In her 12 years as an active member of the royal family, Princess Kate's confidence has grown by leaps and bounds and she has mastered the delicate art of soft power, royal experts say. As a candidate for the next queen, Princess Kate is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, of the current royal family. That's because she can be "strong and self-possessed, but charming and kind at the same time," the Mirror reported, comparing her to the beloved Queen Mother, who became the nation's grandmother before her death in 2002 at age 101.

"People always described the Queen Mother as 'steel in velvet gloves,'" royal expert Jenny Bond told OK. Royal family expert Jenny Bond told OK, "I don't know if I've ever heard of the Queen Mother. But she was also a force behind her husband, King George VI, and her opinion mattered at the palace. I think Kate has similar qualities."

Bond, a former royal correspondent for the BBC, said of Kate, "She has spent years learning the art of being a royal and gaining status as a senior member of the family. Gradually, I believe, she has gained the respect of the public and other family members. We now see her not only as William's wife, but as a future queen."

As outlined in the latest edition of Valentine Lowe's book Courtiers, it was Kate's strength to include the passage "Recollections may differ" in the palace statement following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bomb interview with Oprah Winfrey. One source, confident that "history will appreciate the statement," told Low of the Princess of Wales, "but it's not a good idea. She is playing the long game. She is always looking at it as, 'This is my life, this is my historic path, and one day I will be queen'"

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Bond said he was not surprised by Kate's role in the palace statement: "She knew that the family's reputation was at stake, and she and William were not prepared to simply stand by and watch it be ruined. I think people will admire her for resisting the age-old strategy of ignoring criticism."