Royal motherhood

The monarchy is not just a constitutional institution, it is a family – and one of the reasons why it has endured is because the story of its members can beautifully reflect the progress of our own lives. The Duchess of Cambridge is a wonderful example.

In a podcast interview, she has revealed that she preferred going into labour to being pregnant; she tried “hypnobirthing”; she sometimes felt “mum guilt” at balancing work and parenting; and that being a first-time parent was daunting, just as it is for everybody else. Now a mother of three, the Duchess imagines writing a letter to her younger self and recommends spending quality time with one’s children. “The family going to the beach, getting soaking wet, filling our boots full of water,” those are the memories she says she wants them to have.

Playing the part of a Royal must sometimes be very difficult because one has to give something to the public without giving too much, to respect tradition and necessary formalities while also letting us glimpse the human being beneath. The Duchess has struck exactly that balance, and it has helped bring the Royal family up to date. She recalls the “slightly terrifying” moment that she introduced Prince George to the world outside the Lindo Wing, adding that she understood that the public was excited, too, and “for us to be able to share that joy and appreciation with the public, I felt was really important”.

Few heads of state in the world today are as visible or intimately known as the Royal family, or as popular. That enduring public support is down in no small part to the Duchess’s honesty and charm.