The Middletons Have Been a "Rock" for Prince William

The Middleton Family Attend Church On Christmas Day — (Image credit: Getty)

The Middletons are a normal—though markedly wealthy—English family, and this, for royal expert Jennie Bond, has proved a perfect antidote to Prince William's complex royal upbringing.

Indeed, when he spends time with Princess Kate's family of origin, the Prince of Wales can relax into "regular" family life in a way that's really hard for him under normal circumstances as a King-to-be.

"The Middletons have been William’s proxy family for more than 20 years. In the crazy royal world he has been born into, Catherine’s family has been his rock, his solid foundation, his role model of a 'normal' balanced domestic life," Bond told OK!.

"Especially as it seems that William is unlikely ever to play a role in the lives of Harry’s children, he can relish being Uncle to Pippa and James’s brood.

"It’s quite something to think they are growing up very firmly out of the limelight, but they are the nieces and nephews of a future King."

To that point, Bond believes that both Kate and William are incredibly grateful to be so close to the princess' siblings and their children, because these will be the cousins their own kids—George, Charlotte and Louis—will know as they grow up. Sadly, Harry's children Archie and Lilibet may often not be a part of the Wales family's lives, given that they live so far away and their parents don't exactly get along.

These comments from Bond come just weeks after Kate's younger brother James welcomed his first child, a boy named Inigo. The princess' sister Pippa is already mom to Arthur, Grace and Rose.

"Kate is extremely close to her brother and sister, and they all live fairly close to one another," Bond added.

"I’m sure she will have raced over to see her new baby nephew—we all know she adores babies and probably couldn’t wait for a cuddle."

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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.