From 2005 to 2013, Kate Middleton and Prince William counted on their private secretary, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, to help them plan events and overseas tours, including their 2011 wedding. Now, nearly eight years after leaving the couple’s service, the former royal staffer is opening up about how they make their relationship work, telling People that their contrasting backgrounds help them support each other.
“They are bringing to the party different means of achieving the whole,” Lowther-Pinkerton said. “He has the experience of knowing where the institution sits and seeing it evolve... The Duchess brings this pragmatic awareness of what it’s like to be from a decent, down-to-earth family.”
In April, William and Kate celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, and according to Lowther-Pinkerton, the training they got over their long courtship has helped them succeed as senior royals. “Thank God they’ve got each other and the training that they’ve had,” says Lowther-Pinkerton. “They have a solid bond through these last 10 years. If you had scoured the realm you couldn’t have got a better pair, frankly.” According to People, William and Kate have been inspired by the 73-year long marriage between Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip and Kate’s own parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, who have been married since 1980.
People also spoke to other staffers and friends of the couple, including one insider who emphasized their commitment to “being the modern face of the institution.” One staffer said the charities they support “are playing a really important role in finding a point of connection for a different range of subjects that the family hasn’t always connected with,” including mental health, parenting, and climate change.
A family friend told the magazine that parenting has also helped them find ways to balance their royal and private lives. The friend said that they have tried to “mix the traditional duty with being thoroughly modern parents.”
Last week, sources told Vanity Fair that the couple was making plans to move their primary residence to Windsor, in part because it would allow them to spend more time with the queen and Kate’s family. “Kate will be closer to her parents in Berkshire, and they can easily commute to London whilst enjoying the countryside for most of the time,” a royal source said. “There are options at Windsor Castle, which is vast, and being close to the Queen, who is 95, makes sense to the family.”
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