with the school drop-off and pickup, but on the
morning of the podcast recording, Kate wasn’t
able to do so because she was helping with the kin-
dergarten class. “George and Charlotte were like,
‘Mummy, how could you possibly not be dropping
us off at school in the morning?’ ” Kate told
Fletcher, admitting that she experiences mom
guilt “all the time.... And anyone who doesn’t as a
mother is actually lying!”
Easing that stress for other mothers is one of
Kate’s main objectives. After learning in her earli-
er work with the mental-health campaign Heads
Together that “there was such a taboo, such a se-
crecy around actually speaking about emotions
and feeling,” she said her current initiative aims to
shatter those taboos so people can feel comfortable
seeking help. Her goal “is for parents to feel more
open than they did before,” says the palace source.
“She is learning it’s not about the drop-offs, but it’s
about the time you spend with your children.”
That’s a lesson she learned from her own parents,
entrepreneurs Carole, 65, and Michael, 70. “My par-
ents were hugely dedicated to us,” she says of her
childhood alongside siblings Pippa, 36, and James,
- “Life now is so busy, so distracting, and actually
sometimes the simple things like watching a fire on
a really rainy day provides such enjoyment.”
After spending a week off with William and
their kids for spring break, the couple will head
to Ireland for three days of royal engagements on
March 3, with the children remaining at home.
As always, it’s a juggling act—and the royal mom
hopes others who are doing the same will be gen-
tle with themselves. There’s a “feeling that either
those who are doing it publicly ‘very well’ have
no challenges at all... versus those who are real-
ly finding it hard,” she told Fletcher. “I’ve found
that no matter what walk of life you’ve come
from, there’s so many things that really unify
parents and families in their struggles but also
in their aspirations too. That’s really powerful, I
think, to find ways in which we can unify people
to work together to try and face some of today’s
hardest problems.”•
‘We all
have good
days, bad
days’
—KATE
March 2, 2020 47
Her Mom-Driven Mission
Kate’s research into the early years is a “fantastic opportunity” to reach new people,
says Catherine Roche, head of the mental-health charity Place2Be. “She has a
genuine passion and warmth for this work. She is a powerful advocate for children’s
mental health and has used her influence to stimulate debate.”
Bonding with Dad
Kate, who took this shot at
the family’s country
home in Norfolk, says she’s
most happy when “I’m
with my family outside in
the countryside and
we’re all filthy dirty.”
CL
OC
KW
ISE
FR
OM
TO
P^ L
EF
T:^ T
HE
DU
CH
ESS
OF
CA
MB
RID
GE
/KE
NS
ING
TO
N^ P
AL
AC
E/G
ETT
Y^ I
MA
GE
S;^ T
HE
DU
CH
ES
S^ O
F^ C
AM
BR
IDG
E/S
HU
TT
ER
STO
CK
;^
CH
RIS
JA
CK
SO
N/
GE
TT
Y^ IM
AG
ES;
AL
AS
TA
IR^
GR
AN
T/A
P/S
HU
TT
ER
STO
CK
;^ O
LI^ S
CA
RF
F/G
ET
TY
IM
AG
ES;
DA
VID
PA
RK
ER
/G
ET
TY
IM
AG
ES
