RICHARD EDEN: The startling truth about Carole Middleton's role in Kate and William's romance - as she confided to me
If anyone doubted the importance of the Princess of Wales to the Monarchy, her absence from public duties last year as she battled multiple health problems made crystal clear how much she was missed.
There is, however, another woman whose value to the Royal Family is rarely remarked upon, yet she is central to its fortunes.
That woman is Carole Middleton.
She’s not royal and has been given no title but, as she celebrates her 70th birthday tomorrow, I want to give a personal insight into her character.
Back in 2008, when Kate, as Catherine was then known, had been going out with Prince William for more than five years, her mother broke her silence to voice her concerns about the impact that public scrutiny was having on her own life.
‘You see, I feel very vulnerable about everything,’ she told me at the Hennessy Gold Cup, at Newbury racecourse, just a few miles from her house in Berkshire.
‘I’m not a celebrity and don’t want to be one. Celebrities have minders and PR people. I don’t want a PR person and wouldn’t want to have to pay to employ one. I haven’t asked for all this.’
Carole Middleton and the Duchess of Cambridge attend day 1 of Royal Ascot in June 2017
As mother of the future Queen of England, Carole Middleton is no stranger to life in the spotlight. Pictured with Kate in April 2011
When Catherine’s romance with William was first disclosed, there were claims that her mother had engineered her relationship by encouraging her to take a ‘gap year’ so her time at St Andrews University would coincide with that of the future king. Catherine also switched to the same history of art course as William, having originally enrolled to study psychology.
These rumours were given new force by royal biographer Tina Brown in her 2022 book, The Palace Papers, and by Netflix’s hit drama The Crown, which depicted Carole as the ‘mastermind’ of Catherine’s romance.
‘It is unlikely Kate would be where she is today without her mother’s canny help in negotiating a royal romance,’ Brown claimed. ‘Carole’s fingerprints are all over Kate’s first move on the royal chessboard.’
However, as Carole’s brother Gary Goldsmith has confirmed, the truth is that William already knew Catherine after they met at various events attended by pupils from their respective boarding schools, Eton College and Marlborough College. It was William who pursued Catherine and not the other way round.
This is why Carole’s comment to me in 2008, ‘I haven’t asked for all this’, rang true then, and still does.
An air stewardess when flying was still chic, Carole set up Party Pieces, a successful mail-order company providing children’s party paraphernalia, with her husband, Michael. ‘I’m concerned about my business; that’s my focus,’ she said at the time. ‘I don’t want the attention to detract from that. I’m also worried for my family: I have three children - not just Catherine.’
Amid worldwide attention on William’s relationship with her daughter, Carole was subjected to criticism for a number of alleged faux pas, such as being captured by television cameras chewing gum during the prince’s passing-out ceremony at Sandhurst military academy in 2006. It was also claimed that she used the word ‘toilet’ and phrases such as ‘pleased to meet you’ and ‘pardon’ when introduced to Queen Elizabeth.
Carole Middleton holds hands with Prince William as they attend day two of Royal Ascot 2024
In fact, she had still not met Her Majesty at that point and the gum was apparently a nicotine substitute that she needed to help her give up smoking.
Despite all the criticism, Carole has been the model of discretion in the 17 years since our chat at the racecourse - and that won’t change.
While Meghan Markle cut all ties with her father and most of her relations after she married into the Royal Family, Catherine has been able to rely on the steadfast support of the Middletons.
Never has that been so crucial as in Catherine’s past traumatic year.
It is no surprise that her parents were included in the video that Kensington Palace released last September after the princess completed her chemotherapy treatment, which did not feature the King and Queen.
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