Kate Middleton didn't want fame—she wanted a 'country house, kids and an AGA'

Kate Middleton attends the second day of the Gatcombe Park Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park, on August 6, 2005

(Image credit: Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage/Getty)

published 5 January 22

For Kate Middleton, fame and life in the spotlight was never something that was a goal, one of her friends is said to have revealed.

It's been claimed that the royal limelight was never something that Kate Middleton had her eye on growing up.
One of her friends has reportedly revealed that all the Duchess of Cambridge wanted was the ultimate countryside life, with plenty of children and an AGA oven.
This royal news comes after it was revealed that Kate is a 'natural introvert' who finds her high profile life 'challenging'.

A royal expert has claimed that one of Kate Middleton's closest friends once told her that all the Duchess had ever wanted was a quiet country life, filled with dogs and children—a far cry from her incredibly public life as the wife and mother of future Kings.

Of course, Kate does relish in the royal perks of spacious countryside homes, like her and William's Norfolk abode Amner Hall, when she is off duty. But her day-to-day life, consisting of taking on royal engagements and living in London's Kensington Palace, means her life is busy, public and often scrutinized.

Prince William and Kate Middleton attend the No Time To Die London premiere 2021

And while Kate chose to marry into the spotlight of the royal family when she tied the knot with Prince William in 2011, it turns out that it's not what she always dreamed of.

Royal correspondent Emily Andrews has said that one of Kate's close friend's once revealed to her that a house in the country, children, dogs and an AGA was what she hoped her future would hold—not an important job or fame.

"All Catherine ever wanted was a house in the countryside, loads of kids, dogs and an AGA. She wasn’t interested in having a big job or becoming famous," Emily told The Sun.

Kate Middleton does some shopping for socks when she attends the second day of the Gatcombe Park Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park, on August 6, 2005

However, Kate is said to be fully committed to excelling in her royal role now that she has settled into life as a mother to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

"Family life is incredibly important to her, and motherhood has been the making of her.

"Now that she feels she’s achieved that, there’s time to turn to her public role and what she wants to achieve there."

Caitlin Elliott

Caitlin is Junior News Editor for woman&home, covering all things royal, celeb, fashion, beauty and lifestyle.

Having set her sights on becoming a magazine journalist when she was a child, Caitlin took on work experience stints at local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree and has interviews with celebs, reality stars and the Archbishop of Canterbury under her belt (of course, she couldn't resist asking him about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry).

After leaving uni, she dabbled in fashion PR as a Press Assistant for Arcadia's Topshop before becoming a part of the Now team at Future for her first real job in the world of online journalism, joining the ranks as a Digital Writer in 2019.

Caitlin went on to add the likes of Woman, GoodtoKnow, WhatToWatch and woman&home to her writing repertoire before moving on to her current role.

When she's not working you'll find Caitlin sipping bubbles at brunch with her besties, thinking about her next iced coffee, trying to close the rings on her Apple Watch, scrubbing up on her royal family knowledge or scrolling through the Zara app, trying to resist tapping 'check out' again.