Back in January, Carole Middleton turned 70 years old and there were about a dozen major articles about her life and times. The British press praised her, but they also left enough room to let everyone know that Carole has manipulated, schemed and defrauded her way into the top echelons of society. One of the most interesting pieces was the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden “remembering” how he spoke to Carole once back in 2008 and he repeated what they discussed at the time. It was a curious admission that Carole had long briefed the press personally. Well, now Eden is remembering another incident, this time from 2007. He and then-Kate Middleton attended the same event and he chatted with her AND overheard her conversation.
Her impressive appearance this week made me think back many years to the first occasion I met Catherine – or Kate Middleton, as she was known by everyone then. It was at the launch party for Simon Sebag Montefiore’s biography Young Stalin in 2007, when Catherine had briefly split from Prince William.
Catherine, then aged 25, attended the event with her sister, Pippa Middleton, and chatted to me in a group with Sebag Montefiore’s sister-in-law, the TV presenter Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, who sadly died a decade later at the age of 45.Tara, the daughter of two of King Charles’s closest friends, Charles and Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, had known Prince William since he was a little boy and was not shy about speaking intimately about him to Catherine at the party at Asprey jewellers in Mayfair.
While I made small-talk to Catherine about Montefiore’s book and how she knew the author, Tara, typically, got straight down to what everyone really wanted to know about: Catherine’s break-up with William. The split had been a big story since it was disclosed a few months earlier.
‘How are you doing?’ Tara asked her.
Catherine replied, ‘Fine’, and started blushing.
‘It must be so hard…’ Tara persisted.
‘Really, it’s fine,’ Catherine replied, firmly, if uncomfortably.
She made clear with her body language that she didn’t wish to discuss the subject, and the conversation moved swiftly on to happier and less fraught matters. At that time, Catherine was seen as a party-loving girlfriend of William, but my first encounter with her taught me that she was a tough cookie who wasn’t going to be inveigled into saying something she didn’t want to say.
Indeed, she reminded me of members of the Royal Family, much older than herself, who have the uncanny ability to make small-talk with anyone (even tiresome social diarists) without giving anything anyway. They usually manage to turn the conversation around and force the questioner do the talking.
Fortunately for the future of the Royal Family, Catherine was reunited with William a couple of months after I met her. Although she has changed in many ways since our fleeting first encounter – becoming, for example, a confident public speaker – there was a hint of that inner steel which has stood her so well in the years since.
Just for some royal history and Waity history, when William dumped Kate in early 2007, she ran straight home to Carole and they worked out a “get him back” plan which ended up being pretty successful. The plan involved Kate stepping out constantly in London, attending every event she could get into, going clubbing with William’s friends and projecting a “I’m not heartbroken” vibe. Kate knew what she was doing by fending off “sympathetic” questions from a close associate of the Windsors – she knew that it would get back to William that she was unbothered and fine, and that she was out and about without a care in the world. Of course, I also believe Kate knew what she was doing by chatting with a Daily Mail reporter.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
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- 21597, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Wednesday April 30 2008. **UK OUT** Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton leaves Boujis nightclub in London’ South Kensington via the back door. She jumped into a taxi with her unidentified friend. Photograph: Focus Pictures, PacificCoastNews.com **FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE*** UK OFFICE: +44 131 225 3333/3322 US OFFICE: 1 310 261 9676,Image: 524043449, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Focus Pictures, PacificCoastNews.com/Avalon/Avalon
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- – Kate Middleton – Cheltenham Gold Cup Festival 2007 Day 4 – 16th March 2007 20185 – Only,Image: 542337412, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries call London + 44 (0)20 7421 6000 , New York + 1 646-329-6242 or Hamburg + 49 (0)40 530 240 5959, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jules Annan / Avalon
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- KATE MIDDLETON, THE GIRLFRIEND OF PRINCE WILLIAM, ATTENDS THE SECOND DAY OF THE GATCOMBE PARK FESTIVAL OF BRITISH EVENTING, HELD AT GATCOMBE PARK NEAR TETBURY IN ENGLAND. 6 AUGUST 2005. PICTURES: /,Image: 542495898, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Anwar Hussein / Avalon
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- – HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton – The Cheltenham Gold Cup Festival 2007 Day one – 13th March 2007 20036 – Non-Exclusive World Rights Only,Image: 554083961, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jules Annan / Avalon
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- Kate Middleton at Boujis Club in Kensington London, England – 14.06.06 Where: London, United Kingdom When: 14 Jun 2006 Credit: R Lawrence/WENN
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- Kate Middleton Kate leaves for work on her birthday. A couple of photographers clearly ‘invaded her space’ somewhat justifying the call for control of photographers. London, England- 09.01.07 Featuring: Kate Middleton Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Jan 2007 Credit: WENN
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- Kate Middleton leaves her house this morning, buys a coffee and heads back home. She looked fantastic in a summer dress and had a smile on her face. It has been alleged that her romance with Prince William is back on again. London, England – 10.08.07 Featuring: Kate Middleton Where: London, United Kingdom When: 10 Aug 2007 Credit: WENN
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- File Photo*** Prince William walks with his girlfriend Kate Middleton after his graduation ceremony at RAF Cranwell RAF Cranwell, England – 11.04.08 , Featuring: ***File Photo*** Where: Cranwell, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom When: 31 Oct 2010 Credit: WENN **Not available for publication in France**
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- Kate Middleton Richard Branson Summer Party at the Kensington Roof Gardens London, England – June 2006 Featuring: Kate Middleton Where: London, United Kingdom When: 01 Jun 2006 Credit: WENN.com
Is he drunk? Or ran out of his medication? So many things in this screed.
