Prince William and Princess Kate Gave the Queen "Immense Comfort" Before Her Death

"Her health deteriorated rapidly over the following three months."

Amy Mackelden#039;s avatar
By
Published In News
Britain#039;s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (R) shows Britain#039;s Queen Elizabeth II (L) and Britain#039;s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, around the #039;Back to Nature Garden#039; garden, that she designed along with Andree Davies and Adam White, during their visit to the 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London on May 20, 2019. The Chelsea flower show is held annually in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
(Image credit: GEOFF PUGH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died at her home in Balmoral, Scotland. According to a new book by royal expert Robert Jobson, Prince William and Princess Kate helped the monarch feel "immense comfort" prior to her death for a very important reason.

In Catherine, The Princess of Wales: The Biography, which has been serialized by the Daily Mail, Jobson explained, "As her strength ebbed away, it brought her immense comfort to know the monarchy could be entrusted to the next two generations." Upon the queen's death, her eldest son Charles became king. Prince William became the heir apparent, while he and his wife Kate Middleton became known as the Prince and Princess of Wales. As a result, the queen likely knew that the monarchy was secure in the hands of her family.

Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth II.

Princess Kate brought "immense comfort" to Queen Elizabeth II.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

In his candid account of the queen's last days, Jobson described the monarch's reality having been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. "Her health deteriorated rapidly over the following three months," Jobson explained. "She struggled terribly with failing eyesight, and had difficulty even lifting a teapot to fill her cup."

Latest Videos FromMarie Claire

A source described some of the challenges the queen faced following her diagnosis, telling Jobson, "Her Majesty could hardly see and just didn't have the strength." They continued, "She would get terribly frustrated as she hated causing a mess, pouring it over the tray."

2024 brought the devastating news that both King Charles III and Princess Kate had been diagnosed with cancer. However, in July, royal fans were delighted to see the Princess of Wales return to the public eye when she attended Wimbledon with daughter Princess Charlotte.

Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth II.

Kate Middleton sits next to Queen Elizabeth II.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jobson also detailed Princess Kate's important influence on the monarchy, and on Prince William, in particular. '[She] is somebody who always tries to see both sides of any dispute,' a source told the royal author. "She has a cool head and is 'emotionally mature'; she can open William's eyes to other points of view."

Amy Mackelden
Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.