AS A NEW BIOGRAPHY IS RELEASED THE PRINCESS OF WALES

ROYAL AUTHOR ROBERT JOBSON ON WHAT MAKES KATE TICK AND WHY SHE ALMOST REFUSED HER ROYAL TITLE

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She first captivated us as the beautiful university sophomore who'd won the heart of Britain's most eligible bachelor, Prince William.

More than two decades later, public fascination with Kate, Princess of Wales, hasn't waned. In fact, it's only intensified, particularly since the mystery surrounding her abdominal surgery and subsequent revelation of her private cancer battle. All of this and more is examined in the new biography Catherine: The Princess of Wales by royal author Robert Jobson.

"She certainly has captured the imagination," he says of the future Queen, noting that the princess's qualities weren't always appreciated (particularly as she exemplifies the late Queen's motto of "keep calm and carry on"). It was only when she shared her shocking cancer diagnosis in March that "people realized what they had for the first time," Robert tells Hello! "They suddenly realized 'Kate's very important to us.' She does things in a very subtle way, but people have realized she's special."

ONE OF US

While conceding that Kate is still "a bit of an enigma," Robert explains, "I wanted to get a sense of who she really is [for the book]. This is a girl who went to work on a double-decker bus, like a lot of us have done in London.

She went to very good schools, obviously.

But her grandfather on her mother's side was a painter and decorator." This relatively ordinary family background has given Kate an understanding of "all those things that people really have to face," says Robert.

"She may be a commoner, but there's absolutely nothing common about her. She's very smart; she's driven.