First of all, confident public speaker?
Discreet?
The bar has always been so low for this woman.
Yes. She showed proper discretion flashing her bits while nearly passed out drunk in a taxi.
Yes and she did her flashing in that red outfit when she met the Korean delegation a year or two back so she hasn’t changed. She is a right royal bitch!
👋 Maureen
Lazy Katie doesn’t small talk. That’s why she doesn’t like to engage with the hoi polloi. Once she got the ring, all pretence went out the door.
As for discreet, must be why she and Mum sent their attack dogs on Meghan. Remember the flower girls dresses and the most difficult day of her life? Must be tough trying to rehabilitate her and rewrite history.
She was not some shrinking violet, Kate saw off other women, even before she and William actually dated. She altered the outfit assigned to her for the fashion show and wore that see through outfit. Rather cold and calculating.
Wait…. I thought having to do the walkabout with M&H after Lizzie’s funeral was the “worst day” of her life. Girl has a LOT of “worse” days doesn’t she? What a rough life she leads /s
Is Eden fishing for more stories from the Middletons or sending a message to C&C?
Looking at all those pictures of Kate from almost 20 years ago, I cannot spot the scars around her eye socket.
And it’s quite interesting to see her real hair!
I think she was cute. its like looking at the pics of Kim K from 2011 in the other post – like she was cute, why did she do so much to her face?
I dont know where the line is with Kate between work being done and losing a ton of weight, but she looks sooooo different now. She also looks a lot happier in that top photo than we’ve seen her look in a while now.
Kate got some kind of surgery to reduce the lid over her eyes because her eyes are far less hooded now than when she was younger, and aging works the opposite. She got this done some time after the wedding but before Louis was born. I think when there was a rumoured trip to the south of France after Charlotte was born. Weight loss would not open up her eyes like that, especially when she was already very thin in 2011 and her eyes hadn’t changed yet.
It is so affected for the writer to call her “Catherine”. She is still called Kate. Kate is not ‘discreet” she waged a rather embarrassing campaign to win back William. She alerted the press she would appear at a club, then show up in short skirts and with other men. She did this for a few weeks. William settled for her. Kate dressing up like Jecca was rather disturbing. She also dropped out of the boat race when William “took her back.” There was something annoying about her even then. She quit the job at Jigsaw after the “breakup,” it was a “compassionate leave” the average woman does not get and Kate never returned
And I specifically remember reading that Carole had her lose weight during their breakup, leading to the turning point for Willie when she modeled underwear in public. Getting thin enough and exhibitionism wins the prize! Thanks for the life lessons, mom.
The fashion show was while they were still in college, before they got together. But Carole had Kate lose weight and do other things to “get hot” during summer break in high school one year.
@Blu — You’re right, I mixed the incidents. The fashion show was when she moved in W’s mind out of the roommate category. I had only vaguely heard about that more recently.
But I do remember Kate losing weight was part of Carole’s plan to get him back when Kate was distraught after breaking up. That fact is what’s burned into my memory. Anyone with experience with eating disorders knows what it is like to have antennae up for any mention by others of weight and the role it plays.
