This week has seen Prince William and Catherine Middleton celebrate 15 years of marriage, with the occasion marked by a suitably heartwarming family photograph of them and their children on holiday in Cornwall. Theirs has been a union that has generally received a good press, bar the odd salacious rumour about what William gets up to in Norfolk and near-constant speculation about Kate’s weight and appearance. However, her revelation two years ago that she was suffering from cancer led to a wave of public sympathy that has suggested that she, not Meghan, is the true heir to the compassionate, grounded legacy of Princess Diana.  

My night under fire at the White House correspondents’ dinner

Lineker’s curious silence on Golders Green attack

Zack Polanski’s shameful reaction to the Golders Green arrest

If only the same might be said of the rest of her family. Kate’s grace and dignity stands in stark contrast to the ridiculous and often tawdry antics of the other Middletons, who arrived on the scene the best part of two decades ago and have been tabloid mainstays ever since. The first to attract attention was Carole Middleton, who swiftly became catnip to the media through a combination of her steely ambition for her daughter (suggesting that she attend the University of St Andrews and study history of art so that she would have the best chance of snaring herself a real-life prince) and for her past career as a flight attendant for British Airways.  

It was reported, with some glee, that........

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