PRINCE William’s mother-in-law has become his “second-mum” who “protects” the royal as the pair enjoyed a “pub lunch”.
The heir to the throne has relied on Carole Middleton, 69, at important times during his 13-year marriage to wife Kate, including when their kids were born.
The Prince of Wales was allegedly seen popping into a pub in Norfolk with Carole, 69, at the weekend during the family’s Easter break at Anmer Hall.
The appearance comes as Princess Kate, 42, has taken a break from royal duties following planned abdominal surgery in January, and her announcement that cancer had been found.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said last month that William is under enormous pressure and has the “weight of the world on his shoulders”.
Insiders believe Carole, a multi-millionaire businesswoman, has acted as a “second mum” to William bringing “a real sense of normality amid any chaos”.
Kate and Wills have also faced unfair scrutiny and speculation from the public following a photoshopped picture and Kate’s then-unexplained absence from public life.
Richard Eden wrote in the Daily Mail: “I’m told he popped into a pub in North Norfolk at the weekend with his mother-in-law, who is said to have been staying with the Prince and Princess of Wales for Easter.
“A patron tells me: ‘It was all very low-key, with no great fanfare. He just walked in and through the pub. He appeared to be with Carole Middleton.’
“There was no sign of Catherine, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.”
Despite playing a role largely behind the scenes, Carole has spoken about how family comes first for her.
Carole, who has seven grandchildren, previously told The Telegraph that her “family are paramount” and that they “come first”.
In an interview Good Housekeeping, she said she still feels young and wants to “run down the hills, climb the trees and go through the tunnel at the playground”.
She said: “As long as I am able to, that’s what I’ll be doing.
“I cook with them, I muck around dancing, we go on bike rides.”
Royal expert Phil Dampier previously told Fabulous: “Prince George goes out a lot with his grandmother Carole.
“They go to the beach there and they are very close.
“Carole has taken the kids to Party Pieces and they played shopkeeper there with all the stock.”
While William was just 15 when his mother Diana died, Carole has been able to nearly become the mother he lost.
Angela Levin, a royal biographer, told The Sun in 2021 that she believes that William’s “dysfunctional family background” gave him “barely a clue of what a normal family life was like”.
She said: “Carole relieved William of such burdens by accepting him for who he was rather than what he was.
“She made him feel secure, comfortable and protected and he didn’t have to worry about what he said or be responsible for her emotions.”
She added: “Children of broken homes, especially if the parental break up was unpleasant, often don’t know how a good relationship works.
“William learnt through the Middletons how a loving and supportive family works.
“It has been the bedrock of making Kate loving, calm and confident. Harry hasn’t had that parental opportunity.
“His background has just been of bitter fighting and incompatibility.
“Both he and Meghan come from very damaged backgrounds and must carry with them some of the negativity.
“It must be hard for them to help each other and lack experience in how stable, strong, understanding relationships work.”
Meanwhile, Kate’s kids all have their own rooms in Bucklebury Manor in West Berkshire, where Carole lives with her husband Michael.
The Wales family are spending the kids’ Easter holiday in Norfolk before they go back to the £7,000-a-term Lambrook School in Berkshire.
Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, aren’t due to return back to school until April 17.
Along with their family dog, black cocker spaniel Orla, George, Charlotte and Louis have a host of animals at Anmer Hall.
It comes after William and George cheered on Aston Villa‘s opening goal in their first public appearance since Kate shared her cancer diagnosis.
The father and son duo were seen celebrating Unai Emery’s side after Ollie Watkins scored the first goal in their clash against Lille at Villa Park.
Carole Middleton biography
Carole Goldsmith — brought up in a council flat and later a terraced house in Southall, West London — left school at 16 and worked as a secretary before getting a job as ground staff for BA at Heathrow.
It was there she met Michael, a flight dispatcher, whom she married in 1980.
Seven years later, she established her own business, Party Pieces, which she said was born at the kitchen table after she struggled to find paper plates for Kate’s fifth birthday bash.
At first, she was simply preparing party bags for the parents of her daughters’ school friends, but over time the business grew sufficiently to take over a shed in their garden and eventually its own premises.
At one point it employed 30 staff and was estimated to be worth £30million at the height of the online shopping boom.
According to Robert Lacey’s book, Battle Of Brothers, all three Middleton children modelled for pictures in their parents’ sales material.
The book also cites a tart description of Carole Middleton’s hard-headed trading style.
“Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth most of the time, but she was a ferocious negotiator,” recalled one of her suppliers.
“I remember her almost screaming down the phone on one occasion when I refused to drop my price.
“People could hear her on the other side of the office.”
But as the Middletons took a less active role in the business, the company began to go downhill.