The Crown viewers are comparing the character of Kate Middleton’s mother to American reality TV star and famous “momager” Kris Jenner.
The final installment of Netflix’s drama, a fictionalised retelling of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, was released in two parts. The first batch of episodes arrived on 16 November, while the second part premiered on 14 December.
The sixth season covers the death of Princess Diana, now-King Charles and Queen Camilla’s 2005 wedding, as well as the “fairytale love story” of William and Kate against the backdrop of St Andrews university in Scotland.
Viewers who have watched the latest season are drawing parallels between Kate’s mother Carole Middleton, and Jenner, the Kardashian family matriarch, for allegedly masterminding the romance between the now-Prince and Princess of Wales.
The creators of The Crown portray Carole (Eve Best) as a “Mrs Bennet-style meddler constantly pushing her eldest daughter (Meg Bellamy) into the path of the prince,” writes Katie Rossiensky for The Independent.
The Crown viewers are comparing the character of Kate Middleton’s mother to famous ‘momager’ Kris Jenner.— (Netflix/The Crown)
The show suggests, as royal experts have previously claimed, that Carole, a former British Airways flight attendant-turned-entrepreneur, helped her daughter negotiate “a royal romance” with William (Ed McVey).
Reacting to the storyline, one person wrote on X/Twitter: “Kate Middleton’s mom is the British Kris Jenner.”
“Kate’s Mum is our Kris Jenner,” a similar comment read, while a third user noted: “Carole Middleton walked so Kris Jenner could run.”
“Carole Middleton is the original Kris Jenner,” an X user remarked.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Carole for comment.
In a 2005 article for The Spectator, royal correspondent Matthew Bell said insiders had expressed their doubts whether Kate’s “university meeting with Prince William can really be ascribed to coincidence”.
He claimed that “it has been suggested” Carole persuaded Kate “to reject her first choice” school, the University of Edinburgh, “on hearing the news” that Prince William was heading to St Andrews.
In her explosive book Palace Papers, royal reporter Tina Brown also suggested that Carole had a hand in Kate’s decision to withdraw her acceptance to the University of Edinburgh, before taking a gap year and re-applying to St Andrews in 2001.
“It is unlikely Kate would be where she is today without her mother’s canny help in negotiating a royal romance,” Brown wrote, adding: “Carole’s fingerprints are all over Kate’s first move on the royal chessboard
Other fans rejected the show’s fictionalised version of Kate and William’s allegedly orchestrated romance, with one person writing: “I’m hating this predatory depiction of Kate Middleton and her mum.”
“A reminder that Carol plotting to get Kate in [to St Andrews] is the misogynistic take the tabloids and upper class had when they got together,” another comment read.
Meg Bellamy and Ed McVey in ‘The Crown’ season 6— (Justin Downing/Netflix)
In 2001, the now-Prince of Wales headed St Andrews to complete his education. Then, Britain’s most eligible bachelor, the young royal enrolled at St Andrews as “William Wales” and studied geography after switching from art history.
Applications to the university soared by 44 per cent that year, according to official Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.
Kate and William’s relationship began as friends but they began dating in 2002, after Kate caught the young prince’s eye while modelling a sheer dress at a charity fashion show. They continued dating after leaving St Andrews, briefly breaking up in 2007, and tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
In Omid Scobie’s new book Endgame, the controversial author claimed that Carole “calculatingly placed Kate right at the centre” of William’s world, including making her change from her first choice university and take a year off in Florence, just like the young prince did.
Married for more than 12 years, Kate and William share three children, Prince George, now 10, Princess Charlotte, eight; and Prince Louis, five.
The Crown season six is currently streaming on Netflix.
