Duchess under pressure KATE GROOMED TO BE THE NEXT DIANA!

The palace is pushing her to emulate the popularity of the late princess

- Karleigh Smith

For a woman who should have a good few years yet before she becomes queen, the Duchess of Cambridge has certainly shouldered plenty of responsibility in recent months.

Since Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex absconded to the US, her royal duties have almost doubled – and after Prince William and his brother’s highly public feud, the mother-of-three was relied upon to help bridge the divide, a task that ultimately proved a mission impossible.

The death of the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, also saw Kate compared to the formidable Duke of Edinburgh as someone who can fill the shoes of the family’s “strength and stay”, which friends of the 39-year-old duchess reveal felt like “a real burden” on her relatively inexperienced shoulders.

However, they say it’s nothing compared to other more private pressures she’s feeling from Buckingham Palace to distract from the narrative of the warring princes and recapture some of the popularity of the late Princess Diana following the resurgence of interest sparked by her 60th birthday.