A new royal biography reveals details about the reportedly tense early relationship between Queen Camilla and Catherine, Princess of Wales. The book claims that Camilla once thought Kate Middleton was “too common” to marry a future king.
These claims come from royal author Christopher Andersen in his new book Kate!, which looks at Kate’s journey from a middle-class background to becoming the wife of William, Prince of Wales, and future queen consort.
“In the beginning, Camilla was one of Kate’s fiercest critics,” Andersen told Fox News Digital. “She did not think she was up to snuff, as it were. She was below the salt. She had no aristocratic blood.”
Andersen says Camilla saw royal marriage as a matter of tradition and status. “Camilla always saw herself as the mistress of a king, not a queen,” he said. “She was very cognizant of the fact that a future king of England should have, she believed, a marriage to a royal personage, or at least a British aristocrat.”
Kate, on the other hand, had a different upbringing. She grew up near Berkshire, England, as the daughter of a former airline pilot and a flight attendant who later started a successful business. She met Prince William at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and after several years of dating, they married in 2011.
Andersen said Camilla had trouble accepting Kate’s “working-class roots,” especially when compared to her own aristocratic family. He wrote that Camilla had “long lobbied on behalf of the highborn beauties with hyphenated names” who surrounded William during his younger years.
The author also said the British press made things harder for Kate during her long relationship with William.
“People forget the ‘Waity Katie’ 10-year period,” Andersen said. “The palace didn’t really want her. People like Camilla didn’t want her because they felt that she was too common to be the wife of a future king.”
Andersen says that even Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton, was criticized by royal insiders and tabloids, who called her overly ambitious. Camilla reportedly saw her with suspicion and worried she was “a schemer.”
One of the more surprising claims in the book is about Kate’s name. Andersen said Camilla once suggested that Kate change the spelling of her formal name from “Catherine” to “Katherine” so it would not clash with the royal monograms used by King Charles and Camilla. William was reportedly very upset about the idea.
“The request was nothing less than ‘insulting,’” Andersen wrote, saying the prince quickly rejected the suggestion.
Still, Andersen said Camilla’s feelings changed over time as Kate became one of the most admired members of the royal family.
“She somehow, as the Brits like to say, never put a foot wrong,” Andersen explained. “Today, as a result, she’s pretty much universally admired.”
The author also said that both women became closer after their cancer battles in 2024, when both Kate and Charles III were diagnosed with cancer.
“Camilla recognizes that Kate is really the one who can make Charles laugh,” Andersen said. “They’re very, very close. And Camilla is grateful for all that Kate has done to lift her husband’s spirits.”
Even so, Andersen believes there is still competition behind palace walls.
“That is really what makes the whole show,” he said. “Their staffs are constantly feeding information to the press, constantly trying to grab the spotlight for their particular royal.”