Prince Harry, Meghan Markle forced Kate Middleton to ‘counteract’ unsettling revelations

The Duchess of Cambridge, who celebrates her 40th birthday today, has become an important member of the Royal Family over the last decade. Particularly over the past 12 months, Kate has received considerable praise for stepping up to the plate by undertaking additional responsibilities and tackling some high-profile projects and campaigns.

Cele Otnes, a co-author of Royal Fever, claims the Duchess is a crucial and “admired” member of the monarchy.

She added this is “primarily due to her ability to relate to a younger demographic and one that puts the business of raising her family and remaining healthily connected to her family of origin (her parents and siblings).”

Ms. Otnes, who is an expert on the branding of the Royal Family, particularly praised Kate’s commitment to the monarchy, before describing her as a “steadying force”.

She also claimed that the future Queen consort has a trait that other members of the Firm including Princess Diana and Meghan Markle lacked.

Cele told Express.co.uk: “She understands that her duty is to support William, the Queen, and the firm as a whole.

“Consider how drama-free her narrative and her persona have been, compared to Diana, Sarah Ferguson, and Meghan.”

Ms. Otnes went on to note that the Duchess gives off a “quiet and appropriate” glamour.

She said: “Kate projects a quiet and appropriate glamour. She has no interest in being a celebrity.

“She does not try and manipulate the media. These contribute her to being a steadying force in the monarchy.”

Fergie has seen her fair share of scandals following her marriage to Prince Andrew in 1986.

Namely, their subsequent divorce ten years later, but also the Duchess of York was also photographed with her toes in the mouth of another man while still married to Andrew.

The compromising photos were published in the Mirror in 1992 and were taken at her holiday villa in St Tropez.

While Meghan Markle, 40, and her husband Prince Harry, 37, rocked the Royal Family to its core when announcing their step away from duties in 2020.

The couple gave up their roles as working royals and moved to the US to pursue a “financially independent” life.

Following their US move, the couple took part in a bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey where they made a series of seismic claims about their time as senior royals.

Buckingham Palace responded to the claims by saying “recollections may vary”, but that the matters would be discussed privately as a family.

While Princess Diana caused huge controversy in her interview with Martin Bashir when she spoke of there being “three of us” in her marriage to Charles.

Within the interview, which was watched by more than 20 million people, the Princess of Wales also admitted having an affair and said Prince Charles’s affair with Camilla (now his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall) had made her feel worthless.

In contrast, since the Duchess of Cambridge joined the Royal Family in 2011, she has rarely been involved in scandals – apart from an instance ten years ago when topless photos of her were released in the French tabloid newspaper Closer.

According to royal reporter Camilla Tominey, “William ‘hit the roof’ when paparazzi photographs emerged of his wife sunbathing topless during a private holiday in the south of France in 2012, but Kate largely shrugged it off… the Duchess remained relatively unruffled by the image.”

In addition, the Duchess is regularly a hit with royal watchers, and royal author Katie Nicholl claims she has become more well-liked during the pandemic.

She told 60 Minutes Australia: “I think that the public got to see more of the true duchess than they’ve ever been able to see before.”

According to YouGov, Kate is liked by 60 percent of the population, and 43 percent of respondents to a poll from April 2021 also think she “definitely will” make a good Queen Consort when her husband William, 39, ascends the throne.

While a third said she “probably will”.

Just last month, the Duchess impressed royal fans by debuting her musical talent after treating watchers to a piano performance at her festive Christmas carol concert which was aired on ITV.

Georgie K wrote: “Is there anything Kate Middleton can’t do?”, while Aideen Cooney described her performance as “absolutely gorgeous”.

Another royal fan, @Reashelby1, wrote: “The Duchess of Cambridge has always reminded me of Mary Poppins because she is practically perfect in every way. What an exemplary woman.”