Insiders Have Something To Say About Kate Middleton Amid Royal Family Drama

The royal family has been through a lot in the past few years. From Queen Elizabeth's declining health, to fallouts between the royals and Prince Harry, to Prince Andrew's legal trouble, the collective reputation and public perception has taken hit. In an attempt to set the royal family up for future success, royal insiders say that Kate Middleton might be the one to carry the monarchy into its next chapter. 

This week alone, the royal family took a major hit when Andrew was stripped of his HRH and military titles by Elizabeth herself. Add that to the coming tell-all book from Harry detailing the many shortcomings of his family and reports of the queen's ongoing health struggles; that adds up to one heck of a reputation crisis. 

Speaking with The Post, Patrick Jephson, the former chief of staff for Kate's mother-in-law Princess Diana, explained that the future queen is carrying the family's reputation on her shoulders amidst ongoing scandals. "As the Prince Andrew scandal shows, the monarchy is in desperate need of reassuringly conventional royal performers," he said, per The News. "Catherine is just what these troubled royal times need — it's no exaggeration that the Windsors' future lies in her hands." 

It would appear that the royal family is positioning Kate to be the face of the family with a series of strategic public relations moves. Most recently, three photos posted in celebration of her birthday have subtle nods to her coming status change. 

The photos of Kate Middleton on the occasion of her 40th birthday showed her wearing Princess Diana's iconic sapphire engagement ring as well as her Collingwood Pearl earrings, per Page Six. "It's a very calculated decision by Kate and William to keep including Diana in anything that is about setting out a new royal chapter," Bethan Holt, fashion director of the UK Daily Telegraph, explained to The Post. "It's very clever of Kate to keep her memory alive." Middleton has worn the same earrings many time throughout the years. 

Kate, therefore, is well positioned to become a popular face of the monarchy with her consistently high ratings by the public; and a popular figure is something the family needs now more than ever. Kate's father-in-law and his wife don't have the same level of popularity to bring to Windsor Castle. "Charles and Camilla don't seem to have the global pull and there seems to be this absolute campaign to make William and Kate the family's global stars," said Holt, who is also the author of "The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style." "There seems to be a whole royal family operation to elevate the Cambridges."

If the weight of the royal family's reputation is resting on her shoulders, Kate will have to rise to the occasion and continue the kind of outreach that has made her so popular.