There’s been talk over the last few years that with the growing popularity of Prince William‘s wife, the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton), King Charles III feels that he is being overshadowed by his daughter-in-law.
That is something the king is sensitive to as it happened with Princess Diana after they got married. But now the monarch’s biographer is claiming this is different from the situation with Diana because Charles knows the family’s future depends on how he handles Kate outshining him.
Princess Diana outshined Charles during and after their marriage
Princess Diana became extremely popular after she and Charles tied the knot in 1981. She was young, fashionable, and showed compassion toward others. Charles recognized that and on one trip joked with the crowds that his wife was the person they had come to see.
The late princess really outshined her husband when they traveled to Australia and New Zealand for a six-week tour in 1983.
The Daily Mail noted that multiple outlets covering the trip focused on Diana reporting: “Despite the predictions, Diana, apart from some strain and tiredness, has fared well. She might be made of tougher stuff than many think” and “The Princess seemed more anxious to meet the people than did her husband. She dispensed tidbits concerning Prince William’s health, the weather, and jokingly inquired of an elderly citizen if she had any whiskey in her picnic basket.”
Footage from the tour showed fans holding up pictures of the princess and calling her “beautiful.”
Following their split, Diana remained a favorite and stole headlines from her spouse on a number of occasions. One of those times was when she wore the famous revenge dress the same night Charles admitted to having an affair with Camilla. Instead of the news focusing on his interview, Diana’s dress was all anyone was talking about.
Kate ‘steals the limelight’ with king’s ‘blessing,’ biographer says
Now all these years later, another royal is outshining the king. But as royal author Robert Jobson pointed out, this time he has to let Kate have the limelight because he knows she is crucial to the monarchy’s survival.
In a piece for the Daily Mail Jobson wrote that after Kate made an appearance at the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show, palaces staffers were fearful that she overshadowed Charles’ trip there.
But according to the biographer, “Charles is under no illusions that it is the younger royals that have the star quality and are crucial for the future of our monarchy. We have seen a sign of that at the Chelsea Flower Show, where the Princess of Wales dazzled and, perhaps understandably, drew more attention than his own visit. Catherine and William have the wow factor — as a double act at the Earthshot Prize launches they have pulling power. They make headlines for the right reasons.”
As Jobson put it, anytime Kate steals the limelight “it will be with Charles’ blessing — he knows for [the] monarchy to survive it must be relevant to the younger generation.”