Kate Middleton and Prince William have a solid eight-year marriage today but their dating and courtship years were marred by problems brought by the people around them. Apparently, one of the reasons for their big breakup in 2007 was because Prince William's friends looked down on Kate's mom, Carole Middleton.
According to a report from Daily Mirror, Prince William's circle of elite pals ridiculed the middle-class Carole as a quaint but pushy individual who talked to the Queen using phrases like, "Pleased to meet you" or "pardon." For these members of the upper class, Carole could never be posh enough even if she and her husband, Michael, a former doctor, have become self-made millionaires.
According to Daily Express, Carole and Michael built their nearly $40-million business in the late 1980s as a way to help Kate's grandparents. By 1995, the business ballooned with its own warehouse, from which the Middletons could afford to send their three children to prestigious universities.
Mirror's story on the mockery of Kate's family background was also featured in the documentary William & Kate: The Journey. Editor Duncan Larcombe said that one or two of Prince William's closes friends would mock Carole's former job as a stewardess within Kate's earshot.
At the beginning of her blossoming relationship with Prince William, Kate took the jibes against her mom in stride. However, it was only a matter of time before she could no longer laugh it off. The jokes directed at her mother drove her away from the second in line to the British throne.
Prince William, on the other hand, didn't seem affected by how his friends saw Carole. He, reportedly, enjoyed spending a comfortable and normal time with her and Michael in the family's five-bedroom house whenever he would visit Kate.
However, palace sources said that while the Queen was fond of Kate and her father, Michael, something about Carole reportedly didn't seem to sit well with the royals. Neighbors have talked about her own social circle and said that they pick friends who can help them climb the social ladder.
Part of the reason why Kate and Prince William broke up in 2007 was that she, reportedly, felt isolated by his friends' jibes against her mother. However, sources also said that Carole had no hand in the breakup.
Their time apart didn't last long, though, as history has shown, since the two reconciled and eventually tied the knot in 2011.
