Queen Camilla and Kate Middleton have had an exceptional relationship for over a decade. As the Princess of Wales never got to meet her “real” mother-in-law, Camilla has become her stepmother-in-law and a very close companion in royal life.

Both women married into the royal family, and even though it happened on different occasions, the queen and the princess have sadly had to cope with harsh criticism and evil nicknames.

Since Kate Middleton entered the royal family, her relationship with Camilla has become increasingly better and more loveable. However, according to a royal expert, one key thing is missing that prevents Camilla from ever becoming close with her stepdaughter-in-law.

Kate Middleton and her father-in-law, King Charles, are going through a very challenging time. Both of them have been diagnosed with cancer, but in Kate’s case, what kind of cancer it is has not been revealed. Meanwhile, Queen Camilla has stepped up her efforts in her husband’s absence and has been praised for it.

Queen Camilla & Kate Middleton – relationship

Royal life is not always easy, and for someone marrying into the royal family, it means a huge challenge. Not only do they have to sacrifice their “normal” life for good, but there are many rules regarding how to act in public, how to eat, what clothes one should wear, and the many traditions one must follow.

Further, some people won’t become friends because of how they are, just as in everyday life. The case of Meghan Markle and many of the royal family members might be in a different division regarding how bad it has gotten.

Marrying into the royal family must be extraordinary, and the fact that those people have to change their entire lives is tricky. But in some cases, reports have shown that the family has helped them in the best way possible to be prepared for what is to come.

Prince William did everything in his power to help Kate Middleton prepare for royal life, and even before their wedding, Queen Camilla also stepped up.

Queen Camilla invited Kate to lunch before wedding to Prince William

At the time, the former mistress of King Charles was still struggling to get the public’s approval, but that didn’t prevent her from doing her best to help Kate feel relaxed.

As Kate Middleton entered the royal family, Camilla did her best to grow a relationship between the two. She had done the same with Prince William and Harry; however, it could have gone better with the Duke. Harry’s feud with the royals means he doesn’t have many friends left within the family, including his brother and Kate, as well as Camilla.

Right before the 2011 wedding between the now Prince and Princess of Wales, Daily Mail reported that Camilla invited Kate, her sister Pippa, and her daughter, Laura Lopes, to lunch.

There, the queen is said to have given Kate some advice for what was to come, as a person dining next to them overheard Queen Camilla saying, “If I can give you one bit of advice.”

“They were all getting on very well and they clearly hadn’t asked for an out-of-the-way table and nor did they attempt to lower their voices,” the person told the Daily Mail.

“There was one moment which was clearly meant to be amusing when Kate said, ‘What happens if William doesn’t turn up?’”

Kate Middleton received ‘marriage secrets’ from Queen Camilla

The person at the dinner added that there were several “hand-holding” occasions, a sign that Kate and Camilla were getting along very well.

Moreover, Camilla is said to have given Kate Middleton a very personal gift for the wedding present: a bracelet with the engraved letters Cs on either side of the charm. It’s not a wild guess that they stand for “Catherine” and “Camilla.”

As per Yahoo, Kate has worn it for several years when appearing at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla became good friends before her and Prince William’s 2011 wedding. The princess had to learn everything about the royal family, and getting married to a future king meant her life would change even more.

Therefore, when the two had dated for a while and discussed possibly getting married, Camilla decided to try to advise Kate on what was to come.

In his royal biography, Battle of Brothers, author Robert Lacey stated that Kate struggled to take advice from her stepmother-in-law.

Camilla wanted to ensure that Kate knew what she had to do to make her marriage with William work. It was a subtle warning to Kate and a guide regarding how she’d make a successful royal career with her future husband, William.

Camilla had confided to Kate the secret of hanging on to a busy prince: fit your timetable – well, basically your whole life – around his,” Lacey wrote in Battle of Brothers.

While Queen Camilla and Kate Middleton seem always to have had a great relationship, tensions built up at the coronation in May of last year.

Camilla was to become one of the most influential members of the royal family, and plenty of her family members attended Westminster Abbey.

Queen Camilla’s family was “very much front and centre” at coronation

Her ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, was there with their two children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, as well as several of their grandchildren.

Three of Camilla’s grandchildren served as Pages of Honor. The queen’s sister, Annabel Elliot, and a friend, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, attended the coronation ceremony alongside Camilla’s nieces Alice Irwin, Katie Elliot, Ayesha Shand, and nephew Ben Elliot.

At the time, ABC’s royal reporter Victoria Murphy argued the coronation marked a new step for Camilla’s family.

“Camilla’s family are very much front and centre at this event, and that is interesting as this is a state occasion, and they are usually totally private,” she said.

“Camilla’s family being so involved and visible does send, I think, a message about just how important she is to Charles’ reign and very much reminds us that this is their Coronation, not just his.”

Kate Middleton, on the other hand, only had four family members supporting her in Westminster Abbey: sister Pippa Middleton, brother James Middleton, and parents Carole and Michael Middleton.

The fact that Camilla had that many family members at Westminster Abbey did not go down well with everyone. According to royal expert Tom Bower, there were signs of tensions between Queen Camilla and Kate on coronation day.

He claims the Princess of Wales was irritated by the number of guests allowed for the former. Bower also said that Kate didn’t ‘move a limb’ when Charles and Camilla left the Abbey.

“Camilla bought twenty Parker Bowles’ to the coronation, and there were four Middleton’s,” Bower said at the time. “And what was even more noticeable was at the Windsor concert the following day, William makes no reference to Queen Camilla. So there is a tension there.”

Bower claimed the tension was a “dangerous position for Charles to be in,” especially after an “exhausted” Queen Camilla “disappeared” from the public eye as Kate was “behaving like the Queen.”

“If you look at the Coronation footage, as the King and Queen leave the thrones and head for the exit of Westminster Abbey, you’ll see that everyone bows and curtsies to the King and no one moves a limb, a muscle when Camilla passes,” Tom Bower said.

“And that’s because they were angry with her. No-one moves. Kate and William were angry too. That anger went right through that small part of the congregation by the throne at the centre of Westminster Abbey. And in that moment it was absolutely noticeable to those people who had been excluded that nobody – let alone Kate – curtsied to Queen Camilla.”

While there has been plenty of drama within the royal family in later years, Kate and Camilla have withstood the challenges. The claims about Kate not being happy with Camilla at the coronation withstand. However, as they have been on royal duty together since then, their relationship appears to be anything but infected.

In November last year, BBC’s former royal correspondent Jennie Bond spoke to OK! Magazine about the queen and princess’ unique relationship, saying that it has grown very “strong.”

However, Bond stated that the bond could have been different if Queen Camilla had been King Charles’ first wife and not second. That, according to the expert, is something that will always prevent the queen from being close to the Princess of Wales.

“The two women looked at ease with one another; united in the solemnity of it all,” Bond said about Camilla and Kate’s appearance next to each other for the National Service of Remembrance, held at the Cenotaph. “Camilla is the only mother-in-law Kate will ever have, but it can never be quite the same when it’s a second marriage.”

Jennie Bond added that Queen Camilla’s role as stepmother-in-law could influence things in the future as their bond is powerful.

“I think Camilla will always feel one step removed from being a real mother-in-law to Kate – but they do appear to have a strong relationship, and, quite frankly, what’s not to like about one another?” the royal expert told OK! Magazine.

“I’m sure Kate must have been watching Camilla’s metamorphosis from commoner to queen with particular interest and I think it must be reassuring for them both. What a unique relationship it must be there is literally no-one else for Catherine to turn to who has direct experience of the role that will one day be hers.”