Aug. 15, 2026
Why Kate Middleton Is Being Called the Royal Family’s Greatest Asset
Royal commentators are once again making the case that Catherine, Princess of Wales, has become one of the monarchy’s most valuable figures, with Katie Nicholl calling her “the monarchy’s greatest asset” and Helena Chard saying King Charles believes he has “struck gold.” Plus, why Queen Elizabeth reportedly believed Kate was better prepared for royal life than Princess Diana, the deeper meaning behind Catherine’s carefully constructed royal wardrobe, and the surprisingly varied list of drinks associated with the Princess of Wales — from green smoothies to Guinness, gin and tonics and spicy margaritas.
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Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.
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A calarogus Shark Media. Now, Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue.
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I am your host, Mark Francis. Often on Saturday we'll
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do a roundup of the various kate Is wonderful articles
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out there. Vanity Fair. Royal correspondent Katie Nickel told Fox
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News Digital, I think Catherine, the Princess of Wales has
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always been a very valuable asset to the royal family.
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She is the commoner who married into the royal family.
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She has made a seamless transition into that unique world
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of royalty. It's not easy. There's a huge amount of
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sacrifice that goes into being a member of the royal family.
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Catherine's had to give up a huge amount, and yet
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she does it all with a great deal of grace
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and dignity, always with a smile. So she is absolutely
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the monarchy's greatest asset. The King adores her, and the
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Queen a towards her. British broadcaster Helene the Child adds
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King Charles sees enormous value in Princess Catherine, not just
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as the wife of his heir, but as the cornerstone
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of the monarchy itself. He genuinely loves his darling daughter
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in law, as face lights up when he is with her.
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They share similar interests, and they ever shared similar cancer journey,
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one that has created a deep bond and understanding that
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goes beyond duty. The late Queen saw it too. She
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recognized Catherine's superpowers early on, her ability to listen, find solutions,
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and bring calm to difficult situations. King Charles fundamentally views
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his time on the throne as stewardship. He sees himself
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as the caretaker of the institution and is acutely conscious
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of preparing the next generation. Collaborative preparation between the king
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and his heir is essential. Having Princess Catherine is the
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wife of his heir, Charles has struck gold. Author Catherine
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Mayer summed up the pressure on the Waleses by saying,
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Princess Anne and other senior working roles are all stretched thin,
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and none of them are young. William and Katherine carry
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the whole thing. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams agree, saying, naturally,
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King Charles recognized the value of Kate, who is indeed
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the monarchy's greatest asset. We should add, together with her
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partnership with William and their family. While we praise Catherine's
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many strengths, William is the future King, she will one
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day be Queen Consort. They see themselves as a close
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knit couple. Queen Elizabeth reportedly saw an important difference between
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Kate and Princess Diana. Kate had years to understand what
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she was getting into before marrying the future King. Tina
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Brown wrote in her book The Palace Papers for the Queen,
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the wedding day brought a special satisfaction this new twenty
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nine year old granddaughter in law. The future Queen Consort,
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was unlike the child bride Diana, road tested in resilience
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as well as royal life. Diana was just twenty when
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she married Prince Charles in nineteen eighty one. Catherine was
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twenty nine when she married William and has already spent
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nearly a decade navigating a relationship with one of the
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world's most famous men that included years of intense press attention.
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Catherine and William the first photographed together on a skiing
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trip in two thousand and five, and she subsequently endured
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years of photographers following her and headlines questioning whether William
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would finally propose, she was even saddled with the nickname
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Weity Katie. By the time she walked into Westminster Abbey.
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Catherine had therefore experienced something resembling a prolonged audition for
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royal life. Royal biographers have also suggested that Catherine's willingness
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to follow royal traditions helped her relationship with Queen Elizabeth.
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Robert Lacey recounts one particularly interesting example in Battle of Brothers.
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According to Lacey, the Queen invited Catherine to join the
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royal family at Sandringham for Christmas in two thousand and six,
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even though she and William were not yet engaged. Kate
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reportedly turned down the invitation. Lacey wrote it was the
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first time the Queen had extended such an invitation to
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an unregistered girlfriend. But Kate had her own take on
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that break with tradition. She would go to Sandringham on
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Christmas Day only when she was engaged and had a
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ring to prove it. The strong will know from Kate
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showed she was willing to abide by tradition and wait
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until the time was right. Catherine's approach to royal life
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has inevitably been compared with Diana's, but royal biographer Katie
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Nicholas argued that the similarities can be overstated. Nichol wrote,
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they were both royal brides, but Kate and Diana, for
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all the comparisons, were two very different women. Royal commentator
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Richard fitz Williams has made a similar argument. He said
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she is not likely to emulate Diana, who reached out
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to others brilliantly but was also brittle and deeply unhappy.
