Danny Martindale/Getty ImagesKate Middleton's colorful uncle is glowing with pride over his famous niece.
Gary Goldsmith, the younger brother of Kate's mom Carole Middleton, told Hello! magazine in his first-ever interview about the royal couple that the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge is "a confident, clever, caring girl" who has met her match in husband Prince William.
"She is this confident, clever, caring girl who has taken her responsibilities in marriage and job incredibly seriously," he said. "I think everyone thinks she's sincere, in love and doing her job to the best of her ability."
Goldsmith, 47, added that the chemistry between Kate and Will felt right when she brought her then-boyfriend to a dinner party with the family.
"When I saw them together you actually just thought, even if he wasn't going to be the king, they would make a great couple," noted Gary. "They were very, very good together.
As for Pippa Middleton, Goldsmith took issue with press criticism that Kate's younger sis and maid of honor has had an easy life ever since catapulting to global fame after the royal wedding in April 2011.
"I feel so defensive about Pippa," he confessed. "She gets absolutely slaughtered for not working, and then when she does get a job, she gets attacked for doing that too. The poor girl just can't win. It's so unfair on her. I wish people would give her a break and let her get on with it."
Goldsmith—who's often labeled a playboy by British tabloids thanks to a $5 million villa he owns in Ibiza, even though he got married to his fourth wife last year—also talked about the differences between the siblings.
"They are different," he explained. "Kate works really hard at everything. She is brilliant at whatever she turns her hand to, but works at it, throwing herself into everything. Whereas Pip, everything seems to come very easily."