Kate Middleton reportedly felt ‘isolated and abandoned’ after jokes by William’s friends

(Image credit: Gareth Fuller)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are the definition of a happily married couple, celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary earlier this summer. The past ten years have seen the young couple turn into a family of five, welcoming their three little ones, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

It’s hard to imagine a time when Kate and William weren’t associated with marital bliss, but there was a time, however, when their future was a lot less certain.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met at university where they were both studying at St. Andrews, and according to Prince William the attraction was pretty instant. ‘When I first met Kate I knew there was something very special about her’, he explained.

It was the start of their relationship that made headlines recently as sources recalled that Kate's mother was made the subject of jokes by William's friends, something that reportedly left Kate feeling 'isolated and abandoned'.

Explaining how the jibes were often about Carole's former career as a flight attendant, the Mirror reported at the time: 'William's upper-crust friends would ridicule Carole's former career by sneeringly whispering "doors to manual" when Kate was out of earshot. And courtiers claimed the brunette was unsuitable for William as her mum did not speak in a posh enough way.'

This is something that reportedly left Kate feeling 'isolated' and 'helped sink her relationship' with William before their brief separation.

Years later, both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have spoken out about their break up.

‘We were both very young’, William said of his decision. ‘We were finding ourselves. It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up.’

‘I, at the time, wasn’t very happy about it’, explained Kate. ‘But actually it made me a stronger person.’

Luckily for everyone, they came to their senses, getting back together and going on a romantic holiday to the Seychelles, where they apparently made a secret pact to get married.

It wasn’t made official until 2010, when on 16th November the couple announced their long-awaited engagement and all was right in the world again.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.