People: Princess Kate is very much seen as a player at the center of team Windsor

Every year, I forget about the annual early-January keenery for the Princess of Wales’s birthday. When Kate turned 40 in 2022, we got wall-to-wall sugar for a solid month, just story after story about how Kate is the most perfect, most humble, most special person to ever marry into the royal family. Well, we are heading into Kate’s 42nd birthday keenery and I wonder how big the palace will go for this one. Judging from People Magazine’s cover story this week, it feels like this birthday will be used for some image-maintenance around Kate being (accidentally) named as one of the royal racists. Some highlights:

Kate ignored all of the royal-racist stories in November & December: “It is why a lot of people who have worked with her think she is such an asset to the royal family, because she has this amazing professionalism,” royal author Valentine Low tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

Kate is tough, despite appearances: Like other royal consorts in history, Kate has a toughness behind the scenes as she supports her husband and future king William. “She has this public image of being nice and smiley and, dare I say, innocuous,” royal author Valentine Low tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “But she is actually strong-minded, strong-willed and prepared to fight for what she wants and what she thinks is right.”

Kate’s insistence on “recollections may vary” in the palace’s statement: “She thought it was very important this did not go unchallenged,” Low says. “Kate thinks strategically. She is going to be queen one day and has the longterm interests of the monarchy and royal family at heart.” Adds royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith, “She showed real strength and determination to make things clear that there was perhaps a different truth.”

No reconciliation: After several years of family strain, claims and allegations from Harry and Meghan are in the rearview mirror for William and Kate—and there is no sign of reconciliation between the two couples. “She’s moved on and William has too,” a friend of Kate’s tells PEOPLE. “She’s very focused on what matters going forward, They aren’t looking back.”

Influential & keen: As her 42nd birthday approaches on Jan. 9, Kate can assess her first full calendar year as the Princess of Wales. And while she may not be monarch, she has replaced Queen Elizabeth, who died at age 96 in 2022, as the best-known female member of the royal family—and one who wields an increasing amount of influence. “She’s very much seen as a player at the center of team Windsor,” says Simon Lewis, former Buckingham Palace and co-host of the BBC podcast When It Hits the Fan.

She keeps calm & carries on: “She has close friends and family around her and a good relationship with her father-in-law [King Charles],” says an insider, “that equip her going forward.”

[From People]

Here’s the thing, I actually believe that Kate is “stronger” than she might seem. While I’ve made my feelings clear on Kate for years, increasingly I have a lot of hate-respect for her ability to navigate this ridiculous system and come out “ahead.” She’s a survivor too, and she’s had to do terrible things to survive. Of course, it helps that she’s married to the heir and that the palace didn’t launch a full hate campaign against her like they did with Meghan. She’s been protected, coddled and infantilized for decades, which she’s used to her advantage up to a point. The problem with all of this is that Kate’s goal was seemingly to survive short-term and not thrive or plan for the future. She’s been incredibly complacent. Instead of being “a player at the center of Team Windsor,” within the family, she’s been politically neutered, shuffled off to Adelaide Cottage and largely ignored.

Also: “she has replaced Queen Elizabeth, who died at age 96 in 2022, as the best-known female member of the royal family.” There’s currently a whole-ass queen consort but I guess People Mag doesn’t want to think about Camilla.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of People.

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