The Princess of Wales is undoubtedly the most talked-about woman in the world, particularly this month, with the mother of three returning to public duty after stepping back from her role in early 2024.
Princess Kate confirmed her cancer diagnosis earlier this year, taking a break from public life to prioritise her recovery, completing her chemotherapy treatment this month.
While speaking about her long path to recovery, she made a point to credit husband Prince William, calling him a "great source of comfort and reassurance", and according to royal sources, her greatest protector.
"He's the one that protects the family - fiercely," former royal butler Paul Burrell told The Sun earlier this year, over her highly anticipated return to work. "There's no way he's going to subject Kate to intrusion that she can't handle. He's so fiercely protective."
This reportedly extends to the entire Middleton family, with Prince William doing everything he could to support and protect his in-laws from the negative side of royal life over the years.
James Middleton opened up about the experience in his new memoir, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, reflecting upon the public interest and pressure that came with their association with the royal family.
"William was a fantastic support for us as a family," the 37-year-old recalled. "He did everything he could to protect us from the intense interest, not just in Catherine, but also her immediate family."
"I think very much there is a feeling in the Palace that they want to learn from the mistakes of the past and didn’t want a royal bride who felt isolated and lonely and cut off from her family and miserable," royal commentator Katie Nicholl has previously explained in the ITV documentary, Kate: The Making of a Modern Queen. "Because that has happened before and they didn’t want a repeat of Diana."
She continued: "So I definitely think courtiers were determined that Kate should marry into the family feeling as comfortable as possible. And I just don’t think William was going to take any chances ‒ I mean, he adores the Middletons. He has a very close relationship with Michael and with Carole, so he also did not want them to be sidelined as soon as Kate married into the family."
Well, this is lovely.
Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life by James Middleton is out now.
