A safe pair of hands

Review: Vivien Horler

Catherine, The Princess of Wales – The biography, by Robert Jobson (John Blake Publishing)

The Wales are just like everyone else – they have their family disagreements. But theirs, it must be said, are of a higher order.

The late Queen Elizabeth didn’t like it when Prince William, a former professional helicopter pilot, would fly his immediate family from Kensington Palace to their country home Anmer Hall in Norfolk.  After all, if he were to crash with all three children on board, who would be next in line to the throne? Whinging Harry, that’s who.

Earlier this year King Charles also objected to William’s use of the helicopter. When William refused to listen to his dad, “the King insisted that he sign a formal acknowledgement of the risks involved and take full responsibility for his actions, a grim reminder of the weight of succession”.

Catherine, William’s wife, is apparently the voice of reason in their immediate family and is “a calming influence on her sometimes headstrong husband. He does not always take her advice – hers or anyone else’s, not even his father’s”, writes Robert Jobson, a royal correspondent who has authored books on the late Duke of Edinburgh, King Charles and Prince William.

The sometimes sticky relationship between the king and his heir means Catherine, who is close to the king, needs to negotiate. “She is always loyal to her husband, but the King knows that in Catherine he has a pragmatic ally on whom he can rely”.

This helps, because William can be “a bit of a shouter when he loses it”.

There are moments of pathos in this biography. Catherine, we read, takes a direct role in her children’s upbringing – not always a given in the British royal family – which has endeared her to parents across the country.

Jobson writes that like Princess Diana, who fought hard for her sons, Catherine has led from the heart.

“But with Diana, perhaps because of her unhappiness, came drama and volatility, while with Catherine, there is an overriding sense of calm.”

Jobson recounts a story of a dinner attended by Charles, then separated from Diana, William, and various guests including the writer Bel Mooney and her daughter Kitty. They were talking about The Goon Show, of which Charles had been a huge fan, and Charles began to sing the Ying Tong Song.

Kitty turned to William and said how embarrassing parents could be. The young William replied: “Papa doesn’t embarrass me. Mama does.”

Sadly, in this biography, such insightful moments are rare. The problem would seem to be that Catherine is pretty much what it says on the box – charming, graceful, gracious, dignified, educated, interested, devoted to her family and dazzlingly attractive.

All of these qualities are wonderful in a wife, mother or relative, especially a family as beset by drama as the British royal family, but don’t make for exciting copy.

There have been a few moments – when William ditched her during their long courtship, he was apparently upset when, newly single, she appeared to be having a marvellous time without him, while he was slogging away in the forces.

And there is of course the awful concern of her cancer, but she’s managed to handle even that with grace and candour.

After their early estrangement the couple got back together, married, and she produced an heir and two spares. Since previous generations the laws of succession have changed, so that Charlotte, unlike her great-aunt Princess Anne, takes her proper place as third in line to the throne after William and George, and ahead of Louis, while Anne, second-born in her generation, came after Andrew and Edward.

At one point Jobson mentions that at 16, Catherine turned into a beauty, but when I looked at the collection of pictures in the book, there is not a single one that predates her relationship with William.

Also missing is the famous picture of her in a see-through black lace frock over a bikini at a university fashion show, which is said to have triggered William’s initial attraction.

I’ve read many books about the British royal family, for whom I have a soft spot, and my favourites are ones by people like Tina Brown and Giles Brandreth which, while being relatively respectful, are also gossipy and funny.

I’m afraid Jobson’s biography is a bit bland.

Not to say Catherine herself is bland. But the late queen – and current king – probably think equability is a great thing in the woman who is expected to be the next queen, certainly better than the terrifying volatility of Princess Diana. Maybe the best we can say is that the monarchy, as far as Catherine is concerned, is in a safe pair of hands.

And that’s not a bad thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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