Is someone trying to ruin Kate Middleton’s reputation?

After nearly a decade of smooth sailing, Kate has suddenly hit rough waters — and someone inside the palace is to blame.

Of all the iconic sentences uttered by the Queen, perhaps the most memorable was in 1992 when she said the year had been her “annus horribilis”.

In the previous 12 months, Her Maj’s beloved Windsor Castle had nearly burnt to the ground in a devastating fire. That same year, the marriages of three of her children had spectacularly combusted (while Prince Edward was still living at home and perpetually single).

Sadly, nearly 30 years later, another royal is facing her own annus horribilis — but this time it is the Duchess of Cambridge.

For year upon tedious year, Kate was the perfect royal. She popped out adorable babies, she worked hard, and she made spending hours standing around in Gianvito Rossi heels while making polite chitchat with sweating aldermen look easy.

Kate Middleton has fallen victim to scathing reports claiming a ‘rift’ has opened up between herself and neighbour Rose Hanbury.

The most biting criticism she faced was probably for her unwavering devotion to a particularly ugly range of tan pumps that she wore with unfortunate frequency. (Also, RIP all those hideous nude wedges she loved too.)

However, over the past 365 days or so, all that has changed. Kate’s world has shifted dramatically on its axis. She’s gone from a stable, entitled existence (those Gianvito Rossi heels don’t come cheap) with wall-to-wall glowing media coverage to facing a daily barrage of damaging stories about alleged feuds and tiffs erupting behind the chintz curtains of Kensington Palace.

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It peaked this week it was claimed Kate had taken the nasty decision to ostracise a Norfolk neighbour, Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The flurry of reports that followed breathlessly speculated about Kate’s surprising mean-girl streak and none portrayed her in a flattering light.

Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

Then, 48 hours later, we found out the claims Kate had instructed her Norfolk aristocratic mates to “phase out” Rose were entirely unfounded and that both the women were considering legal action. In fact, according to a report in the Daily Mail, the entire grubby situation is the result of a concerted effort to dent the duchess’s gleaming reputation.

It is impossible to know exactly who might be plotting against Kate. However, one thing we do know, unequivocally, is that it is the courtiers (or as Diana famously called them, “the Men in Grey”) who really control what goes on in palace life.

As royal biographer Anna Pasternak wrote recently, courtiers “maintain control by undermining power with gossip and setting up rivalry between courts”.

Hmm, “undermining” people and weaponising gossip? Sound familiar?

Claims have been made that Kate has instructed her friends to ‘phase out’ Rose Hanbury.

Whether these Men In Grey are the unseen Machiavellian force behind the anti-Kate campaign or some other hand, this week’s revelations do support the idea there is a concerted effort to smear the duchess’s otherwise blemish-free reputation.

It would be naive to think, should this be true, that the flow of noxious stories will stop any time soon.

All of which means Kate is facing a horrible new reality. Next year marks a decade since Wills grabbed Diana’s famous sapphire engagement ring, carted it to Africa and then proposed to his long-term squeeze. For years, it was plain sailing for the commoner-turned-HRH and now she is stuck in tempestuous, churning waters.

But Kate is smart and she is tough and I would wager quite the formidable foe. To whomever is behind this smear operation, I’d say: Watch out. I think you might have underestimated just how adept she is at manoeuvring to get what she wants. Don’t believe me? Just ask Wills.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and freelance writer. Continue the conversation @DanielaElser