The Duchess of Cambridge received intense backlash when she was about to marry Prince William. Some even called her a social climber.
Middleton and her younger sister, Pippa, were also compared to the Bouvier sisters, Jackie and Lee. The comparison was made due to a shocking reason – their desire to “marry well.”
Middleton married the second in line to the throne and future king, Prince William. Pippa tied the knot with James Matthews, heir to the Scottish feudal title of Laird of Glen Affric.
On the other hand, Jackie became the first lady of the United States after marrying John F. Kenney. Her second husband, Aristotle Socrates Onassis, was a Greek shipping magnate who owned the largest private shipping fleet and was one of the world’s richest and most famous men. Lee, on the other hand, became a princess after exchanging “I do’s” with Prince Stanislaw Radziwill of Poland.
“There are plenty of snobbish insults from people who, despite Middleton’s obvious attributes, believe that the monarchy needs to stop marrying ‘out’ of its class,” author Vicky Ward wrote for Vanity Fair in 2008.
“One likened her and her younger sister, Pippa, 25, to the Bouvier sisters, with their obvious desire to ‘marry well.’” Middleton also received cutting remarks from Prince William’s aristocratic circle.
“One member of the young polo-playing set in the county of Gloucestershire – known in the British media as the ‘Glossy Posse’ – noted, ‘Her parents have a tarmac drive, for God’s sake,’” Ward added.
Tarmac was seen as a “new money” option as opposed to gravel or a country track.
Meanwhile, royal commentator Elaine Lui called the Duchess of Cambridge a “social climber.“ According to her, Middleton changed schools after learning that Prince William would be attending St. Andrews University.