I think it’s interesting he did mention that he was introduced to her as Kate Middleton and says “as everyone knew her then.” Even he had to mention it because insisting on Catherine through press representatives (never from her own mouth) is so grasping and desperate.
“Really I’m fine”. Thats it? He writes a whole sermon based on that. What was she supposed to say? “Mummy has a plan”? Grasping at straws here. Hope the pay is good.
Oh, but it’s so much more than that. She also said “Fine.”
So eloquent. 😏
This made me LOL. What a treasure she is! Completely unique in not wanting to talk about her break-up with a relative stranger AND Richard Fucking Eden. This must be the root of her famous “safe pair of hands” and foot that never goes wrong. My God, William almost passed on this pantheon of virtue!
*headdesk*
@christine, no one else wanted him. He sure tried, though. Went through all the well born young ladies who gave it a pass.
It’s the fact that he says she’s now a confident public speaker. I mean I can believe she has improved somewhat but it’s still not her biggest strength. It’s just funny how much insecurity there is with her public speaking coming from the Middletons. Bc in Carole’s first ever interview with the the Telegraph, coincidentally the same week that same publication came out with the fake crying story, she made that comment about how being a duchess is about more than just giving speeches. It felt like a clear dig at Meghan. And now here’s a royal reporter touting Kate’s supposed public speaking skills which sure, okaaay. Is he trying to be funny?
Kate did not have that fake posh accent back then. She sounded more normal. But she’s even worse the the fake posh accent and even harder to understand.
Yes that Carole interview was very revealing in terms of the Middletons’ alarm and jealousy over Meghan’s popularity.
I can imagine Kate running to Mummy: “The crowds love her mummy. What do I do?”
Their golden girl could not tolerate having to share the limelight. Well Lazy, you now have it all to yourself. Be careful with what you wish for, karma bites back hard.
It’s always overlooked because COVID hit but Kate did that “mama baby” or whatever podcast in February 2020 and it is an exemplar of passive aggression against Meghan and Harry. She goes on and on about sharing the infants outside the door and how they felt the love of the public so “wanted to share” their babies with them. I’ve always felt it was utterly deliberate and contrived and aggressive.
I barely recall that, that’s how memorable she was/is when she speaks 😂
Poor Katie, being reduced to “I show my newborns to the public!”
What I remember though was her hairdresser posting a photo of all the blow dry equipment (on Insta?) she had to bring to a royal tour and being papped pulling a suitcase as she entered the maternity hospital to make Katie look good before she appeared with the newborn (Charlotte? Louis?). Don’t recall if the hairdresser got fired for that photo but she was quickly shut down and never posted a photo again because of Katie’s preciousness and vanity.
Kate confirmed how nasty she was when she made that comment about sharing her babies after Meghan was attacked for not presenting Archie.
Kate was not all that popular back then. Some on social media wanted William to ditch her. And disappointed when she “won him back.”
Their break up should have been an opportunity for room for growth for them but it stultified their development.
It was also weird Willie brought that up in their engagement interview and Katie had to say it was good for her they had broken up etc etc,
The engagement interview is utterly bizarre because they appear to be discussing different breakups. There were many small ones and “cooling off periods” and weeks without seeing each other so who knows what they meant.
Dare I say she was a more much interesting person back in her Jecca cosplay era and pre-wiglets galore. She projected a certain attitude while stalking Wiliam. Now she looks cowed and miserable.
It’s true. You could almost see the semblance of a personality and she projected emotions other than gritting smilies and gurning grins.
Amazing the difference in the before and during photos.. all the women look happy and healthy pre Royal status but during their actual Royal life it shows a much different picture for the women who marry into the direct line of succession. (Thank heavens Meghan exited early she has a post Royal glow now.)
Funny how she was never papped like that in London after she got married. She would have gone to the opening of an envelope back then.
She also had RPOs before she was engaged. The media skips over that but there are stories confirming this.
Ah. Maureen of dog biscuit City puts out another Middleton Brown-nose puff piece. Discretion of a royal woman?
I’m old enough to remember the NUMEROUS times the spirit of Kate MiddleBUM emerged while that chick was on royal engagements😂😂😂, not to mention the snatch flash images in cars. One of her best friends owns a sex toy business, which sells ala Tupperware and/or Mary Kay. Kate has been photographed yukking it up in bunny ears at one of those too.
Maureen is such a stooge.🧐
OMG, that photo with the beret is HILARIOUS! And yes, interesting to see her real (lank) hair again.
Is that photo in the car of her and Willy?
