Carole Middleton “got a lot of flack” for appearing to be chewing gum at an event with Prince William. Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge’s mother and father had been invited to attend a special ceremony for the Duke only to be the subject of some “very unfair criticism”. Royal commentators spoke to Channel 5 documentary, ‘When the Middletons Met the Monarchy’, about the intense inspections the future queen consort’s family received before she married into the Royal Family.
Royal biographer Claudia Joseph said: “Carole and Michael were invited to William’s passing out ceremony at Sandhurst.
“Carole got some very unfair criticism for chewing gum in public.
“In fact, it was Nicorette because she’d given up smoking.
“I’m sure Carole must have been mortified by the headlines.”
Former BBC Royal Correspondent Jennie Bond told Channel 5: “She got a lot of flack for it, it’s got to be quite humiliating.
“She wore it with good grace and didn’t say anything about it.”
However, members of the Duchess of Cambridge’s family would only come to face more and more scrutiny as her relationship with Prince William progressed.
When William and Kate split for a period in 2007, the Middleton family were faced with negative headlines.
Royal author Robert Jobson explained: “William made the call, saying it was the right person at the wrong time.
“What was quite difficult was that he was not only splitting from Catherine, he was splitting from her family.
“He’d become very close to them.”
Narrator Glynis Barber told viewers that Carole, in particular, was a “target” for the press.
