Prince William and Kate Middleton: The couple are under 'unmanageable pressure', according to expert

The Royal Family have been making even more headlines than usual over the last few months. Between health announcements and the reemergence of Prince Andrews scandals, the institution has been the subject of many a news story. Now, former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Tina Brown has revealed what her sources are telling her about the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Brown wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times, in which she talks about the ‘pressure’ that Prince William and Kate Middleton are under now that they are ‘in frightening proximity to ascending the throne’. Here’s what she said.

The Waleses’ expectations

The couple, who met at university back in 2001, have been in the public eye for a long time. However, given the Palace’s recent announcements regarding the diagnoses and treatment of two key members of the family, the Waleses are finding themselves at the centre of even more press attention.

Brown writes that this extra stress is the opposite of what the couple, parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, were hoping for. She says this has come ‘just when they had hoped for a span of years to parent their children out of the public eye’.

Under ‘unmanageable pressure’

Brown says that the couple are being hit hard by the reality of their position in line to become King and Queen:

The prospect of it, I am told, is causing them intense anxiety.

This situation is not helped by the fact that the family is functioning as in its ‘slimmed-down’ version. Not only is King Charles taking a step back, but the other royals of a similar age to the Waleses - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - stepped down as working royals years ago. This caused a massive stir at the time, and continues to make ink spill to this day. Indeed, the reportedly strained relationship between the once-close princes could certainly be adding to the Waleses’ stress.

Princess Catherine, Brown states, is ‘the most popular member of the royal family after William’. She goes on to claim that the ‘future of the monarchy hangs by a thread, and that thread is her’.

It doesn't take a genius to know that any member of the Royal Family is under pressure to act appropriately under the watchful eye of the British public. However, Brown really hammers home her point that this is particularly bad for Prince William and Princess Catherine. She writes that ‘a tidal wave of premature responsibility is crashing in her and William’s direction’. Time will tell whether the couple are strong enough to deal with these high expectations and unanticipated pressures.

Read more:

⋙ Kate Middleton: This is why she buys her clothes in several colours

⋙ Prince William and Kate Middleton: Experts weigh in on their relationship dynamic

⋙ Prince Harry and Prince William inherited different sums due to their separate situations

Sources used:

Cosmopolitan: The Prospect of Ascending the Throne Is Causing Prince William and Kate Middleton “Intense Anxiety”

New York Post: Kate Middleton and Prince William feel ‘intense anxiety’ over idea of taking throne: expert