success has been in carving her own identity in the royal family as the Duchess of Cambridge and making that role herself,” she said before Kate’s title was changed to Princess of Wales. “I don’t think she seeks to emulate Diana,” she added.

However, the royal correspondent does believe that Kate pays tribute to Princess Diana subtly. “After the birth of George when she wore that blue and white dress, after Louis’s birth she was in the red, that was very Diana, Diana had worn the same sort of red dress,” Nicholl said. “Really, it’s a respectful nod and an acknowledgment of the continuation of history,” she added.

More importantly, Nicholl shared that the biggest nod to Princess Diana is how the Princess of Wales wants to raise her children. “We see it in how she’s sort of trying to raise the children in an ordinary way, which is what Diana very much wanted for Harry and William,” she shared.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Cambridge (2018), (Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Unsurprisingly, the media has also taken it upon themselves to compare Kate to her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍, Meghan Markle. Even before Meghan’s marriage to Prince Harry, she became one of the most popular female royals at the time, beating out Kate along the way. According to an Express poll released at the time, Meghan was the second most relatable royal member, trailing behind Harry at No. 1. Meanwhile, Kate was only at No. 5, with many people believing that she became less relatable and felt like she was “molded into someone else” after her wedding to Prince William.

On Sept. 10, 2022, two days after the queen’s passing, Prince William, Kate, Meghan and Prince Harry reunited outside of Windsor Castle to greet members of the public and join them in mourning the queen. Social media was soon flooded with gossip about the differences in behavior each royal exhibited, particularly how each treated their wife.

The Times reported it was, in fact, William’s idea to bring his wife, Harry and Meghan together to greet the public outside Windsor Castle. During the foursome’s appearance, Harry was largely praised for his attentiveness toward Meghan.

As the four stepped out of the gates, Harry and Meghan held hands, while Kate walked fast and appeared to be putting distance between herself and William. Lastly, as the four made their move to leave in the same car, much of the public was besotted by Harry’s sweet gesture. Holding Meghan’s back in a reassuring way, he guided her to the car door and opened it for her, waiting until she got in before moving to the other side of the car to enter the vehicle. William, meanwhile, got in the driver’s seat while Kate opened her own door on the passenger side to get in.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍, Meghan, Duchess of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍 (2022), (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Social media was abuzz with criticism of William and Kate while praising Harry.

“A picture speaks a thousand words! Such distance between her and her husband. Such a big gap! Did #Kate walk before her husband #PrinceWilliam? Awkward!” @sandra4jarvis tweeted.

“#PrinceHarry always protecting his precious better half #MeghanMarkle ❤️ A prince through and through,” @Mu_Ri_Elle wrote.

“Harry is truly a prince charming – he’s such a gentleman assisting his wife first,” another admirer tweeted.

“Gotta love Harry and his chivalry,” another tweet read.

“You can see who has inherited King Charles trait and who has inherited Diana Princess of Wales trait,” wrote another Twitter user.

Others, however, came to Kate and William’s defense.

“Harry and Meg are still in the honeymoon phase of their marriage of 4 years, and he will be extremely protective of Meg while in the UK, now for William and Kate they have been married much longer and Kate is quite independent in her own right!” one Twitter user wrote.

“William & Catherine are secure in their relationship. The heir to the throne doesn’t need to be running around opening doors,” another tweet read.

“I’m a big fan of chivalry, but in this case it’s called protocol. Wills and Kate get in and out of cars all day, every day, multiple times a day, on their way to their many charity events. One goes to one door, the other goes to the other. It’s not a statement,” another user tweeted.

During the meet-and-greet, photos of Kate began making the rounds on social media and in the press, saying she was looking less than perfect, with the stresses of palace life and the queen’s passing having taken a toll on her.

Catherine, Princess of Wales (2022), (Ian Vogler-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

A media outlet, Hollywood Life, posted a picture of the Princess of Wales during the gathering in front of Windsor Castle to its Instagram page, sparking quite the conversation over Kate’s looks.

The picture has less than 7,000 impressions but had many comments that had royal fans up in arms over it. One very unhappy fan commented on the picture and said, “Wow, Kate and Camilla are starting to look identical.”

Another Instagram user wrote:

“She appears to have aged much and constantly appears unhappy to me. I don’t know why I feel sorry for her.”

One more person said:

“She appears to be in her sixties. What exactly is going on?”

Another social media user couldn’t help but comment on the Instagram picture to say:

“She’s aged so much.”

Despite the hurtful comments about Kate’s looks, many royal fans came to her defense to shut the haters down.

“So many people saying she looks old … she’s a public figure at an immensely stressful time and probably not getting a lot of sleep. Maybe it’s showing on her face. If you don’t look like this when family die maybe you don’t know what it’s like,” one defender wrote.

Another commented: “First darlings, the lighting is horrible. Second, she is not old. Third, for her age she looks fabulous. Four, she has had 0 plastic surgery. Have fun aging it’s not for the weak.”

“She has a lot on her shoulders with duty and motherhood. Then the queen’s death. She’s tired, and I’m sure royal life isn’t for the faint of heart. Look at Meghan, she bailed,” another fan remarked.

Despite the comment war over her looks, the Princess of Wales is known for a lot more than just being a pretty face in the public eye.