Why Royal Family Feared Kate Middleton Would Be ‘New Camilla’

She’s one of the most famous faces of the royal family these days and seems to have the love and support of her family as she carries out her royal duties. However, a new claim states that prior to her engagement to Prince William, the royal family feared Kate Middleton would be the equivalent to Camilla Parker-Bowles.

In the book “William and Harry,” royal author Katie Nicholl revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s brief breakup in 2007 had led to some believing the romance was echoing the one that William’s own father, Prince Charles, had with Camilla Parker-Bowles.

According to Express UK, the book states that after Middleton’s ultimatum that Prince William commit to her fully or they would split up backfired and he suggested they take a break from one another, it became difficult not to compare the romance to that of Charles and Camilla, who dated in the 1970s before he went off to join the Navy and before she had married Andrew Parker-Bowles. Because Middleton’s ultimatum came after her boyfriend was photographed flirting with other girls near his military training base, the two relationships cast an eerie shadow on one another.

“It was hard not to draw comparisons between William and his father,” Nicholl wrote. “Had William also met the right woman at the wrong time? Haunted by the spectre of the past, there were real fears at the Palace that Kate would become the next Camilla.”

Though Parker-Bowles had reportedly devastated Prince Charles by marrying another man while he was away, the pair eventually found their way back to one another, and despite their marriages, had an affair. Their dalliance ultimately led to Prince Charles’ divorce from Princess Diana in 1996, and the two did not wed one another until 2005.

However, even if there were fears that Middleton could be part of a similar situation, she had a powerful ally on her side in William’s grandfather, Prince Philip, who reportedly cautioned her that he would eventually come around and propose to her.

Sure enough, the pair quickly reunited again three months after their split. They became engaged in 2010 and were later married in April 2011. Since then, they have welcomed three children together as well—Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.