Princess Kate is “Acutely Aware” of the Pressure of Raising a Future King

Very few people in this world have the unique experience of raising a future king. The last one that did so—in the U.K. at least—was a monarch herself and had never known life not a part of the royal family. (Obviously we’re referring to Queen Elizabeth, the mother of King Charles.) But Princess Kate grew up in an affluent, yes, but also pretty normal family—certainly not behind palace walls. Now, she’s not only married to a future king, but the mother of one, too—and, according to The Daily Express, the Princess of Wales is “acutely aware” of the pressure she faces in raising Prince George.

George is second in line to the throne and celebrates a milestone birthday on Saturday; unbelievably, he’s 10 on July 22. Up to now, George has enjoyed as normal of a childhood as possible for a future monarch, living a relatively similar life to younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. And, while his parents are keen to keep the three kids’ upbringings as similar as possible, as he dips into double digits, George will slowly be introduced more and more to his future role and responsibility.

Royal expert Angela Levin describes Kate as a “confident mother,” but also admits that raising a future king is a “very heavy burden to carry.”

Kate is “acutely aware of the pressure of raising George as the future monarch,” Levin said. “George’s tenth birthday is a milestone. I think all parents wish their children wouldn’t grow up so fast, and it’s no different for Kate. In fact, George still sometimes holds her hand when they walk about, although that might stop when he turns 10!” (Oh, we hope not.)

The Waleses seem as though their family is complete; though Levin said “Kate is broody” and “simply loves small children” and speculation has mounted that Kate wanted a fourth child, the princess herself has previously said that her husband Prince William is positive he doesn’t want any more children. With the three children they do share, they both have made it clear that their wish is for their three children to have as normal of a childhood as possible.

“They do have a sort of normal family life,” Levin said, though they are part of one of the most high-profile families in the world. “And Kate will want to keep that up for them. I hear they all have cleaning jobs at home. There’s zero need for them to do it, but it’s a good idea that they have to put things away or wipe the table. She wants to help them understand they have to do a certain amount of looking after themselves.”

The Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes has previously reported that, according to royal sources, the family of five “do not have a full-time housekeeper specifically because Kate wants them to experience as much normality as possible.” He added that “the blueprint” for her wishes is her own “middle class upbringing,” where she was also a part of a family of five—her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, and younger siblings Pippa Middleton Matthews and James Middleton.