What The Royal Family Has Reportedly Said About Prince William And Kate Middleton's Relationship

When you're a member of the royal family, people, and the press will comment on your relationships — that just comes with the territory. What's far worse, however, is when members of your family weigh in with their two cents and those opinions make their way to the tabloids or a best-selling royal biography. 

William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales know this dance all too well, and over the years, various members of the royal family have commented on their relationship, with most of them having only good things to say. However, other reports have also made it to tabloid pages, ones that speak of some hurtful criticism the couple has had to endure from some close family members. Of course, whether or not these rumors are true remains speculation, but where there's smoke ...

Then, of course, there were whispers that Kate Middleton meeting William at the University of St. Andrews wasn't by mere chance, but that it was an orchestrated meeting masterminded by her mother, Carole Middleton. She reportedly played a big part in Kate and William's eventual romance, encouraging Kate to switch from the University of Edinburgh to St. Andrew's after William enrolled at the prestigious university. "Kate was very strategic," Robert Lacey wrote in his book "Battle of Brothers," explaining that her studies and accommodation were sorted at Edinburgh before switching to St. Andrew's and enrolling in the same course as William (via Harper's Bazaar). It all worked out in the end, but that hasn't kept the commentary on their relationship at bay.

Princess Catherine and Prince William make an excellent team — just ask Peter Phillips. And he should know, he's Princess Anne's son, after all, with inside intel on what goes on behind the palace walls.

With everyone hungry for news about Kate Middleton ever since she announced her cancer diagnosis, Phillips gave the world a rare glimpse into what's currently transpiring behind the palace walls as Kate undergoes preventative chemotherapy. During an interview with Sky News, Phillips said that Kate and William are the ultimate power couple. "Her and William make a fantastic team together," he said. "Their kids are great, and they have the balance of public life and trying to be parents to three young children, which is always difficult."

Phillips explained that William and Kate are very focused on their kids and being present in their lives during their formative years. "You want to be there for your children when they are of a certain age, you want to be able to go and drop them off at school, and pick them up from school, and go and watch matches, and be part of their school lives," Phillips explained, adding that William and Kate, as far as he can see, has "pretty much got that bang on." Given both their busy schedules, that's quite the compliment!

While some might have been skeptical of Prince William's decision to marry someone with no royal heritage or connections, Queen Elizabeth II wasn't one of the naysayers. In fact, the monarch fostered a special relationship with Princess Catherine, something royal author Andrew Morton claims was a result of the mistakes she made with King Charles III and Princess Diana's relationship. She was determined to support William and Kate Middleton no matter what, and that's exactly what she did.

According to Morton, the queen was very taken with Kate from the start, "The thing about Kate is the Queen was impressed she adored and loved William for himself, not for his title," Morton told OK! While many members of the royal family reportedly thought things would fizzle out between Kate and William once they both graduated, Morton hinted that Queen Elizabeth was hopeful their relationship would be a lasting one. 

When the two finally got married, Morton said the monarch could hardly contain her joy. "The Queen was positively playful on the day of her grandson's nuptials, 'practically skipping' according to one observer, absolutely thrilled at the way the public had reacted to the royal newlyweds," Morton wrote in his book, "The Queen" (via Vanity Fair). "She had a sense that the future of the Royal Family, her family, was now secure. The monarchy was once again held in admiration and affection by the masses."

It's no secret that Prince William took his sweet time proposing to Princess Catherine, and when he finally got down on one knee, no one was more thrilled than King Charles III. He was notoriously silent on the subject of his oldest son's relationship and never commented on it publicly — that is until the couple finally got engaged and reporters asked for his thoughts. "I'm obviously thrilled, thank you very much. They've been practicing for long enough ... it makes me feel very old," Charles jokingly responded (via Newsweek). 

Charles isn't the only one who's poked fun at Kate Middleton and William's long dating relationship. The British press was relentless when it came to speculating about when William would propose, questioning his intentions and loyalty while calling Kate "Waity Katie." During their engagement interview with ITV News, William said that he and Kate had talked about getting engaged "for a long time," before he finally got down on one knee.

Charles has remained mum about the couple's relationship over the years, only responding to questions about William and Kate on occasion. In September 2022, right after Queen Elizabeth II's death, Charles praised his son and daughter-in-law for their teamwork and leadership. "With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the center ground where vital help can be given," he said (via USA Today).

Long before Meghan Markle became a member of the royal family, she had some thoughts on Princess Catherine and Prince William's relationship, most notably their wedding. She shared these musings on her blog, "The Tig," back in the day. Kate Middleton and William's wedding was a global affair, and Meghan touched on how most women seem reluctant to let go of the dream of becoming a princess one day. "Grown women seem to retain that childhood fantasy," she wrote (via Newsweek). "Just look at the pomp and circumstance surrounding the royal wedding and endless conversation about Princess Kate." The post didn't exactly age well, given that Meghan, too, ended up realizing her childhood dream of becoming a royal.

