It's one of those tired historic cliches — a product, perhaps, of a society that looks for discord amongst women — that too often proves true.
The shadow of the mother-in-law looming large over her son's wife, as they construct a existence together, begin a family. The energy in that relationship, the worry of in no way measuring up.
So spare a thought for Catherine, the new Princess of Wales, dwelling in the shadow of Diana, the "People's Princess", her husband's late loved mother whom she'd never met.
After the Queen's loss of life this month, Prince Charles shortly bestowed his former title — the Prince of Wales — on his son William, and Catherine grew to be the Princess.
There hasn't been a Princess of Wales considering Diana's death in a auto crash in 1997 and Catherine would be properly conscious of the value of it holds — for the family, and the British public.
Women's Weekly royal correspondent Juliet Rieden says it is a actual endorsement of Catherine's work and her location in the family that her new title used to be announced through King Charles so quickly.
"There is a strain that comes with it. But I suppose that strain has been on Catherine's shoulders from the minute she married Prince William. The evaluation began coming thick and quickly even even though we had been speaking about her mother-in-law," she says.
"Catherine robotically stepped into that role of being the most photographed young girl in the royal family. That is the mantle that comes with the Princess of Wales."
Cultural historian Dr Cindy McCreery says the problems during Diana's time in the role has finally changed how the royal household would cope with the Princess of Wales.
"The number-one message the royal family has learned from the days of Diana is that they should support the Princess of Wales, that they need to consist of her, that she have to truly be viewed and experience to be completely phase of the family," she says.
"I suppose they've achieved that although, of course, one ought to then comment that clearly, Megan Markel, and Harry have now not felt entirely welcomed."
The ghost of Diana
The late Hilary Mantel as soon as wrote of Diana that we "gossip about her as if she had simply left the room", despite her demise now being 25 years ago.
That icon held on a timeless pedestal bares little resemblance to the 19-year-old female from an aristocratic family thrust into the limelight.
"The princess we invented to fill a vacancy had little to do with any true person. Even at the establishing she was solely loosely based totally on the younger girl born Diana Spencer," Mantel wrote.
After the break-down of her marriage with Charles, the tabloids had been relentless, and when she died in a vehicle crash in Paris, paparazzi were trailing not far behind.
Already a public favourite, her early and tragic demise sealed her legacy.
McCreery, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, puts that in viewpoint for today.
"It have to be an high-quality set of footwear to fill," McCreedy says.
"And, of course, Diana died at age 36. Younger than Catherine is now. And she will, of course, always be frozen in people's memories as his young, lovely princess and that's a definitely hard act to follow
"She would be in her early 60s now, but people will by no means suppose that."
A title with a lengthy history
For generations, royal spouses have been dealing with the identical challenge.
The title of Princess of Wales has its origins in medieval times, in accordance to McCreery.
"It is not via and of itself a title that offers the holder any sort of constitutional or political power. It's traditionally given to the wife of the Prince of Wales, being the spouse of the instant heir to the British throne, however that is not usually been the case," she says.
"It hasn't of course been held by way of all future queens because it kind of relies upon on the state of affairs they were in when their husband grew to be king.
"Queen Mary — Queen Elizabeth's grandmother — used to be the remaining Princess of Wales before Diana."
Her eldest son, Edward VIII, wasn't married when he took the throne, however later abdicated to be able to marry the American divorcee Wallace Simpson. His brother, Albert, who used to be then the Duke of York, became King George VI.
"His spouse — who grew to be Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother — came to the throne having in the past been the Duchess of York because of course, her husband wasn't the Prince of Wales," McCreedy says.
The Queen Consort Camilla, too, did not take the title, which is some other form of baggage for Catherine, says Juliet Rieden.
"Camilla was once entitled to that title after Diana however did not pick out to use it. So the title has type of been on ice for a while," she says.
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