Kate: My amazing granny was my inspiration
THE Duchess of Cambridge will tell listeners today how childhood memories of her “amazing granny” inspired her to make quality time for her own children.
In her first podcast, Kate, 38, speaks of the need to give George, six, Charlotte, four, and Louis, 21 months, special memories.
Asked by actress and blogger Giovanna Fletcher what parts of her childhood she wants to give her children, the duchess tells the Happy Mum, Happy Baby episode: “One is quality of relationships.
“I had an amazing granny who devoted a lot of time to us, playing with us, doing arts and crafts and going to the greenhouse to do gardening, and cooking with us.
Quality
“I try and incorporate a lot of the experiences that she gave us at the time into the experiences that I give my children now.”
Kate also cites a happy home and a safe environment, saying: “As children, we spent a lot of time outside and it’s something I’m really passionate about.
“It’s such a great environment to spend time in, building those quality relationships without the distractions of, ‘I’ve got to cook’ and ‘I’ve got to do this’. And actually, it’s so simple.”
It is not clear which grandmother Kate talks about – Valerie Middleton, a Second World War Bletchley Park codebreaker, or her maternal gran, Dorothy Harrison, later Goldsmith.
Mother-of-three Giovanna, 35, whose husband, pop star Tim Fletcher, created a spoof video of
Harry and Meghan’s wedding, met Kate last month at the launch of under-fives survey 5 Big Questions.
Kate says: “It’s so important to listen to families.
“What we’re doing with the survey is asking people, what is it that matters for them in raising their children today?
“It’s going to take a long time – I’m talking about a generational change – but hopefully this is the first small step: to start a conversation around the importance of early childhood development.
“It’s not just about happy, healthy children. This is for lifelong consequences.” Giovanna said of Kate: “I had never heard her speak so openly in this way before, so personally.”
The podcast goes live at 4pm today and the survey can be found at 5bigquestions.org.uk