How ‘driving force’ Carole Middleton stepped into the breach in daughter Catherine’s hour of need…

FROM the moment Prince William began dating Kate Middleton two decades ago, he made it clear that his relationship with his in-laws was non-negotiable.

Since then, the close-knit Middleton family has been integrated into the royal fold and invited to key events such as Royal Ascot, the late Queen’s Diamond and Platinum Jubilees and the King’s Coronation.

Now Kate’s mother Carole has become the ‘driving force’ as the family help care for the Prince and Princess of Wales in the wake of Catherine’s cancer diagnosis – stepping into the breach to help look after George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis , six.

A still from Kate’s moving video message where she revealed she was undergoing chemotherapy

Carole, right, keeps an eye on her grandson, Prince George, at the King’s Cup Regatta in Cowes in 2019

Carole is always in the background, quietly helping her daughter raise her family. Here they are pictured at Cowes in 2019

Carole, right, smiles with Prince George as they attend Princess Charlotte’s christening in 2015

Carole, 69, lives with her husband Michael in a £4.7m mansion in the village of Bucklebury, which is 32 miles from Adelaide Cottage, Wales’ home in Windsor Home Park.

After Kate released her moving video message revealing she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy, a family friend has revealed Carole is giving Kate, 42, and William, 41, the ‘three R’s’.

“Carole has been the driving force that has kept the family together with a minimum of fuss and maximum modesty,” the source told The Independent.

‘She has ferried and picked up George, Louis and Charlotte, taken them to school sports matches and given them endless support. She is a real Mary Poppins-like figure.

‘She has come to the rescue, provided reassurance and been a rock for Catherine and William as they come to terms with the news.’

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said: ‘Carole and Michael are as much family to William as they are to Catherine.

‘He loves that Carole is there to help as she has been with the children from the beginning and it is easy and reassuring to have her invaluable help.

“Both with the kids and keeping Catherine’s spirits up. She’s a strong woman!’

It is now 18 years since Kate made her first official public appearance when she attended Second Lieutenant Wales’ parade at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

Kate Middleton with Carole and Michael Middleton sitting front row at Prince William’s death parade at Sandhurst in 2007

Carole and Kate are pictured together at London’s Olympia exhibition centre

But William didn’t just send his girlfriend an invitation. He also invited her parents Michael and Carole, who sat with her in the front row of the public stand.

Since then, the couple has been invited to a host of historic occasions, but it is behind the scenes that they have come into their own.

It’s no surprise that they spent just one night at Kensington Palace with newborn son George and camped out at the Middletons’ family home, posting a family photo taken by Michael Middleton.