Prince's Girlfriend May Be Next Princess Diana

Oct. 6, 2006 — -- The odds of a British royal wedding seem to be looking better and better as new revelations surface about Prince William's relationship with girlfriend Kate Middleton.

This "commoner" could follow in Princess Di's footsteps as the people's princess, according to a new book, "William's Princess," by Robert Jobson.

People might wonder why anyone would write a book about a 24-year-old woman who won't give interviews and is famous only for dating a prince.

The answer is simple: Middleton may very well one day be Queen Catherine.

The Stuff of Fairy Tales

Royal weddings always have a fairy tale aura complete with horses and carriages. But a wedding between William and Middleton might be different.

If the two marry, it will be the first time in history that a future king has married a commoner who is not an aristocrat.

Still, Jobson says, class-conscious Brits would not mind -- and neither apparently would the royal family, known to some observers as "The Firm."

"It's quite clear that she's introduced her parents to the queen, that she's met the queen on a number of occasions, that Prince Charles and the queen approve of Kate Middleton, that she is seen as very much part of 'The Firm,'" Jobson said.

"Kate clearly is on a different level from Prince Harry's girlfriend, Chelsea," Jobson said.

In Royal Favor

Although they've both been around the royal circle awhile, Middleton is invited -- while Chelsea is not -- to family weddings, family skiing vacations, and family jaunts to the horse races, even when William isn't around.

And the fact that a book already has been written about her appears to be another sign she's no flash in the pan.

"It's quite clear that she is seen as potential marriage material," Jobson said.

British media have long stoked the feverish engagement speculation, asking William a year ago whether there would be another royal wedding happening. The prince said no then.

That was last year.

It could be that times have changed or that the statement was just a smoke screen to scare off the paparazzi, who so tormented William's mother, Diana.

Middleton Still a Mystery

Still, not a lot is known about Middleton.

"She's quite a calming influence on William," Jobson said. "She's quite good fun. She'll tick him off and have quite volatile rows with William quite happily."

"Clearly, from the people who were at school with her at Marlborough, she did have a soft spot for Prince William, as did thousands and thousands of girls around the world," Jobson said.

The pair met at St. Andrews University in Scotland, which saw a steep rise in female applicants when William announced he was heading up there.

"She was friends with Prince William while going out with another guy. So I don't think it would be fair to say that her entire raison d'etre was to ensnare a prince," Jobson said.

St. Andrews University is famous for having posh students, golf, and one quite remarkable statistic: Ten percent of St. Andrews graduates marry another St. Andrews graduate.

So if Prince William wasn't a royal, he and Middleton would be just another boring statistic, a couple of posh people who met at St. Andrews.

But they aren't. Instead, they might be Britain's next king and queen.