He’s Unrecognizable. Wow.
No, someone else. Ex or friend of Willie. She tried her best and succeeded in making Willie jealous. She always had a type: a tall royally-connected aristo.
Hence Mama Middleton confessed she hadn’t expected Kate to land the big one though she had groomed her specially for that circle. But when she did, all hands were on deck.
The “Biscuit Flasher?”
When has she ever shown discretion? The jazz hands? The incessant gurning?
This is some pure revisionist bs.
I think it’s important to point out here that at the time and when Carole talked to him in 2008 Eden was THE GOSSIP REPORTER FOR THE TELEGRAPH. He was “mandrake” and Carole’s comments were reported out by “Mandrake.”as a Telegraph exclusive. Also, TPT’s (RIP) comments to Kate including telling her to keep her chin up were reported all over the place at the time and never was there a mention of Kate’s reaction or steel other than to mention it seemed unnecessary because she was tanned, looking great, out on the town. He is making it up.
IIRC, TPT did an interview where she said to Katie, “Cheer up, he’ll be back.”
TPT had a messy life but was never ostracised by that crowd like TPB. She was a fount of gossip but a very sad person with her drug addiction. I remember reading an interview where she related ending up at a hock/pawn shop selling an accessory for something like £50 when it cost her £1500. Not to mention the septum surgery she had to undergo.
Kate had to wait another three years before any actual proposal. William still had an “out” but Carole probably put on a guilt trip that her daughter “loves him” and “waited for him.”
I feel like there were so many photos of her in taxis back then. Like. So. Many.
Because all she did in those days was party at clubs and get drunk. And flash her lady bits.
It seems that Richard “Maureen” Eden needs social media to be a reminder of how the word “discretion” can never be used to describe Kate. There is nothing discreet about someone who has a propensity of flashing the public before becoming a royal and since marrying into the royal family. Maureen also needs to see a flood of post on social media of her obvious failure in public speaking and how incoherent she is when she does speak publicly. People actually need to have subtitles in order to understand what she’s saying in English. Maureen just showed us how willing he is to tell an absolute boldfaced lie to build Mediocre Middleton up and that he’s been doing it since before she married into the royal family and it’s been at the Middletons request.
Ok, Maureen you got to talk to Kate once. And?
I would agree that Kate has a core of steel and a solid determination to land Wilbur. All that planning with mama, flashing and mate guarding over a long decade sounds tiring but she got big blue ? So she played the long game and won, or did she? She has three lovely children and is the PoW but what about her marriage? Briefly in my twenties I dated a man who sulked a lot and I was completely thrown when he ignored me in public and rubbed it in by being extra nice to everybody else to isolate me. It is soul destroying because nothing gets resolved and it is very controlling. I left and he couldn’t call me back cos he was sulking! No amount of wealth, status, power is worth being made to feel like you are forever in the wrong by a partner.
Kate’s “steel” is misdirected. She did not have a career of her own or experience earning her own money. She was coddled and her aim and her mother’s was to land a man. A woman with “steel” would not deliberately hurt another woman because of her own selfish ambitions. Kate was horrible to Meghan. A woman with gumption would have befriended Meghan even if husband William did not “approve” of her and made Harry’s life miserable trying to stop his marriage to Meghan. I don’t think William was worth all the trouble. Or is worth the trouble. Kate was a mean girl but this trait seemed to get worse when she perceived another woman as a “threat.” Kate probably thought “she knew what was best for Harry” and had the nerve to interfere in Meghan and Harry’s wedding plans. Kate seems unpleasant and the “steel” is misdirected in effect making her weaker.
Oh Lady Digby, I remember dating the same sort of man many years ago. For no reason he’d go into these black moods and literally not speak to me for days and days. For some reason vacations always triggered this. I remember one trip to Vancouver Island in 1996 (where I’ve ended up living with Mr. Jaded, LOL!) where he got so sulky he threw car keys at me, barely missing my face. I got so mad at him I flew home the next day without him. A few months later I bailed out and never spoke to him again. So I understand how soul-destroying it can be but Kate KNEW what she was getting into, the lure of being royal and FFQ/FQ was too enticing. Now look at her. She’s gaunt, prematurely aged, she’s a mere shadow of the person she used to be, but she has nothing to fall back on. Her deal with the devil has rendered her a useless shadow of herself. She and Wilbur are clearly living apart and hate each other, and she’s been benched from all but the simplest and most meaningless events. Despite all the riches she can avail herself of, it’s a pretty sad life.
