The beloved loss of a dog, the death of a close friend, and a life ridden with mockery from all
sides – Kate Middleton’s life hasn’t been all roses and crowns, it’s been tainted with tragedy.
It's hard to believe that someone as beloved as Catherine, Princess of Wales,
would have been bullied as a kid. Seeing how poised and confident she is as an adult, it's easy
to imagine that she was popular from her early years. But she had quite a difficult adolescence.
As one friend, Jessica Hay, told Celeb Now, Catherine was treated badly at Downe House,
a school she attended for two years beginning at age 13, adding:
"It didn't help that she was so tall and self-conscious about her eczema."
Royal biographer Katie Nicholl revealed in "Kate: The Future Queen" that Catherine quote,
"stood out for the wrong reasons" and was often teased for being slender,
lanky, and a head taller than her peers.
The situation was so bad that Catherine ended up transferring to Marlborough College,
where the evidence of the bullying was evident to
her peers. As Catherine’s friend, Gemma Williamson described it:
"Catherine arrived suddenly during the middle of the year. Apparently she had
been bullied very badly at her previous school
and she certainly looked very thin and pale. She had very little confidence."
Another classmate told the outlet that while Catherine would eventually gain popularity,
when she first arrived it wasn’t easy. Boys at her new school publicly rated her
appearance by holding up scores out of ten, with all of them rating her as a one or two.
In an ideal world, people would be able to fall in love and make the decision to get married
without unsolicited commentary. Privacy is a rare thing for royals, though, and Catherine,
Princess of Wales, was harshly thrust into the spotlight when she began dating Prince William.
"I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you’re younger."
The two started off as friends, even sharing a house with other schoolmates while at university.
They started dating in 2003, although the romance wasn't public until the following year.
A few years of dating before marriage is not out of the ordinary, especially when the couple in
question met in their teens. Nevertheless, many seemed impatient for the couple to tie
the knot. Catherine and William weren't in a rush to get married, though, even breaking up in 2007.
Unfortunately for the young woman, the ups and downs of their relationship were
widely covered by the press. Catherine was cruelly dubbed "Waity Katie" by the press as
their courtship continued. The jeering nickname stuck with her until William proposed in 2010.
In yet another horrible intrusion into Princess Catherine's privacy,
photos of her were taken and published without her consent in 2012. While she was no doubt
used to being trailed by the paparazzi by this point, these photos took things even further.
They were taken while she was sunbathing topless while on vacation with Prince WIlliam.
The two were visiting a private home when the pictures were taken and subsequently published
in a French tabloid. The pair issued a statement following the publication of the photos, saying:
"Their Royal Highnesses have been hugely saddened to learn that a French publication and
a photographer have invaded their privacy in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner."
The statement went on to mention the prince's late mother,
who tragically died as the result of a car crash while fleeing the paparazzi, adding:
"The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the
life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so."
The couple sued the magazine, which was ordered to pay €100,000 to the couple,
plus another €90,000 each from two staffers involved in the incident, per Vogue.
While Catherine, Princess of Wales, is a memorable royal in her own right,
she has drawn many comparisons to the former Princess of Wales, Diana. Perhaps it was
inevitable that Prince William's wife would have to live up to his late mother's legacy.
She was the people's princess, after all,
and it was assumed she would one day be queen. It's no wonder, then,
that so many eyes landed on Catherine when she became involved with the heir to the throne.
It's a difficult legacy to live up to. While Catherine hasn't complained,
the public has scrutinized the connection. The Daily Mail asked back in 2006:
"Kate Middleton: trapped in Diana's shadow?"
In 2011, ahead of her wedding to Prince William, ABC posed the question:
"Can Kate ever emerge from Diana's shadow?"
While the comparisons will likely continue for the rest of Catherine's life — particularly
since she became the Princess of Wales following her father-in-law's ascension
to the throne — Catherine has held up admirably under the pressure. As Katie Nicholl told 9Honey:
"I don't think she seeks to emulate Diana. I think she was so aware of the comparison
right from the outset, but despite the weight … she is actually a very
different woman. Her success has been in carving her own identity
in the Royal Family as the Duchess of Cambridge and making that role herself."
"Eight minutes they were on their feet,
cheering you. Tomorrow, the newspapers will be about nothing other than you!"
The fairytale romance of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales,
has captivated people across the globe, but it has
also opened up a sometimes unhealthy fascination with their personal lives.
Speculation about the state of their relationship has followed them since
they were dating but it became especially meddlesome when claims surfaced that
William was cheating on Catherine with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
The allegations would have been troubling enough,
but adding insult to injury was the fact that Hanbury is a friend of Catherine's. In 2019,
an anonymous source told In Touch that Catherine confronted William about the rumors.
He reportedly denied them, but Catherine
allegedly told him to stay away from the Cholmondeleys. According to the source:
"Kate sees their friendship in an entirely different light now. They
come across as a perfect couple who can do no wrong. But the reality is,
most couples have their issues and William and Kate are no different."
The couple didn't publicly comment on the rumors, but they were reportedly a source
of stress for Catherine. According to a family friend who told Us Weekly:
"[Kate] hates the thought that one day her children
will be able to read about [the rumors] online."
Still, there was a silver lining. According to the source, the entire situation helped
the couple to recognize where their relationship needed more attention.
Ultimately, it allowed her and William to reevaluate and examine their relationship.
While the loss of a pet may not seem like much of a tragedy to some, those who have deep bonds
with their pets know just how heartbreaking it can be. According to Scientific American,
the pain of pet loss is often misunderstood, but the grief is very real and very painful.
In 2020, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Prince William lost their dog,
Lupo. They opened up about their cocker spaniel's death in an Instagram post, writing:
"He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years and we will miss him so much."
Vanity Fair noted that Catherine's parents gave the cocker spaniel to
the couple on their first Christmas as husband and wife. The loss of such an
important member of the family left a void that was difficult to fill.
Fortunately, Catherine was not left without a canine companion. She introduced another cocker
spaniel puppy shortly before Lupo's death. According to a source telling the Daily Mail:
"It was hoped that a younger dog would give Lupo
some company and give him a little more life and energy."
Catherine, Princess of Wales, suffered a personal loss in July 2022 when her friend, Christine HIll,
died. Hill, an antenatal expert, had been a great help to Catherine while she was pregnant
with Prince George. As a spokesperson for HIll's family told the Daily Mail:
"She will be achingly missed. Her feisty, amusing, straightforward demeanor won her many friends."
Hill played a pivotal role in Catherine and William's life,
helping them prepare for parenthood. Catherine reportedly attended lessons conducted by Hill,
who coached her on all things motherhood. Hill had nothing but kind things to say about the
couple ahead of George's birth. Speaking to The Telegraph, Hill said of Catherine:
"She is a delightful girl. What you see is what you get."
She also expressed her confidence in William's ability to help Catherine navigate childbirth,
calling the couple a quote, "very strong team."
"Buckingham Palace has announced the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II."
The death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 devastated royal watchers everywhere, but
the loss was felt most keenly by members of the royal family. Catherine, Princess of Wales, had
grown quite close with her grandmother-in-law over the years. As a source told Us Weekly in 2019:
"Kate and the queen have always had a special bond, but they developed a
deeper friendship after she and [Prince] William moved from Anmer Hall, Norfolk,
to Kensington Palace, which is within walking distance of Buckingham Palace."
Appearing in public after the queen's death, Catherine's emotions over the
loss of the queen were evident, but according to The Sunday Times, her son,
Prince Louis, offered some adorable words of advice to console his mother, saying:
"At least Grannie is with Great Grandpa [Prince Philip] now."