Valentine Low’s Courtiers is coming out in paperback, which is why the Times ran an exclusive several weeks ago with excerpts from some new chapters. Low’s sources insist that the now-Princess of Wales was particularly upset after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s 2021 Oprah interview. Low claims that Kate insisted that QEII’s statement post-interview include the phrase “recollections may vary.” Kate insisted on that because Kate had spent the better part of three years telling everyone in the family and everyone in the media that Meghan had made her cry, when really, Wedding Karen Kate had made Meghan cry. Well, Low is still shilling this book and he’s trying to promote it by saying that Kate is “steely” and yet she might also be very bland and an instigator. Of course, Low can’t come right out and say that, so here you go:

Kate Middleton is one tough cookie. Royal expert Valentine Low exclusively told Page Six in a recent interview that the royal, 41, is “tougher” than she lets on.

“Interestingly, behind the scenes, she’s a lot more steely, a lot tougher than we give her credit,” he said. “She’s this nice-looking woman, dresses nicely, smiles nicely, adopts sort of fairly uncontroversial charities. You know, they think she’s slightly bland.”

Low said one example of the Princess of Wales’ steeliness occurred after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in March 2021.

The Palace waited until the interview aired in the UK to issue a response and Low says in a new chapter for the paperback edition of his book “Courtiers,” that there the royal family split on how to respond.

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” the statement from Queen Elizabeth II read at the time. “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”

Low said that Jean-Christophe Gray, Prince William’s newly appointed private secretary, came up with the memorable line, “recollections may vary” in the statement, implying that the Palace disagreed about what had happened.

“There were some people in other [royal] households, who felt it would antagonize Harry and Meghan and would go down badly and just keep the whole unpleasantness going,” Low explained. “But it was Kate who really strongly made the argument,” he noted, adding that the mom of three wanted that line to stay in the statement so that Markle and Harry’s version of events wouldn’t be accepted as truth.

Low told us that Middleton is acutely aware that “she’s one day going to be Queen” and “thinks very carefully about the long-term security and strength and stability of the royal family as an institution.” He added, “She’s good. She has a good eye on the big picture, the long game.”

[From Page Six]

“They think she’s slightly bland.” I swear, Kate really is that bland. You can argue that she’s aiming for “uncontroversial” – and I think that’s true – but mostly, she really is that bland, that uninspired, that intellectually lazy. Of course Kate didn’t want the Sussexes’ version of events to be “accepted” – because even though Meghan took pains to go gently on Kate in particular, Kate came across like a huge a–hole. Even moreso in Prince Harry’s memoir. Kate was probably thrilled at the idea that “recollections may vary” would antagonize the Sussexes, because that seems to be her thing too.

Honestly though, one of the most surprising aspects of Low’s new chapters and these talking points about who came up with what line in the statement is that we’re definitely left with the impression, over and over again, that these people were issuing all kinds of statements in Queen Elizabeth II’s name and QEII had very little say in any of it. But tell me again that QEII “wanted” Camilla to be called “queen.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.