Carole Middleton Is ‘A Rock’ for Daughter Kate Middleton Amid Health Troubles

Carole Middleton has been by her daughter’s side as Princess Kate Middleton navigates her recovery after her cancer diagnosis.

“Carole has always been a rock for Kate, especially this past year — she’s been amazing,” royal expert and author Ingrid Seward, told HELLO! in an interview published on Monday, February 3. “I have met her a couple of times and the word that keeps coming back to me is ‘strength.’ I imagine her as a sort of pioneer woman driving a wagon with a rifle at her feet, and three children in the back, fighting off any enemy. Basically, that’s what she’s been doing all her life, isn’t it?”

Seward shared that Carole, 70, has been “a really helpful, practical and unflappable mum and grandmother” to Kate, 43, and husband Prince William’s kids: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.

“Rather than ask what she can do, she just gets on with it; she’s very proactive. When William went back to royal duties, she was doing the school run and probably doing things like filling the freezer with the kids’ favorite foods,” Seward said of Carole. “Looking after the three kids would have been absolutely no problem for her whatsoever and Kate would have been able to relax in the knowledge that her mother’s hand was on the wheel.”

Seward noted that Carole has “always” been both a “physical and emotional support” to Kate, who shared her undisclosed type of cancer diagnosis with the world in March 2024. Months later, Kate revealed she had finished chemo and in January 2025 announced she was in remission.

“The Middletons are a traditional family, which is why William enjoyed being around them so much,” Seward claimed. “When things go wrong, they pull together under [Carole’s] direction. She is the matriarch of this family and they all take her advice because they have great respect for their mum.”

Seward continued, “And, as their only granny, Carole is very close to William and Kate’s children. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has taken them away on little holidays too. She has always organised lovely holidays for her family, from yachts in Mustique to ski trips. William plays a huge part in all this, because he just adores the Middletons. They give him the cosy family life that Diana always wanted him to have.” (William’s mother, Princess Diana, died at age 36 in an August 1997 car accident.)

As the Princess of Wales becomes more visible in the public eye, a source exclusively told Us Weekly in January that “all eyes are on Kate for when she returns to work.”

“Part of the issue is she’s so popular and gets so much attention,” the insider said. “It’s like any royal event she attends has a halo around it and goes well, so the public wants as much of her as possible.”