Queen Camilla Initially Viewed Kate Middleton as Unfit for Future King, Book Claims

Queen Camilla initially doubted Kate Middleton's suitability to marry a future king, according to author Christopher Andersen's new book "Kate!".

Andersen, whose account draws from his reporting and sources, writes that Camilla saw Middleton as lacking aristocratic blood. "In the beginning, Camilla was one of Kate’s fiercest critics," Andersen told Fox News Digital. "She did not think she was up to snuff, as it were. She was below the salt. She had no aristocratic blood."

Andersen claimed Camilla viewed herself as a king's mistress, not a queen, and had helped select Princess Diana as King Charles' bride. Camilla believed a future king of England should marry a royal or at least a British aristocrat. Middleton was neither, though she gained popularity quickly.

Camilla's skepticism arose from concerns over royal tradition and social class. Middleton grew up in a village near Berkshire, England, daughter of a commercial airline pilot and a former flight attendant who built a party supplies business. She studied art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she met Prince William in 2001. The couple had an on-and-off relationship before getting engaged in 2010 and marrying the next year.

Andersen wrote that Camilla objected to Middleton's working-class roots. Camilla is the granddaughter of a baron and a descendant of the Stuart bloodline, which ruled England from 1603 to 1714. Her great-grandmother Alice Keppel was King Edward VII’s mistress, a royal tie Camilla prized. Camilla had long pushed highborn women with hyphenated names for the heir and, with Baroness Tryon, another of Charles’ mistresses, picked Lady Diana Spencer as his bride.

Andersen said Camilla preferred an aristocrat with British blue blood over a descendant of coal miners whose mother grew up in public housing and worked as a flight attendant. Camilla also eyed Middleton's mother Carole warily, seeing her as a schemer. One of Charles' former mistresses told Andersen that Camilla keeps friends close and enemies closer.

Middleton had been with William for 25 years, including a decade of media scrutiny dubbed "Waity Katie." The palace and people like Camilla resisted her as too common for a future king. The British press attacked her family as louts and criticized Carole for chewing gum while quitting smoking.

William, protective of his wife, was offended by Camilla's request to change Middleton's name from Catherine to Katherine for her royal cypher, to avoid overlapping with Charles and Camilla's interlocking Cs. William called it insulting to Kate and her family. The idea was dropped.

Andersen told Fox News Digital that Camilla soon saw Middleton's appeal. "She somehow never put a foot wrong. And today, as a result, she’s pretty much universally admired," he said. Even after their 2011 wedding, sniping continued from Camilla's camp, with criticism that Middleton did not work as hard as other royals because she prioritized family.

After battling cancer in 2024, Middleton cut back on duties for her health and family time. "The aftermath of chemo is quite tough," Andersen said. A St James’ Palace staffer told him Camilla might have felt threatened by William and Kate as a team.

Andersen wrote that Charles and Camilla wanted to star in the royal show, but the public fixated on the young prince and his commoner bride. Royal reporter Richard Kay, a Diana friend, told Andersen that royals cannot stand being upstaged.

Camilla's views softened after Charles' 2024 cancer diagnosis. Charles and Kate, already fond, supported each other through treatment. Middleton announced remission in January 2025. Camilla now appreciates how Kate makes Charles laugh; they are close, and Camilla is grateful.

Still, Andersen said competition persists among royal camps. "That’s how the monarchy functions: this competition," he told Fox News Digital. Camilla and Charles resist being upstaged by William and Kate, just as William and Kate resist Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.