While many men prefer a night out with their friends at the weekend, Prince William was spotted in a Norfolk pub on Saturday, with his mother-in-law.
It’s a reflection of their closeness that William is more likely to be seen with Carole Middleton these days than with old friends like Guy Pelly or the Van Cutsem brothers.
The Prince of Wales always seems happy for Carole to stay with her family and I hear she has been doing just that over the Easter school holidays.
Michael and Carole Middleton arrive at Westminster Abbey ahead of the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in May last year.
The Middletons arrive at the baptism of their grandson, Prince Louis, in 2018
The Welsh will have been particularly pleased to have Carole and her husband, Mike, join them at Anmer Hall, their retreat on the Sandringham Estate, while Catherine, 42, undergoes treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
Not only can they help look after the children, George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, but they will no doubt provide personal peace of mind for their daughter.
William’s ability to continue carrying out his royal duties, while his father also battles the illness, is testament to the support the Middletons are providing.
Indeed, it is becoming clear that Catherine’s parents are as important to the future of the Monarchy as the Windsors themselves and, I believe, deserve some formal recognition for their work.
Their active support gave William the confidence to continue with his royal commitments on his own before Easter, for example, and he will do so again when the children return to Lambrook School next week.
Carole is said to have helped with school management in January, while the princess was recovering from what was described as “major abdominal surgery”.
The three children are in Lambrook, Berkshire, which is 15 minutes from Adelaide Cottage, the family’s home in Windsor, and just half an hour’s drive from Bucklebury, where the Middletons live.
William has fully played his role as a husband and father, of course, as Catherine acknowledged in her moving video message to the nation last month.
‘I’m doing well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirit,” she said.
“Having William by my side is also a great source of comfort and peace of mind.”
However, the princess could also have been talking about her parents.
It was no surprise that when Catherine was photographed in a car in Windsor a few weeks ago, it was her mother who was driving.
Doting father William comforts young George as his in-laws, the Middletons, look on in 2015
William’s increasing dependence on his in-laws is a natural development.
Part of Catherine’s appeal has always been the strength of her family relationships, with her parents and also with her siblings, Pippa Matthews, 40, and James Middleton, 36.
Remember that the prince met Catherine a few years after the death of his own mother, Princess Diana.
As their romance blossomed in the years that followed, Carole became a mother figure to him.
I still remember the shocked reaction when it emerged that William would spend Christmas 2011, his first after his wedding, at the Middleton home instead of at Sandringham with the Royal Family.
Women who had previously married into the Windsor family, such as Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Duchess of Edinburgh, were expected to prioritize the royals at all times.
It would have been unthinkable for Sophie or Sarah, Duchess of York, to spend Christmas Day with their own parents.
But the Middletons were different and still are today.
As Catherine takes time to overcome her health problems, the magnitude of the role they play has never been clearer.
And that’s why I think it’s time for Carole and Michael (she’s a former flight attendant and he’s a former flight dispatcher) to receive titles that reflect their importance.
As his friend, the tycoon Sir John Madejski, told me a decade ago: ‘They should be the Earl and Countess of Bucklebury, or something like that.
‘They deserve it. They are great people and really good role models.’
Who could disagree with that?
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