Aside from commenting on Kate and William's nuptials, Meghan also touched on how formally the couple behaved behind closed doors. In her and Prince Harry's Netflix docuseries, "Harry & Meghan," Meghan said that she was shocked by William and Kate's formality when she met them for the first time after inviting them for dinner. "I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. I was a hugger, I've always been a hugger. I didn't realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits," she said (via Mirror). "I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through to the inside."

Meghan Markle wasn't the only one who had some thoughts on Prince William and Princess Catherine's relationship. Rumors have been swirling for some time that Camilla, Queen Consort, wasn't exactly a fan of the couple. Every long-time pundit remembers when William and Kate Middleton briefly broke up before they got engaged, and according to royal author Christopher Andersen, Camilla was the one behind the temporary split. 

Andersen made this bold claim in his book "Game of Crowns," saying that Camilla didn't think Kate was worthy of the royal family, given her middle-class background. "I was in London when the breakup [of William and Kate] occurred. I was shocked, completely stunned, everyone thought it was only a matter of time before William was going to ask Kate to marry him. And then people started telling me that Camilla was behind it," Andersen told The Daily Beast.

"Camilla is a bit of a snob," Andersen said, explaining that she pushed King Charles III to tell William that he had to decide whether to marry Kate or not, and even though the talking-to led the prince to break up with Kate, the two got back together shortly after. According to Andersen, however, Camilla still isn't the couple's biggest fan and has provided the press with a steady stream of gossip about William and Kate ever since. One should, of course, take the claims of Andersen's unnamed sources with a giant grain of salt.

Princess Anne might be a total boss, but even she doesn't want to put up with the pressures of social media. In the documentary "Anne: The Princess Royal at 70," she spoke candidly of her dislike for social media and the effect she thinks it's having on younger members of the family, especially Prince William and Princess Catherine. "The pressure that is applied to the younger members of the family, it's always worse. That's what the media is interested in. That's hard sometimes to deal with. But there was no social media in my day, and it's probably made it more difficult," she said (via Mirror).

And indeed, Anne isn't wrong. Kate Middleton was placed under intense media scrutiny from the moment she and William's relationship became public, and with the rise of social media, it's only gotten worse. One only has to take a look at the chaos that ensued when Kate took some time off from her royal duties to undergo abdominal surgery in January 2024. When she didn't make a swift reappearance X (formerly Twitter) had a meltdown that led to so many conspiracy theories and rumors (which included William allegedly cheating on her) that Kate eventually made an address to let the public know she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy just to get everyone to calm down.

Prince Harry is arguably Princess Catherine and Prince William's biggest fan (or at least, he used to be). When the couple got engaged, Harry was openly excited. "My brother's very lucky, and she's very lucky to have my brother," he told eager reporters after news of the engagement broke (via Express). "I think the two of them are a perfect match." He also said that he was "delighted" that William had finally asked Kate Middleton to marry him after years of dating. "It means I get a sister, which I've always wanted," Harry said. 

He did, however, joke that it would have been nice to get a younger sister instead of an older one. Harry added that he was excited to take Catherine under his wing now that she would be officially joining the royal family before quipping that she'll probably be the one who takes him under her wing, not the other way around. "She's a fantastic girl. She really is," Harry said.

In his tell-all memoir, "Spare," Harry commented extensively on William and Kate's relationship, and he mostly had good things to say. "She was a good match for my older brother," Harry wrote (via Business Insider). "They made each other visibly happy, and therefore I was happy too."

Despite loving the idea of Princess Catherine and Prince William being together and living happily ever after, Prince Harry has admitted that he felt threatened by their relationship when things got serious. He was afraid that he would lose his brother once the future king got married to Kate Middleton, and touched on this in his memoir, "Spare." "I was pleased that she'd forever be standing by Willy's side," Harry wrote. "But in my gut I couldn't help feeling that this was yet another farewell under this horrid roof."

In the book, Harry recalls how he felt like he was saying goodbye to William forever after his nuptials at Westminster Abbey. "He'd never again be first and foremost Willy. We'd never again ride together across the Lesotho countryside with capes blowing behind us. We'd never again share a horsey-smelling cottage while learning to fly. Who shall separate us? Life, that's who," Harry lamented.

The prince also touched on how he felt like an outsider once William and Katee were married and started a family. The couple was living at Kensington Palace and Harry moved into Nottingham Cottage, which was practically right next door. He was excited to be close to his brother and Kate and expected to see more of them. Alas, they only seemed to drift apart more. "I assumed they'd have me over any minute now. Any day. But day after day it didn't happen," Harry wrote.