@Jaded looks like we both kissed frogs before we got our own Prince Charming! W and K dated long enough to be well aware of what both were getting into and they were 30 not love struck teens. He proposed and she accepted and there are now three children. His father said ” the marriage failed , us both having tried” which is a very redacted version of the ballad of Charles and Diana. Sometimes it is best to part with dignity especially if there are kids that need co parenting rather than keeping up appearances for whatever reason.
I don’t care how Eden builds Kate up. This article shows the Firm and the Middletons are terrified about Meghan’s resurgence and upcoming projects, driving home how mediocre Kate is. William looks like he made a bad pick for a wife and queen consort, and it reinforces how low rent the Middletons are. Kate is being reminded birthing an heir and 2 spares and flying the fashion flag for Britain is not going to be enough if she wants to outsihibe Meghan and she will have to do more.
And forget about surpassing Meghan:)))
Even if all the Middletons contributed, they have no chance, they are too stupid, lack personality, talent
After all, Kate can’t say a single sentence. All they have left are photoshopped photos and “speeches” in AI.
You could make a Cinderella movie with Middleton and Meghan:) Carole as a stepmother with two, nasty, lazy daughters hunting for a prince, Meghan as Cinderella, Doria as a good fairy godmother and Prince Harry as a prince;)))
Discretion? Is that what we’re calling flashing one’s bony ass these days? Um, okay.
This is such a nothingburger story, it’s pretty boring, like Kate herself. We’ve gotten so many references to Kate’s “inner steel” over the years and how “discreet” she is. If she were so discreet, we would never have gotten the “Meghan made me cry” story. That story will haunt Kate forever because it’s the one major story Meghan corrected during the Oprah interview. If she were discreet, she wouldn’t have worn a white adjacent color to Harry and Meghan’s wedding. If she had so much inner steel, she wouldn’t be constantly copying Meghan. Meghan is the one who has come out of this living her dream life, now that she’s unbothered, light, and happy. She’s the one with inner steel.
Partner’s Mate Value: Females may be more inclined to mate guard if their partner is perceived as high in mate value (e.g., high income, status, attractiveness), making him a desirable target for other women.
Kaiser did a link to an article on Kate from 2014 and I was intrigued to read the comments. One woman recalled attending university with Wand K and her friend was invited to a social gathering with them. Kate was it crystal clear she was surplus to requirements and was most unwelcoming. Socially tasering women who are in the vicinity of your partner or would be partner sounds excessive and suffocating and off-putting.
Kate didn’t bother with the non posh students at St Andrews and was known to copy off other classmates. There is a reason we don’t see her friends much less female friends.
So at this point she’s created her own isolation. And she still has the choice to leave, as her mother in law did. But instead she still plays games copying Meghan. So that is on her.
I really can’t comprehend leading such an empty life — she’s raising her kids, which is great, but she seems to have no interest in being anything other than the designed-by-committee “jointed doll on which certain rags are hung” of Hilary Mantel’s description.
She doesn’t seem to have any other passions, except for holding onto her royal status. Even her supposed beauty is shallow and fading. I don’t feel sorry for her, but it’s still sad.
Such nonsense. She didn’t want to talk about something personal with a stranger. That’s not indicative of any particular inner strength, it’s just being human.
She’s really quite lovely in the picture with the cowboy hat. I think that’s my favorite photo of her. But the hardness and inherent unhappiness that comes from being a complete and total bitch is really taking hold. I guess my mama was right: If you wear a sour face too often, your face can freeze that way.
OTOH, it’s funny to me how we can swoon over shows like Bridgerton, but then seemingly forget that things likely haven’t changed much these days for those girls in the “Ton” trying to bag the future King of England.
Anyway, it sounded to me from what Harry said in the Netflix special that William was essentially told to get married to Kate because his father advised him to marry someone without charisma so the Firm wouldn’t end up with another Diana on their hands.
I’m not a Kate fan by any stretch—but man, the way her marriage and her life in that family has extinguished the light from her eyes is a chilling thing to behold.
Yes, she’s gone through serious illness this past year, but she looked hollow-eyed and hopeless for years before that. Diana went through some horrible shit but she never looked like a zombie cult victim the way Kate does. It’s sad. What parent would want this for their child?
Well from the looks of things these days.. Her karma has ripened and she’s set to live the rest of her life in misery. Extremely wealthy misery but a life without joy for sure.