14 Years Later: The Princess and the Persona

Kate's role was never to disrupt...it was to endure

Fourteen years ago next Tuesday, Catherine Middleton walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey…and into history. Since then, she’s become a mother, a public figure, a fashion icon, a mark of royal stability, and (more recently) a sometimes-divisive symbol of women’s roles in society.

But what strikes me the most, as the coverage around the Prince and Princess of Wales’ 14th wedding anniversary starts to emerge, isn’t the pageantry of the wedding or even the popularity Kate has amassed: it’s her quiet persistence. We don’t always acknowledge her ability to stay the course, given the more polarizing conversations about privilege and privacy that often surround her. But today, I want to unpack what Kate’s unique type of staying power actually costs—and what it gains her.

Because the Princess of Wales has never been a disruptor. She’s a constant. Let’s unpack that.