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They are too different to be compared. Fitz Williams added,
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Catherine's legacy will be one of total loyalty to her
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husband and the institution of monarchy, and those comparisons with
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Diana apparently weighed heavily on Katherine herself. Royal biographer Robertjobson
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has written that Katherine was initially uncomfortable with the idea
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of eventually becoming Princess of Wales because the title remained
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so closely associated with Diana. Jobson wrote, she knew she'd
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inevitably be compared with Diana, whose untimely death had provoked
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such a sun army of anger and grief, and she
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was right. He said that comparisons became so uncomfortable that
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Catherine considered following Camilla's example and not using the Princess
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of Wales's title. Jobson wrote, Kate found all such talks stressful. Indeed,
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he got to the point where she felt she might
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follow Camilla, who opted to become Duchess of Cornwall, in
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refusing when the time came to be known as HRH
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Princess of Wales. Catherine ultimately did become Princess of Wales
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following Queen Elizabeth's death in twenty twenty two. According to Jobson,
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she accepted the title out of respect for her husband
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and the King more Palace in just a moment. Kate
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has long been regarded as one of the royal family's
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most influential fashion figures. The royal author Catherine Mayer says
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there is more happening with those carefully chosen outfits than
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simply looking stylish. Mayor, author of Divide and Rule, Royal
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Women and their Battles, told Marie Clair that Catherine's wardrobe
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has evolved considerably during her years in royal life. Mea said,
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I write in the book about how Kate's fashion choices
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change from styles that immediately situated her in a time
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and a place to a more timeless set of looks,
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but Mayer argues that timeless isn't quite the right description.
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She said, these are, not, of course, really timeless. Instead,
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Catherine frequently draws inspiration from earlier periods of royal fashion.
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Mayer explained the silhouettes of the dresses tend to resemble
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day dresses from the thirties and forties, for example, but
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they are fashionable, while also conveying that she is, as
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Princess of Wales, part of a historical continuum. Her genius
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is image making. That idea extends beyond fashion. Miases similarities
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between Catherine's public approach and the strategy used for decades
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by Queen Elizabeth. She said there is some truth to
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the idea that Kate follows a model quite close to
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Elizabeth's in term of letting images do the talking rather
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than expressing herself more verbally and freely. That melds more
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easily with an institution that is meant to stay out
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of party politics and unite the populations it represents, rather
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than being divisive. But it doesn't mean that the other
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models are automatically wrong. The Princess of Wales apparently has
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a fairly varied drink's menu, ranging from a very green
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morning smoothie to guinness, gin and tonics, and the occasional
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spicy margarita. According to the Male Onlon, Katherine has been
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known to start her day with a smoothie containing kale, spirillina,
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mucha Spanish romaine, lettuce, silanta and blueberries. Water unsurprisingly also
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features heavily. Katherine has regularly been photographed carrying water during
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sporting events and activities, including Wimbledon and rowing. She has
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even chosen water for formal royal toasts during a visit
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to Singapore, and twenty twelve, Catherine raised a glass of
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water rather than alcohol. In the past, she has been
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photographed drinking Guinness during royal engagements connected with the Irish
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Guards and visits to Ireland. Gin and Tonic was also
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reportedly a favorite, with William said to occasionally make one
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for Catherine when they're relaxing, get home and then there
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is tequila. Catherine has sampled tequila during royal engagements, and
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she was reportedly seen enjoying spicy margaritas while attending the
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Houghton Hall Music Festival in Norfolk in twenty twenty three.
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One cocktail also has a connection to William and Catherine's
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younger years. The couple were reportedly fans of a drink
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known as the crack Baby, made with vodka, champagne and
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passion fruit juice. The cocktail was even served during their
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wedding celebrations in twenty eleven. And there you have it.
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If you'd like to email us addresses the Palace Intrigue
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at gmail and dot com. If you're listening on Spotify,
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leave us a comment. If you're on Apple, hit that
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button up there that says listen uninterrupted and give the
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show for five bucks a month commercial free. We appreciate
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your support. By Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott.
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This is Palace Intrigue and good Times.
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135
00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:56.240
136
00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.639
137
00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:04.399
138
00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:07.279
139
00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:10.160
140
00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:13.800
141
00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:17.120
142
00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:20.360
143
00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:23.720
144
00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:27.439
145
00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:30.120
146
00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:32.480
147
00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:34.519
148
00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:37.080
149
00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.240
150
00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:43.320
151
00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:45.720
