Looking at Kate now, it is hard to believe that her grandmother struggled to make ends meet in a condemned flat in Southall.
Her family history is like something from a Catherine Cookson novel.
Whether she’s making yet another assured Royal appearance or working as a passionate advocate for children’s charities, few can doubt the skill and dedication with which the Princess of Wales carries out her role.
On Saturday, the girl who met a prince when she was called plain Kate Middleton took her place at the Coronation as our future queen, the mother of a future king – and is even spoken of as the future of the monarchy itself.
It is hard to believe that just 80 years ago Kate’s grandmother was struggling to make ends meet in a condemned flat on the outskirts of London. Or that part of her family history, so far from being one of cloistered privilege, is more like something out of a Catherine Cookson novel.
I spent a year researching the Middleton family for my book Kate: The Making Of A Princess and discovered that lines of strong, indomitable women run through both sides of Kate’s family history.
Hers is a story featuring poverty and hardship in the Durham coalfields and the working-class suburbs of London. There was also a privilege, too, and links to high society.
The central theme, however, is one of strong, matriarchal figures.
Kate’s mother, Carole, made sure her three children had the best possible start in life. She got her drive and ambition from her own mother, Dorothy Goldsmith, who set her family on the road from poverty to prosperity – earning the affectionate nickname ‘Lady Dorothy’…
