Prince William and Kate Middleton have been together for more than 20 years after famously meeting as students at the University of St. Andrews. And while the Princess of Wales tops the list of most popular royals in a recent YouGov poll, she wasn't always seen as the best choice for a future Queen. Prince William's friends are said to have made fun of her middle-class background, and according to one royal expert, Queen Camilla wasn't a huge fan of Kate at first, either.
During the Channel 5 documentary, The Middletons: Modern Royal In-Laws (via the Express), royal expert Tom Quinn shared, "I'd heard that Camilla wasn't very keen on Catherine." He continued that the now-Queen had three specific concerns about Middleton, who grew up with non-aristocratic roots.
"She didn't shoot, she's not into horses particularly, there was too much of a gap and William would feel it," he said. Given Middleton's "normal" family and the idea that there's never been a monarch with a commoner mother (Prince George will become the first), Camilla's supposed worries are rooted in traditional royal thinking. However, the comments are rather ironic considering Camilla Parker Bowles herself was considered to be an unsuitable royal bride for Prince Charles in the '70s due to her own background.
The now-Queen did grow up with wealthy and rather well-connected roots, but certainly not of the same pedigree that Princess Diana's family, the Spencers, possessed. Camilla also had multiple boyfriends over the years and enjoyed the social scene, which didn't make her an appealing candidate for a royal bride at the time.
But no matter what Queen Camilla thought of Middleton when they first met, obviously her opinion didn't sway Prince William, who went on to date his girlfriend for nearly a decade before proposing in 2010. However, Quinn did add that Camilla "later warmed to Catherine and recognized her solid virtues."
As for Queen Camilla's concern about Kate not being "into horses," the Princess of Wales brought up the topic herself during the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in London on March 17. While chatting with a member of the Irish Guards responsible for handling their Irish Wolf Hound mascot, he spoke of how the dog can sometimes be "unpredictable." The Princess of Wales chimed in and said "horses are the worst," seemingly referring to their similarly unpredictable nature.
