Kate Middleton is often praised for sharing her personal experiences when it comes to parenting her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Over the years, experts have discussed how the Princess of Wales goes against royal traditions and opts for a 'hands off' approach, and more recently Kate made a rare comment about pregnancy.
During an interview with Giovanna Fletcher on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, Kate also candidly opened up about 'mum guilt' and how it impacts her, describing it as a 'constant challenge'.
When she was asked if it's something she experiences, she replied: "Yes absolutely - and anyone who doesn't as a mother is actually lying."
Expanding on her experiences, Kate said that there's one question in particular that causes her to feel it. She continued: "Even this morning, coming to the nursery visit here - George and Charlotte were like, 'Mummy how could you possibly not be dropping us off at school this morning?'
"It's a constant challenge - you hear it time after time from mums, even mums who aren't necessarily working and aren't pulled in the directions of having to juggle work life and family life."
It's a feeling that many parents will relate to, and the Princess of Wales' transparency has been widely praised. Kate also described how the guilt can affect your own decision making process as a parent, adding: "[You're] always sort of questioning your own decisions and your own judgements and things like that, and I think that starts from the moment you have a baby."
However, she went on to share that a 'wise man' once told her: "The more people you have around your children who are safe and loving and caring, the better. So yeah - it was a real weight off my shoulders that actually it's not totally my responsibility to do everything."
Giovanna Fletcher later went on to reveal that Kate had been 'nervous' to talk about the subject before they started recording, but highlighted the importance of the discussion for parents listening.
She said at the time: "Knowing whatever you say is going to be taken and dissected must be really difficult. It must be hard to navigate how much to share and whether the person you’re talking to can be trusted. I felt honoured to be given that chance."
Adding that mum guilt is an experience many can relate to, regardless of whether they're royalty or not, Giovanna added: "We’ve just got to accept it as part of what we experience, just acknowledge it’s actually a thing. That was the point of the podcast, to say it doesn’t matter who you are, what you have, what you do, there are elements of motherhood that are shared.
"To alleviate that guilt, those pressures, is really important because motherhood, although it is the most amazing thing, the reality is it can feel very alone. We need to be sharing our experiences to realise some feelings are normal."
