Kate Middleton in an unenviable position as the future of the Royal Family 'pinned' on her shoulders

The Royal Family would 'collapse' without future Queen Kate Middleton, who is in an 'incredible position,' according to royal expert Paul Burrell.

• Paul Burrell, who was Princess Diana's butler for 10 years, has revealed how the future of the monarchy rests on Kate Middleton's shoulders.
• The royal insiders says that if Kate were to ever decide to end her and Prince William's marriage, the Royal Family would simply 'collapse.'
• In other royal news, Prince Harry and Meghan were 'hoping' that Buckingham Palace would announce their children's new titles before they did.

While she doesn't rank at the top for the most popular royal, there's no denying the Princess of Wales is a firm fan favourite when it comes to the Royal Family.

And Paul Burrell, who worked as Princess Diana's butler before her tragic death in 1997, has revealed that the future of the monarchy now rests on future Queen Kate's shoulders, as she's such a strong part of the firm.

Speaking on behalf of Slingo (opens in new tab), Paul said, "Kate is in such an incredible position because it all rests on her really, the future rests on Kate and that’s an enormous responsibility because if she decided that she didn’t want to be a part of her marriage any more then I think the royal family would collapse."

He added, "Everything is pinned up by Kate, the future is underpinned by Catherine Middleton and that’s incredible."

Referencing how Kate has taken over from Diana's role, Paul continued, "Back in my day the future seemed to be pinned on Diana Spencer, our future queen. Now we’re looking at another Princess of Wales who is in the same role that Diana had, married to a Prince of Wales and the future of the monarchy is down to her."

He added that it’s "not an enviable position to be in." 

While Paul is yet to meet Kate personally, he has opened up about William, who he knows quite well. Labelling him as a "steady pair of hands," Paul said, "I’d love to meet Kate but knowing William, he is a steady pair of hands and he is unlike his brother in the fact that he’s very stoic, very safe, very measured."

Speaking about rumours that William and Kate have terrible rows, Paul is of the opinion that the couple are just as in love behind closed doors as they appear to be in public.

Although he did admit that he could guess William in particular has a bit of a "temper." The royal insider said, "I don’t think he [William] has a wild temper, I’ve never experienced that wild temper although it wouldn’t surprise me if it occasionally peeped out. "

He added, "I want to believe that they are as in love in private as they appear to be in public. Those little gestures are lovely to see from the public’s point of view because it reassures us something is good, something is being done right because Diana wouldn't have done that."

Expanding further on how Kate and William are very different from how Charles and Diana were throughout their troubled marriage, Paul said, "In the later years you saw her do the opposite of that. You saw her turn her cheek against the Prince of Wales when he came to kiss her. You saw her looking the other way out of the car when she wanted to portray a different message."

He concluded that Kate and William are a strong couple who "are trying to portray a very positive image," adding, "I think that is good for the royal family."