AceShowbiz - Catherine, Princess of Wales "guides" her family. The 40-year-old royal has Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four, with her husband Prince William, and a royal expert has revealed that she's a pillar of support for the future monarch.

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, Prince William's former private secretary, told PEOPLE, "She is a matriarch. Not in the sense of an older woman in a twin set and pearls, but she guides the family and advises [William] when he wants it."

Catherine was handed the Princess of Wales title following the death of Queen Elizabeth on September 8, and she's said to appreciate "the history associated with this role". However, a source explained that she "will understandably want to look to the future as she creates her own path."

Jamie also predicted how Catherine will approach her new title and her new responsibilities. The royal expert said, "She will do so with humility and by acknowledging the past but in her own way."

Meanwhile, a Kensington Palace spokesperson recently confirmed that Prince William doesn't plan to have a formal investiture ceremony as Prince of Wales. The 40-year-old royal was given the controversial title in September, but he won't have an investiture "anything like his father had" as Prince of Wales.

A royal spokesperson explained, "Right now is about deepening trust with the people of Wales and representing the dynamic Wales that there is today. There are no plans for the investiture yet."

A petition, signed by tens of thousands of people, has called for the title to be scrapped, with campaigners arguing that the last native Prince of Wales died in the Middle Ages. King Charles was Prince of Wales for more than six decades and he was officially invested by the queen in 1969, in a formal ceremony at Caernarfon Castle. Charles also studied Welsh history and learned the Welsh language in preparation for the ceremony.