- The final episodes of "The Crown" introduce viewers to Kate Middleton's mother, Carole Middleton.
- It also fuels speculation Carole played a role in Kate and Prince William's early relationship.
Fans of "The Crown" got introduced to the powerhouse that is Carole Middleton in the final episodes of the series.
For some, the depiction isn't particularly positive. Carole (Eve Best) is made out to be the mastermind behind Kate and Prince William's relationship. As Kate (Meg Bellamy) tells her mother in episode 7, she was the one who had her "sights" on William (Ed McVey) for her daughter.
"You've always loved the idea of me and William together," Kate says in the episode, before revealing the extent of Carole's plan. It includes suggesting that Kate give up on the idea of Edinburgh University for a gap year before attending St Andrews (the same as William) and signing up for courses in Italy and Chile (again, identical to William.)
"Not for any sinister reason," Carole responds. "Do you know what I think? I think you're special."
The momager-type depiction of Carole has resulted in British tabloids like The Daily Mail and The Mirror comparing her to another mother with successful children: Kris Jenner.
But royal experts say that's not a bad thing.
If she were in the US, Carole's success would be celebrated like Jenner's, a royal watcher says
Like Jenner, Carole began her career as a flight attendant before later building a multimillion-dollar business, Vanity Fair reported.
Carole made her fortune with a party-planning business called Party Pieces, which she launched from her kitchen table in 1987, according to the Daily Mail.
The outlet reported that it was the success of this business that helped Carole and her husband, Michael Middleton, send their three children to Marlborough College — where tuition fees were £42,930, or about $54,525 — and buy a £4.7 million, or about $5.9 million, Berkshire manor house.
Carole's story is one of a woman who worked for her success, Kristen Meinzer, a royal watcher, told Business Insider.
"She didn't build that company on the backs of her children — she built that company," she said. "In America, we celebrate those stories."
"If somebody started off working a retail job and then became the founder and president of a company worth millions of dollars, we love that in the US," Meinzer added.
Meanwhile, she said, that story has been "seen as gauche" in the UK.
According to Meinzer, the British tabloids have painted Carole as a meddlesome matchmaker since the start of Kate and William's relationship.
She added that the new comparisons to Jenner just serve as proof that nothing has changed.
"It was very easy for a lot of the press, particularly the tabloid press, to say, 'Well, just look at Kate's mother. She's such a social climber. She refused to stay in her place, and now she's pushing her daughter to do the same thing.'"
"She had the audacity to try and make more money, to make better of herself, to follow her dreams, to tell her daughters to aim higher," Meinzer said.
Depending on what side of the Atlantic you are on, that can make you a villain or a hero.
If Carole was instrumental in Kate's relationship, that shouldn't make her a villain, a royal historian says
According to Clare McHugh, a royal historian and author of the upcoming novel "The Romanov Brides," it is well-documented that Carole encouraged Kate to pursue a relationship with William.
But she doesn't see that as a bad thing.
"I think it's a tribute to modern Britain," McHugh told BI, referring to the fact that Kate was one the first people from a nonaristocratic background to join the royal family.
Unlike the generations before him, William chose a partner who was outside the usual social strata, which helped the royal family come across as more modern and open.
That's thanks to Carole, McHugh said.
"It took a very confident, very ambitious woman to see that there would be an opportunity for her daughter," she said, referring to Carole.
"It's a story of a dream that actually came true," she added. "And who doesn't dream for the best for one's children?"
Ultimately, McHugh said Carole can be credited for influencing Kate and William into a successful, long-lasting marriage.
"It was beautifully managed by someone who is ambitious, a really devoted mother, and has a pretty keen sense of how human beings operate, especially young people," she said.
And that doesn't sound too different from how others might describe Jenner.