To say it’s been an interesting week for the Royals would be an understatement.
Prince Harry has just spoken out for the first time about his relationship with US actress Meghan Markle. But it is Kate and Wills who are notoriously private regarding their romance. And now in a rare interview, the Duchess of Cambridge’s younger brother - businessman James Middleton - has detailed what lengths he would go to protect his sis when she first started dating fellow St Andrews student Prince William in 2001.
‘I used to be first up in the morning to make sure I could get to the papers and rip out any stories about my sister, so nobody would see them and there would be no conversations about them,’ speaking to the Daily Mail.
The 29-year-old businessman, currently dating Donna Air, also shed light on his older sister's slow-burning relationship with the Prince too.
‘It was a gradual progression,’ he reveals. ‘Of course, there was a sense of, “Oh my God, things are changing,” and “Why are so many people interested in us?”. As a family, I don’t think there is any particular “policy” on [handling it],’ he says. ‘Although one is probably not to speak to the media – ironic that I’m saying it in an interview!'
James is clearly very proud of both Kate and Pippa Middleton’s achievements. ‘My sisters were very successful and confident. It was, 'Oh, you are Pippa's brother! Are you Catherine's brother?' And so I was automatically put into the top sports teams and academic sets," he explained. "But I was a bit of a squirt when I first started, so then it would be, 'Are you sure you're a Middleton?'
READ MORE: Prince Harry Speaks Out Against 'Abuse And Harassment' Of Girlfriend Meghan Markle