Embiggening Season is upon us, IYKYK. The Princess of Wales turns 42 on January 9th, and People Magazine is getting the embiggening ball rolling with their cover story this week, all about how Kate has unique strengths and how she’s a huge asset to the monarchy. Yeah, we’ll see. I mean, I actually do think she’s an asset to the monarchy, but it doesn’t follow that Kate will be treated as such. If anything, the more she’s seen as “good for the monarchy,” the more jealous Charles, Camilla and William become and the more they want to diminish her and push her out. So that’s where we are. What’s interesting about this particular story is that Kate wants to be seen as super-close with King Charles. Hm.

Kate enjoyed the Diplomatic Reception in December: “She hugely enjoyed that evening and looked really at home,” a royal source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “She knows the important role the family plays in building relationships globally on behalf of the U.K.” Adds the insider: “It is clear that she and the King are quite close — in some respects closer to him than William.”

The keen peacemaker: Noting Prince William and Prince Harry’s “fractious relationship” with their father, the insider says, “It’s only been recently that William has been closer [to Charles] — and Kate has acted as the honest broker in that.”

Kate guides her dumb husband: Of her role alongside her husband, a former staffer says, “She provides William with “directional setting. She guides the family and guides him.” Adds royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith: “They are pursuing the initiatives that are important to them. They are not pushing to supplant the King and Camilla—they are an incredible enhancement.”

Serious Kate: “She takes things seriously — and thank goodness for that,” says a source close to the royal household. Adds Simon Lewis, former Buckingham Palace communications chief and cohost of the BBC podcast When It Hits the Fan, “She’s very much seen as a player at the center of team Windsor.”

[From People]

“It is clear that she and the King are quite close — in some respects closer to him than William.” LOL. Kitty has gotten so bold. Back in May, she was blatantly feuding with Charles over her visit to the Chelsea Flower Show on Media Day, where she bused in children of color and stole the king’s thunder (his first flower show as king!). The palace punished her for weeks about that. As Omid Scobie’s Endgame made perfectly clear, there is no love lost between Charles and William and their respective offices – any times there’s a f–k up, the other office gleefully goes on a briefing spree. Kate always wants the “peacemaker” credit, when really she’s been revealed to be a sh-t stirring drama queen behind the scenes.

Note by CB: Get the top 8 stories about the Waleses stealing King Charles’s thunder when you sign up for our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.