I think at this stage William and his family didn’t know enough about Kate to trust her behaviour within their institution. Whilst she may have possessed plenty of talent and potential for a role in the family, even the most capable and willing person cannot prepare themselves for the media intrusions, fame and lack of privacy. And by all sources, Kate was not coping well at all (not that you could blame her). She may have reasoned if she has to put up with all of this, then why is she yet to have a committment from William as to her future. This is fair enough. Whilst ordinarily, she may be the motherly type who always wanted to settle down and start a family but she was probably willing to wait until both she and William were ready for that step earlier. Now her life was changing so rapidly, she didn’t have William by her side, she no longer had the privacy that brought their relationship to the level that it was at, all she had was herself – to put her best foot forward, smile and hide her real feelings to a growing international audience.

William was forced into making a decision at the risk of the growing media intrusion into Kate’s life which ultimately meant bad publicity for both him and his family. And so they say it was bad timing.

I do find it disturbing that William didn’t offer more protection to Kate despite his true feelings or confusion about her. If he had any maturity, he would not have to play media wars by being photographed with young women before he had officially ended it with Kate. Regardless of what he felt about Kate at the time, no future King should behave that way.

It seems the requirements of a royal partner are to be less in the spotlight than the royal that they’re courting. Prince Charles hated being outshone by Diana and so does William by Kate. People seem to underestimate the impact Diana had on the family. I wonder how William and Harry reconcile the fact their mother is used as an example of what not to do. The royal family need to be the main stars and their partners must take a back seat for their legitimacy. Especially if they are not blue blooded like Diana but rather ordinary middle class stock with the ability to prove that anyone can do it, anyone can be a royal just as well as the Queen. Kate is a vivacious and talented young woman who would be extremely capable of proving this but perhaps she was unaware of what her true role should be. Perhaps like Diana, the fame would go to her head and it would be about proving her own worth (especially coming from middle class roots) rather than accepting ones limitations within the grand plan of monarchy. Kate showed signs of not coping well with fame. If anything, she was enjoying the limelight and William was probably left wondering what happened to the girl he fell in love with. You could see the strain on Kate’s face trying to be someone she’s not to please William and possibly to prove to herself that she could go all the way! Yet all William and Harry seem to want is to be convinced their partners love them for who they are. You see this reiterated by Harry when he compares his girlfriend with Kate.

If you think about it, why would any woman want the life of royalty when they have choice? You cannot blame these intelligent boys from being obsessed with this. It would be difficult to trust anyone and yet they know they need to love and be loved. What they require is a woman who is not ambitious for fame or acceptance on a large scale. Whilst it would be entirely appropriate for her to pursue her own interests she musn’t want the approval of the public as much as the Royal family need it. She may like Sophie of Wessex be successful in her own right but Sophie knows how to handle fame by keeping out of the spotlight and continuing to work hard thereby justifying her position. It also keeps Edward secure in that she loves him for him and not his position which is the ingredient of any happy marriage.

I think Kate like most people wanted more than a life of privilege and suffocation. When you’re talented it makes you want more. Unlike Sophie who already had time to prove herself to the world, both Kate and William hadn’t had this. It appears Kate was using her role as patient girlfriend of future King to achieve her own ambitions and who wouldn’t under such pressure and risk of it failing. Which in the end it did! Thanks to her making the most of it, she has many job offers. It was not merely her connection with William that generated these offers, but her hard work in being media savvy and protecting her own future. That is exactly what Diana did and did even more so when she knew her marriage was failing.

I would hazard a guess that Chelsy is certainly not made of the same stuff as Diana and Kate but she understands not to overstep the mark with Harry. The irony is I heard Chelsy say she wants to be more ambitious than her father and part of her strategy is to date a prince. So much for loving Harry for who he is. Marrying up is an important goal for many women, but perhaps in the end although Kate wanted to marry her prince, all she may have wanted is to form a stable loving family and be the envy of the world’s women while she did it. This is the background she came from herself – a loving and stable home. I’m sure that was what Diana wanted to create.

Royal affairs, though, often have a lot going on under the radar. No doubt someone in the know will spill the beans in a book eventually.

As for Kate’s supporters, well I’m sure if they think about it they’ll be glad she isn’t with a man who doesn’t love her. She can now find someone who will love her, also since she doesn’t need to keep long weekends free to be with William she can pursue a career and work the normal number of hours everyone else does. She complained about press harrassment and of course while she still visits nightclubs and events which are haunts of the Royals the press will be there in force. But later, when William has a new girlfriend, the press will most likely leave Kate alone and she can get back the privacy she wanted. At any rate she will now be able to prove to everyone that she’s more than a prince’s ex-girlfriend, as she now has freedom to do whatever she wants and to make a success of her life in her own right. She is well-educated and comes from a well-off family, she’s young, healthy and attractive – surely success in career and in a fulfilling relationship are both just round the corner?