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    One Royal Bride Was Described as Being the "Embodiment of a Princess," Despite Not "Having a Drop of Royal Blood," Says Royal Biographer

    "Her very ordinariness made her perfect."

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 8 June 2026 In News

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    Royal weddings, including Meghan Markle wearing a white gown and holding Prince Harry's hand, Prince William and Princess Kate exiting Westminster Abbey, and King Charles gazing at Princess Diana
    (Image credit: Owen Humphries - WPA Pool/Getty Images/Chris Jackson/Keystone/Hulton Archive)
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    On Saturday, June 6, NHS nurse Harriet Sperling became the latest bride to marry into the Royal Family when she tied the knot with Princess Anne's son, Peter Phillips. A number of people without royal backgrounds or familial connections have married into the British Royal Family in recent decades. According to one royal biographer, one such royal bride was declared as being "the embodiment of a princess," despite not growing up within the Royal Family.

    In the book My Mother and I, royal expert and biographer Ingrid Seward shared, "Prince William married Catherine Middleton [on April 29, 2011], who turned out to be the embodiment of a princess without having a drop of royal blood."

    Seward continued, "Her very ordinariness made her perfect, and The Queen was pleased that the troubled childhood William had experienced was turned around with the support of the strong woman Catherine turned out to be."

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    Harriet Sperling's royal wedding drew inspiration from Princess Kate and Pippa Middleton's bridal style, with all three wearing lace gowns with long sheer veils

    "Her very ordinariness made her perfect."

    (Image credit: Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

    My Mother and I

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    According to Seward, Princess Kate was such a great fit for the Royal Family that she helped secure the institution's future when she married Prince William.

    "The power of the monarchy may have been whittled away but it remains central to the British constitution, and it will be up to William and his father to keep it there," Seward shared. "King Charles, as The Queen knew, was the right person to keep the monarchy on track and, with the support of his wife Camilla, prepare it for William as she and Prince Philip had prepared it for him."

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    • NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - JUNE 13: Queen Elizabeth II and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L) attend Vernon Park during a Diamond Jubilee visit to Nottingham on June 13, 2012 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage) Queen Elizabeth Felt Princess Kate Came From “A Very Different Place” Than Other Royal Wives

    Prince William and Kate Middleton on their wedding day

    "The Queen was pleased that the troubled childhood William had experienced was turned around with the support of the strong woman Catherine turned out to be."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

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    Essentially, Princess Kate's role as the future Queen makes her royal wedding more important than most.

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    Weekend Editor

    Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.

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