Back in the day, in the pre-Sussex era, there were always some tea-spilling articles about Prince William and Kate every summer. This was back when Will and Kate were generally seen as a lazy, work-shy, dull and boring – they would both disappear for months at a time, and every summer, there were “taking stock of the disappointing Cambridges” articles and commentary pieces. That all changed in 2017 and the British media has apparently never looked back. They have their marching orders and, more importantly, Will and Kate play the game. Which is why we get sh-t like “Kate is the most perfect queen-in-waiting ever” and “Kate has literally never put a foot wrong, never made one single mistake in her life, she’s truly the most perfect person in the world.” I don’t doubt that’s the messaging from Team Buttons and Middleton HQ, but I also think the British media plays along with it because they have some idea about how Kate is basically stuck in her separation cottage and gritting it out just so she can be consort to a man who treats her like sh-t. Speaking of…

Princess Kate Middleton has been preparing for her future role as queen consort, and so far, she’s been successful. True Royalty TV co-founder Nick Bullen told Fox News Digital that the Princess of Wales has been described as the “power behind the throne” by those who work closely with her. The streaming platform has a new documentary, “Catherine: Our Queen in Waiting,” which explores how Prince William’s wife has charmed palace aides, the public and the press over the years.

“The interesting thing about Kate, the Princess of Wales, is her steeliness,” Bullen said. “She is a very strong character who has transitioned from being a young bride to being a key player within the royal family. … If you look at all the photographs now, she’s always front and center. She looked amazing at the coronation, she looked incredible at Ascot. She’s now every inch the princess. And I think at the coronation, everyone agreed that she looked very much the next queen.”

“This hasn’t happened by accident,” he said. “She is a clever, smart, determined woman. And I’m told by people who work at the various palaces that she is quite literally the power behind the throne.”

Bullen is an award-winning documentarian who has been producing programs about the British royal family for 20 years. He has also worked closely with the king for about a decade. Bullen said that many senior royals have taken inspiration from the glamorous mother of three, who has modeled herself after Queen Elizabeth II. Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died in September at age 96. And as future queen consort, the princess is said to be hands-on in making key choices about the family to protect and preserve their image. And William gives her free rein.

“I think a lot of the members of the family look to her, including William, obviously,” he said. “I believe she is involved in making quite a lot of the decisions on how things move forward and how the family is portrayed. … She just continues to get better and better.”

[From Fox News]

“She is a clever, smart, determined woman” – I mean, she’s not any of those things, but she has a lot of patience and zero self-respect. Luckily for Kate and her mother, they didn’t need a “clever” scheme for William – he got rooked by the dumbest, most obvious honey trap ever by a family of grifters who lied for years about their business. She’s not the power behind the throne either – the last time Charles had anything to do with her, he unleashed his palace dogs on her for stealing his thunder at the Chelsea Flower Show. William is also in the midst of a year-long “single father” PR campaign. All that being said, I agree that Kate has more power than she realizes, but I think she’s too lazy to do anything about it.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.