26 July 2023 , 11:03
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The Princess of Wales has her "eye on the long game" and is steely and determined despite appearing "slightly bland", a royal expert has claimed.
It is coming up to a year since Kate was given her new royal title and role following the sad death of the late Queen - and in the past 12 months has been a key player in King Charles' monarchy.
She is now a future Queen in waiting now-husband Prince William is heir to the throne and is said to "think carefully" about her role in bringing long-term stability to the Royal Family in the years ahead.
Kate has been Princess of Wales for almost a year now (Getty Images)And according to royal expert Valentine Low, the author behind the book Courtiers, the determined side of Kate is something rarely seen in public but is displayed behind palace walls.
He told Page Six: "Interestingly, behind the scenes, she's a lot more steely, a lot tougher than we give her credit.
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"She's this nice-looking woman, dresses nicely, smiles nicely, adopts sort of fairly uncontroversial charities. You know, they think she's slightly bland."
Kate is said to be steely and determined behind the scenes (AFP via Getty Images)In an updated version of Courtiers, Mr Low writes that Kate played a key role in what became Buckingham Palace's famous response to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell chat with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
In the explosive interview, the Sussexes claimed there were "concerns" over the colour of their son Archie's skin - but in the days after the tell-all was broadcast, Buckingham Palace issued a statement with the phrase "recollections may vary".
According to Courtiers, it was a member of William's team who came up with the phrase - but it was Kate who insisted it be kept in the statement when issued to the public.
Mr Low writes: "There were some people in other [royal] households, who felt it would antagonize Harry and Meghan and would go down badly and just keep the whole unpleasantness going. But it was Kate who really strongly made the argument,” he adds so that Harry and Meghan's version of events wouldn’t be accepted as truth.
He explained that Kate "thinks very carefully about the long-term security and strength and stability of the royal family as an institution." He added: "She's good. She has a good eye on the big picture, the long game."