Former Royal Employee Says Prince William Doesn't Want Kate Middleton to "Step Into Diana's Shoes" in One Crucial Respect

Prince William continually works to keep his late mother's memory alive. However, according to one former royal employee, the Prince of Wales is against forcing his wife, Kate Middleton, to "step into Princess Diana's shoes" in one crucial respect.

In an interview with OK! magazine, King Charles's former gardener, Jack Stooks, opened up about the future of Highgrove. Even though the property was technically handed down to Prince William when Charles took the throne, the Prince of Wales might have reservations about living in his father's old home.

"Before [Charles] became king, I think the idea was that they needed to make sure that the garden [at Highgrove] was actually protected," Stooks told the outlet. "So I think he thought that William probably wouldn't move into Highgrove...so the idea was, 'Let's protect it somehow'...So the Prince's Foundation now rents the garden from the Duchy of Cornwall."

Stooks continued, "The King rents his house from William, and William rents two of his houses from The King, so yeah, it's quite odd, isn't it?"

Stooks also suggested that William is unlikely to move his family into Highgrove House, even in the future. "Highgrove was very much his mom and dad's home [where they] were brought up, so it's like a family home that mom and dad lived in," Stooks told the outlet.

As a result, The King's former gardener worries that Prince William wouldn't want Princess Kate to feel any pressure due to living in Princess Diana's former home. "That's like [Kate] having to step into Diana's shoes," Stooks explained. "And she's so often compared to Diana in the press, which I think is unfair because...they're very separate people."

Only time will tell whether the Prince and Princess of Wales will eventually live at Highgrove. For now, at least, they appear to be extremely settled at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, and Anmer Hall in Norfolk.