Queen Elizabeth Once Gave Some Very Blunt, "Matter of Fact" Parenting Advice About Raising Children in the "Public Eye"
New Zealand's former prime minister, Jacinda Arden, reflected on the unexpected comments.
Queen Elizabeth II raised 4 children while simultaneously working as the U.K.'s monarch—which is quite an unusual feat. Having grown up with parents who were allegedly "party animals," the late Queen likely had a plethora of ideas about how children should be raised. While Kate Middleton "refused to be rushed" when it came to raising her own children, Queen Elizabeth apparently had some no-nonsense parenting advice for another professional mother hoping to learn from an expert.
The Guardian published an extract from Jacinda Arden's memoir, A Different Kind of Power, on May 31, in which the former prime minister of New Zealand reflected on Queen Elizabeth's astute advice. While 7 months pregnant, Arden flew to London to attend The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which included a reception at Buckingham Palace. "While in London, we met Queen Elizabeth," Arden wrote. "She had, of course, raised children in the public eye, so in our private meeting I asked if she had any advice."
Arden probably wasn't expecting the late Queen's straightforward advice. "'You just get on with it,' she said simply," Arden wrote. "She sounded so matter of fact, just as my grandma Margaret might have."
Arden also addressed the challenges she faced as a pregnant prime minister. "I had braced for the worst," the politician wrote. "I was a public figure, used to judgment and scrutiny. Now I was pregnant and unwed. I was also new to the job. If people wanted to have a go at me, they had plenty of reason to."
In the extract, Arden elaborated, "But for all this support, my pregnancy added a new kind of pressure. I was only the second world leader in history to have a baby in office."
She continued, "The first was Benazir Bhutto. She was the first woman to lead Pakistan, and in 1990, two years into her first term in office she had a baby girl. I didn't think the world's eyes were on me, but I did think naysayers' were. Those who might be waiting to say: See, you can't do a demanding job like that and be a mother."
Hopefully, Queen Elizabeth's practical advice helped Arden overcome some of the difficulties she faced as a new mother raising children on a world stage.
