Prince William's snobby friends made 'derogatory reference' about Kate Middleton in the early days of their relationship

Prince William's snobby friends had a whole lot of opinions about the Princess of Wales but she rose above it and the rest is history

 Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the Windsor Guildhall to thank volunteers and operational staff involved in her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's funeral on September 22, 2022 in Windsor, United Kingdom.
(Image credit: Ian Vogler-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Prince William's snobby friends made 'derogatory reference' about Kate Middleton in the early days of their relationship but over a decade later, it's clear that he took no notice - nor did she.


Kate Middleton and Prince William's first meeting may well have been written in the stars and it's hard to imagine a pair more suited for each other. Seemingly, however, not everyone close to the Prince of Wales approved of his relationship with the Princess of Wales - for a pretty snobby reason.

Speaking on Vanity Fair's Dynasty podcast, royal expert Katie Nicholl revealed, “William’s friends, I hate to say it, would whisper rather snidely when Kate would turn up at Boujis which is the nightclub that they used to go to in West London: ‘doors to manual.'"

Kate and William

(Image credit: Getty)

The unusual nickname was, according to the expert, originates from a former profession held by the Princess' mother, Carole Middleton. "Obviously, that is a bit of a put-down. It’s a bit of a derogatory reference to Carol’s career as an air hostess.” Another unkind monicker, according to the expert, included 'Kate Middle-Class.'

Speaking separately on the documentary William and Kate: Into the Future, Kate said “the snootiness of the upper classes leveled at what they called the ‘en masse Middletons." The royal expert and author explained that the criticism lay in how much of a perfectionist Carole is, citing one example being how much the Middletons stood out at events like picnics. Everything from their, 'pristine Land Rover,' to their, "brand new Fortnum and Masons hamper," stood out compared to the more rough and ready style of the, "sort of true aristocratic double baron titles that turn up at these events." 

Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton attend day 1 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 14, 2022 in Ascot, England.

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Kate added, "They would just have nothing like Carole’s spread. The point is [they were] sort of so posh [they] don’t really have to bother making an effort - but the Middletons did.”

The author says that the Princess, "never rose to it," and despite these snide comments and jibes of the Middletons being 'new money' and 'pristine' - some royal experts suggest that it's Carole Middleton's 'eye for perfection' that truly prepared her daughter for royal life. 

Aoife Hanna
Junior News Editor

Aoife is an Irish journalist and writer with a background in creative writing, comedy, and TV production.

Formerly woman&home's junior news editor and a contributing writer at Bustle, her words can be found in the Metro, Huffpost, Delicious, Imperica and EVOKE.

Her poetry features in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology.

Outside of work you might bump into her at a garden center, charity shop, yoga studio, lifting heavy weights, or (most likely) supping/eating some sort of delicious drink/meal.