How Kate Middleton Missed Out On A ‘Great Soulmate’

She’s been with Prince William since they were college students and happily married to him for eight years already, but a royal expert says that Kate Middleton could have actually met someone else who would have been a “great soulmate” when she wed her husband—her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

In an interview with Express UK, Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ former press secretary Dickie Arbiter revealed how the Princess of Wales likely would have had a great relationship with both of her daughters-in-law, especially Middleton.

“Diana would have been a great mother-in-law,” he said. “I think Kate and Diana would have got on very well. Kate would have found a great soulmate in Diana.”

“William has been doing all the guiding—they were lucky because they had a relationship for eight years before they were married, but Diana would have steered Kate and advised her about whatever she wanted to know,” he added. “Kate would have found Diana very helpful and a good mother-in-law.

He also stated that the Princess likely would have gotten along well with Meghan Markle as well, and could have been a “good guide for her” in making the transition from showbiz to royalty.

However, while Diana and Kate may have gotten along well, it’s also been noted that the two women were also widely different people, and while Kate may one day inherit Diana’s title, she is still wildly different from her mother-in-law in certain ways.

It’s been noted that not only did the women come from vastly different backgrounds—Diana was born into aristocracy while Kate was a Commoner—but they also had wildly different entrances into the royal family. Diana was only 19 when she wed Prince Charles, where Middleton was 29 and had already been in an established relationship with Prince William for years, allowing her more time to adapt to royal life in the process.

The other key difference between the two was that Diana was wed to the man who was next in line for the throne, while Middleton is one generation removed from that title.