Inside why Queen Camilla didn’t initially like Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton

While Queen Camilla and Kate Middleton share a cordial relationship together now, the Queen was reportedly not always the biggest fan of Prince William’s wife.

While in recent months Camilla has sent warm wishes to Princess Kate amid her cancer journey, the pair have not always shared the closest of bonds. According to some reports, Camilla was initially against William’s relationship with Kate after they first fell in love while attending St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. As a new insight into their relationship has been revealed, we’re taking a look at their history together.

In a new interview with Us Weekly, royal expert Christopher Anderson gave a rare look into Camilla’s first impression of Kate. Anderson claimed: “Camilla’s a believer in aristocracy [and] kind of a snob” and added that the Queen believed that she “wasn’t of their class.”

Speaking on Camilla’s relationship with William, Andrew claimed that he only “tolerates” his stepmother and that she “has always been a little afraid of William.” According to Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, William had his own aversions to his father marrying Camilla.

In his book, the Duke of Sussex wrote that William “begged” their father to not marry Camilla and accused her of leaking stories about them to the press. Harry also aired out his own concerns with his stepmother as he wrote: “I remember wondering if she would be cruel to me; if she would be like all the wicked stepmothers in the stories.

Despite claims that Camilla didn’t initially like Kate, the pair did go on to find some middle ground as they discovered that they share an unexpected interest. In their many interviews Kate and Camilla have spoken about their love for art and literature, but they also share one very unique hobby that they have bonded over, which is cold water swimming.