Bullied at school, pursued by paparazzi, and persistent rumors of cheating. Contrary
to popular belief, Kate Middleton's royal life hasn't always been easy.
Death of a friend
Sadly, Kate Middleton has suffered through losing more than one person close to her in her life.
Not long before the royals said goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II, Kate was grieving the
death of Christine Hill. Per Birmingham Live, Hill was an antenatal expert and friend who
supported the royal when she fell pregnant with her first child, Prince George. Though
Kate didn't speak out directly about the death, Hill's family told the Daily Mail in June 2022,
"She will be achingly missed. Her feisty, amusing, straightforward demeanor won her many friends."
The Princess of Wales' first pregnancy wasn't easy, and she was vocal about
experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum — an extreme form of morning sickness.
It's likely that Hill helped Kate manage the condition. During an
appearance on the "Happy Mum, Happy Baby" podcast in February 2020, Kate revealed,
"I'm not the happiest of pregnant people [...] I saw the power of [...] meditation
and the deep breathing and things like that, that they teach you in hypnobirthing,
when I was really sick, and actually I realized that this was something I could take control of,
I suppose, during labor. It was hugely powerful."
"I hope we'll be able to have a happy family ourselves."
Death of the queen
Kate Middleton was said to be devastated by the death of Queen Elizabeth II,
and she wasn't afraid to hide her grief. It was reported that Kate had the unenviable
task of telling her children, Prince Louis , Princess Charlotte, and Prince George about
the death of their great-grandmother. At the time, a source told Closer,
"Kate used her words carefully and said that Elizabeth is in heaven with Prince
Philip. There were lots of tears and hugs and naturally the children are upset."
During a walkabout at the Sandringham Estate on September 15,
Kate revealed that she was overwhelmed by all of the tokens that had been left
for the queen. Royal fan Fran Morgan told Birmingham Live,
"She said she couldn't believe how many cards and flowers there were. But she also said:
'I can't read them all or I would cry.'"
Difficult school days
Kate Middleton attended the all-girl boarding school Downe House,
though her school days apparently weren't all that happy. In 2010,
one of Kate's apparent school friends, Jessica Hay, told British newspaper News of the World,
"She hated it, absolutely hated it. Some of the girls there were horrible.
She was picked on [...] She was not the type to stick up for herself."
As a result, Kate's parents reportedly decided to move her to Marlborough
College. One of her friends, Gemma Williamson, told the Daily Mail in 2018,
"She had very little confidence. [...] Apparently,
she had been bullied very badly and she certainly looked thin and pale."
Pursued by paparazzi
Before she wed Prince William in 2011, Kate Middleton was simply a commoner, meaning she
had no right to any state-funded security until she became his fiancé. As a result, the future
princess found herself harassed by the paparazzi. Royal expert Tina Brown touched on the harassment
in her book "The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor — The Truth and the Turmoil," writing,
"Kate was relentlessly pursued in London. She was hounded when she left her Chelsea
apartment in ways reminiscent of the harassment of the young Lady Di."
Brown also revealed that photographers would often
shout offensive things at Kate in an attempt to get a reaction out of her.
Cheating rumors
In recent years, Kate's husband, Prince William, has faced persistent, yet seemingly unfounded,
cheating rumors. According to Cosmopolitan, William is alleged to have had an affair with
family friend Rose Hanbury. In a since-deleted story published by The Sun in March 2019,
it was also alleged that Kate had fallen out with Hanbury following the rumors,
which have regularly reignited on social media. However,
the Daily Mail's royal reporter Richard Kay hit back, writing,
"None of the reports have been able to offer any evidence about what
the so-called dispute is about, they have chosen to ignore it."
The royal family has never confirmed nor denied the affair allegations. However, dealing with
seemingly constant rumors about her husband must be challenging for the Princess of Wales.