Was Carole Middleton really the mastermind behind Kate and William’s relationship?

There’s a meme that’s been circulating online for years. «Oh, your daughter married a doctor? How nice”/”Oh, your daughter married a doctor? How beautiful” and in the background the (slyly) smiling face of Carole Middleton. Daughter of him, as is known, she married the future king of England. Sixty-seven years old, born into a working-class family, with ancestors who were miners from Durhamex; she was first a stewardess for British Airways, then the wife of a pilot (Michael) and finally became a millionaire thanks to the creation of a company (*Party Pieces) who sells items for children’s birthday parties, the ambitious Carole has always been considered the main architect of the royal wedding between her eldest daughter Kate Middleton and Prince William. It has always been said, in fact, that as a far-sighted mother she had enrolled her eldest daughter at St. Andrews University, where her Majesty’s nephew also studied, with a very specific purpose: to get a husband, and not just any one.

And now that Kate Middleton is the beloved Princess of Wales, the title dearest to Diana Spencer, she is also getting involved The Crown to bring out the story of his family’s ambitions, and of his mother first and foremost. The season finale of the most beloved Netflix series goes down hard on the Middletons. They are the ones who come out worse, even than Harry, now “self-exiled” on the other side of the ocean. In the episodes of the sixth season, Alma Mater And Hope Streetthe creator of The Crown, Peter Morgan, focuses on Kate’s mother, Carole, who has set her sights on William as the perfect future husband for her eldest daughter. Mother Carole, played by Eve Best, pushes her eldest daughter towards the crown in every way, even when she has another boyfriend. Random, Carole is the one who pronounces these sentences: «Never think that there is something in the world that you are not good enough for», «You know (obviously referring to the prince, ed) that you’re back on the market? Find a way to let him know,” and again: “You want to show those legs.”

At one point her plan even seems to go against her. Kate, played by Meg Bellamy, tells her: “I was ready to go to Edinburgh University straight after school with all my friends. Then you suggested I change and go to St. Andrews after a gap year. With none of my friends. It wasn’t a coincidence…. Was it a coincidence that you encouraged me to apply to art school in Florence, where William was supposed to go? And then also to the expedition to Chile. Where he also went. Once you got the idea in your head, it was impossible to stop.” Mother Carole replies laconically: “I thought you were going to thank me.”

After all, Carole Middleton’s deus ex machina version has always been around. Royals expert Tina Brown had also written in The Palace Papers: “It is unlikely that Kate would be where she is today without her mother’s skillful help in negotiating a royal romance.” However, it is an understatement to suggest that Kate only had a passive role. Also in The Crown, the future queen appears aware during her university years. If mother Carole pulls the strings, she knows very well which direction to go.