Why Kate Middleton Is Being Called the Royal Family’s Greatest Asset

0:00 A calarogus Shark Media. Now, Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host, Mark Francis. Often on Saturday we'll do a roundup of the various kate Is wonderful articles out there. Vanity Fair. Royal correspondent Katie Nickel told Fox News Digital, I think Catherine, the Princess of Wales has always been a very valuable asset to the royal family. She is the commoner who married into the royal family. She has made a seamless transition into that unique world of royalty. It's not easy. There's a huge amount of sacrifice that goes into being a member of the royal family.

0:42 Catherine's had to give up a huge amount, and yet she does it all with a great deal of grace and dignity, always with a smile. So she is absolutely the monarchy's greatest asset. The King adores her, and the Queen a towards her. British broadcaster Helene the Child adds King Charles sees enormous value in Princess Catherine, not just as the wife of his heir, but as the cornerstone of the monarchy itself. He genuinely loves his darling daughter in law, as face lights up when he is with her. They share similar interests, and they ever shared similar cancer journey, one that has created a deep bond and understanding that goes beyond duty. The late Queen saw it too. She recognized Catherine's superpowers early on, her ability to listen, find solutions, and bring calm to difficult situations. King Charles fundamentally views his time on the throne as stewardship. He sees himself as the caretaker of the institution and is acutely conscious of preparing the next generation. Collaborative preparation between the king and his heir is essential. Having Princess Catherine is the wife of his heir, Charles has struck gold. Author Catherine Mayer summed up the pressure on the Waleses by saying, Princess Anne and other senior working roles are all stretched thin, and none of them are young. William and Katherine carry the whole thing. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams agree, saying, naturally, King Charles recognized the value of Kate, who is indeed the monarchy's greatest asset. We should add, together with her partnership with William and their family. While we praise Catherine's many strengths, William is the future King, she will one

2:13 day be Queen Consort. They see themselves as a close knit couple. Queen Elizabeth reportedly saw an important difference between Kate and Princess Diana. Kate had years to understand what she was getting into before marrying the future King. Tina Brown wrote in her book The Palace Papers for the Queen, the wedding day brought a special satisfaction this new twenty nine year old granddaughter in law. The future Queen Consort, was unlike the child bride Diana, road tested in resilience as well as royal life. Diana was just twenty when she married Prince Charles in nineteen eighty one. Catherine was twenty nine when she married William and has already spent nearly a decade navigating a relationship with one of the world's most famous men that included years of intense press attention.

2:59 Catherine and William the first photographed together on a skiing trip in two thousand and five, and she subsequently endured years of photographers following her and headlines questioning whether William would finally propose, she was even saddled with the nickname Weity Katie. By the time she walked into Westminster Abbey. Catherine had therefore experienced something resembling a prolonged audition for royal life. Royal biographers have also suggested that Catherine's willingness to follow royal traditions helped her relationship with Queen Elizabeth. Robert Lacey recounts one particularly interesting example in Battle of Brothers. According to Lacey, the Queen invited Catherine to join the royal family at Sandringham for Christmas in two thousand and six, even though she and William were not yet engaged. Kate reportedly turned down the invitation. Lacey wrote it was the first time the Queen had extended such an invitation to an unregistered girlfriend. But Kate had her own take on that break with tradition. She would go to Sandringham on Christmas Day only when she was engaged and had a ring to prove it. The strong will know from Kate showed she was willing to abide by tradition and wait until the time was right. Catherine's approach to royal life has inevitably been compared with Diana's, but royal biographer Katie Nicholas argued that the similarities can be overstated. Nichol wrote, they were both royal brides, but Kate and Diana, for all the comparisons, were two very different women. Royal commentator Richard fitz Williams has made a similar argument. He said she is not likely to emulate Diana, who reached out to others brilliantly but was also brittle and deeply unhappy.

4:30 They are too different to be compared. Fitz Williams added, Catherine's legacy will be one of total loyalty to her husband and the institution of monarchy, and those comparisons with Diana apparently weighed heavily on Katherine herself. Royal biographer Robertjobson has written that Katherine was initially uncomfortable with the idea of eventually becoming Princess of Wales because the title remained so closely associated with Diana. Jobson wrote, she knew she'd inevitably be compared with Diana, whose untimely death had provoked such a sun army of anger and grief, and she was right. He said that comparisons became so uncomfortable that Catherine considered following Camilla's example and not using the Princess of Wales's title. Jobson wrote, Kate found all such talks stressful. Indeed, he got to the point where she felt she might follow Camilla, who opted to become Duchess of Cornwall, in refusing when the time came to be known as HRH Princess of Wales. Catherine ultimately did become Princess of Wales following Queen Elizabeth's death in twenty twenty two. According to Jobson, she accepted the title out of respect for her husband and the King more Palace in just a moment. Kate has long been regarded as one of the royal family's most influential fashion figures. The royal author Catherine Mayer says there is more happening with those carefully chosen outfits than simply looking stylish. Mayor, author of Divide and Rule, Royal Women and their Battles, told Marie Clair that Catherine's wardrobe has evolved considerably during her years in royal life. Mea said,

6:01 I write in the book about how Kate's fashion choices change from styles that immediately situated her in a time and a place to a more timeless set of looks, but Mayer argues that timeless isn't quite the right description. She said, these are, not, of course, really timeless. Instead, Catherine frequently draws inspiration from earlier periods of royal fashion. Mayer explained the silhouettes of the dresses tend to resemble day dresses from the thirties and forties, for example, but they are fashionable, while also conveying that she is, as Princess of Wales, part of a historical continuum. Her genius is image making. That idea extends beyond fashion. Miases similarities between Catherine's public approach and the strategy used for decades by Queen Elizabeth. She said there is some truth to the idea that Kate follows a model quite close to Elizabeth's in term of letting images do the talking rather than expressing herself more verbally and freely. That melds more easily with an institution that is meant to stay out of party politics and unite the populations it represents, rather than being divisive. But it doesn't mean that the other models are automatically wrong. The Princess of Wales apparently has a fairly varied drink's menu, ranging from a very green morning smoothie to guinness, gin and tonics, and the occasional spicy margarita. According to the Male Onlon, Katherine has been known to start her day with a smoothie containing kale, spirillina, mucha Spanish romaine, lettuce, silanta and blueberries. Water unsurprisingly also features heavily. Katherine has regularly been photographed carrying water during

7:32 sporting events and activities, including Wimbledon and rowing. She has even chosen water for formal royal toasts during a visit to Singapore, and twenty twelve, Catherine raised a glass of water rather than alcohol. In the past, she has been photographed drinking Guinness during royal engagements connected with the Irish Guards and visits to Ireland. Gin and Tonic was also reportedly a favorite, with William said to occasionally make one for Catherine when they're relaxing, get home and then there is tequila. Catherine has sampled tequila during royal engagements, and she was reportedly seen enjoying spicy margaritas while attending the Houghton Hall Music Festival in Norfolk in twenty twenty three. One cocktail also has a connection to William and Catherine's younger years. The couple were reportedly fans of a drink known as the crack Baby, made with vodka, champagne and passion fruit juice. The cocktail was even served during their wedding celebrations in twenty eleven. And there you have it.

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