Princess Kate Balances “Mom Guilt” By Asking This One Question

One of the many universal experiences of motherhood is the presence of “mom guilt,” and the Princess of Wales is not immune to the experience. In a 2020 interview on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, Princess Kate revealed that she feels mom guilt “all the time” and thinks that “anyone who doesn’t … is actually lying.”

“You’re always sort of questioning your own decisions and your own judgments and things like that,” the princess explained on the podcast. At the time, Prince George was 8, Princess Charlotte was 6, and Prince Louis was 2—and while the mom guilt still exists, Princess Kate has found a way to balance her priorities.

Princess Kate is now known to prioritize mom duties, like the school run or the weekend rugby matches, above everything else. According to royal expert and author Katie Nicholl, the first question is “how does this work for us as a family?” and everything else comes second.

“Once a royal trip or engagement is planned, the first thing they ask before looking at the itinerary is, ‘how does this work for us as a family?’” Nicholl revealed to The Sun. “She likes to do the school run and all those things,” she said. "Every effort is taken to ensure their childhood is as ordinary as possible, whether that be through playdates, school clubs or sitting down to eat together.”

"They do need [their nanny] Maria’s help because of their busy schedules, but it’s not 24/7 and she doesn’t live with them,” Nicholl revealed. “We’re not talking about butlers, chefs and housekeepers either—it’s very slimline.”

“Being a royal mother has changed dramatically,” Nicholl added, referencing the days that nannies would raise royal children full time, and royal duties came first. “For women like the Princess of Wales, family now comes before everything else, and Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are growing up in a totally different age.”