Camilla, her cheeky name for the in-laws and two very formidable grannies

Just imagine what must be going through Carole Middleton’s mind today.
Her elder daughter Catherine, 30, is expecting a baby, and is bound to do what all young mothers-to-be do at such times: turn to her own mother for help and advice throughout the pregnancy and beyond.
But Mrs Middleton’s excitement is likely to be tempered with some anxiety. After all, she is a woman who spent the first years of her life in a council flat in Southall, Middlesex, yet her first grandchild will one day be crowned either king or queen.

March of the matriarchs: Carole and Camilla are pictured at William and Kate's wedding

Now consider the thoughts of the other grandmother in this royal saga, the twice-married Duchess of Cornwall, formerly Camilla Parker Bowles.
How ironic that the woman described by Diana as the ‘third person’ in her marriage to Prince Charles now fills the role the Princess would have held, albeit as a step-granny.
The Duchess, it must be said, has not merely been accepted into the Royal Family since marrying Charles in 2005, she has turned into a key figure, after the Queen herself, the trusted lynchpin between the young and old.

 

As a woman of 65 who already has five grandchildren, Camilla will be wondering just how far she should go in offering guidance to the Duchess of Cambridge. She will also be contemplating how involved she can be with the new baby without seriously offending Carole, a woman she has described to friends as ‘very lively’.
In the early days of William’s courtship of Kate, the waspish Camilla would jokily refer to the Middleton family as ‘Meet The Fockers’, a nod to the Hollywood comedy about unconventional in-laws starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert de Niro.
Such tensions are, of course, not uncommon. Yet few families are blessed with such indefatigable women — now the two most famous grannies-in-waiting in the land.

Proud: It was in 1981 - when a certain Lady Diana Spencer was planning her July wedding to the Prince of Wales - that Mrs Middleton, pictured with husband Michael became pregnant with Kate

This royal baby, it can reasonably be argued, is the direct result of Carole Middleton’s determination. It was in 1981 — when a certain Lady Diana Spencer was planning her July wedding to the Prince of Wales — that Mrs Middleton became pregnant with Kate.
Unable to continue working as a British Airways air hostess, she looked for an alternative way to earn a living. Husband Michael’s salary as a despatcher for the airline was far from princely.
She hit on the idea of making up children’s party bags on her kitchen table and selling them for pin-money to friends and neighbours. Eventually, Michael Middleton gave up his job and brought his despatcher’s experience to the expanding family business.
It was their mail-order company, Party Pieces, now an online retailer and worth in excess of £30 million, that enabled them to send Kate — as well as sister Pippa and brother James — to the £29,000-a-year private school, Marlborough College in Wiltshire. From there Kate went on to the University of St Andrews, and there she met Prince William.
Camilla’s story is one of equal determination, though in a different way. Friends believe her success is based on making herself indispensable to those to whom she wishes to be close.

Family: It is ironic that Camilla, described by Diana as the 'third person' in her marriage to Prince Charles, now fills the role the Princess would have held, albeit as a step-granny