Kate Middleton Feels the "Wrench" of Leaving Her Kids Behind to Go on Tour, Royal Expert Says

For any parent, leaving their kids at home is difficult. Kate Middleton may be a duchess, but she's also a mom—and she's not immune to this experience.

As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge settle back into their U.K. lives after their eight-day Caribbean tour, royal author Katie Nicholl recalled how difficult Middleton has found traveling without her kids in the past.

"I remember being with her when we were on a tour together in Bhutan [in 2016, when Princess Charlotte was just 11 months old] and we had a moment to talk about how difficult it was to leave little children behind," Nicholl told Closer.

"Despite being the Duchess of Cambridge and being able to afford around-the-clock nannies and so on, she had her mum looking after Prince George and Princess Charlotte, which struck me as just really normal.

"I could see how much comfort and confidence that gave her in getting on with her job, which she does brilliantly, but I think it is always such a wrench for her to leave her children behind."

Speaking to author and podcast host Giovanna Fletcher in 2020, the duchess had already admitted to feeling "mum guilt" when she has to leave George, Charlotte and Louis.

"Yep, all the time," she said. "Even this morning, coming to the nursery visit here—George and Charlotte were like, 'Mummy, how could you possibly not be dropping us off as school this morning?'"

Unfortunately, Middleton will need to travel more and more in the future as her role in the Royal Family evolves. Hopefully, it will become a bit easier for her with time as the children grow up.

"William and Kate are being groomed right now," former royal butler Paul Burrell told Closer. "They are serving their apprenticeship (to become future King and Queen) in the Caribbean—in the same way the Queen once did herself, because she is getting older and it’s inevitable what will happen.

"The Queen will be very proud of them and their duties will be more as time goes on. It’s sad for them because they have a young family and I’m sure they are going to see less and less of them."

Said Caribbean tour might have been the Cambridges' most challenging yet, since they were met with protests from the nations they visited—Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

There have been reports that Prince William intends to plan more shorter trips in the future, so hopefully he and his wife won't be away from their children for huge chunks of time.