The Duchess of Cambridge made a heartbreaking admission about her children, especially her daughter Princess Charlotte, during an emotional chat with I’m A Celebrity star Giovanna Fletcher.
The two women sat down to discuss parenting on a special episode of Giovanna’s popular parenting podcast, Happy Mum, Happy Baby.
The Duchess admitted she experiences mum guilt when she leaves her children at home to carry out her royal duties.
While Kate doesn’t exactly have a 9-5 job, her role sees her travelling up and down the country for official visits. She’s also expected to carry out royal tours overseas, which can see her being away from home for days at a time.
Just like other mums, the Duchess says leaving her trio at home is a “constant challenge”, especially when they ask her why she’s can’t stay with them.
(Image: Kensington Palace/PA Wire)
Asked if she feels mum guilt, she explained: “Yes absolutely – and anyone who doesn’t as a mother is actually lying.
“Yep – all the time, 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?’
“It’s a constant challenge – you hear it time after time from mums, even mums who aren’t necessarily working and aren’t pulled in the directions of having to juggle work life and family life.”
She also says she sometimes feels guilty about the parenting decisions she makes.
(Image: KENSINGTON PALACE/AFP via Getty)
She said: “[You’re] always sort of questioning your own decisions and your own judgements and things like that, and I think that starts from the moment you have a baby.”
She goes on to explain how she deals with the guilt, relaying something a “very wise man” told her.
She said: “The more people you have around your children who are safe and loving and caring, the better.
“So yeah – it was a real weight off my shoulders that actually it’s not totally my responsibility to do everything, because you know we all have good days, bad days – and you can dilute that with others who aren’t on that particular day struggling.
(Image: ITV)
“I think it makes such a difference for your child, keeping them as constant and happy as possible.”
In the chat, which to promote her charity work with children and her 5 Big Questions survey, Kate also spoke about the moment she held George for the first time.
She said: “Amazing, amazing. It is extraordinary as I’ve said. How can the human body do that? It is utterly extraordinary actually. And he was very sweet .
“And also sort of relieved that he was a happy, healthy boy.”
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She also gave a heartwarming description of William’s reaction to becoming a dad.
“Seeing, you know your husband, William, and things like that. Seeing the pure joy of his face it was really special.”
Speaking about the pressure of knowing the whole world was waiting for updates on her birth, Kate admitted she was “terrified”.
Giovanna asked: “What was it like knowing that so many people outside, after you’ve given birth and you’re in your little cocoon with your new family, what’s it like?”
(Image: PA)
Kate replied: “Yeah, slightly terrifying, slightly terrifying, I’m not going to lie.”
“I like to decompartmentalise – what’s the word – compartmentalise, yes, the whole thing.
“Everyone had been so supportive and both William and I were really conscious that this was something that everyone was excited about and you know we’re hugely grateful for the support that the public had shown us, and actually for us to be able to share that joy and appreciation with the public, I felt was really important.
“But equally it was coupled with a new-born baby, and inexperienced parents, and the uncertainty of what that held, so there were all sorts of mixed emotions.”
Kate opened up about her difficult pregnancies saying she felt “utterly rotten” after suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum – extreme morning sickness – with all three children.
“It was fine. I got very bad morning sickness, so I’m not the happiest of pregnant people.
“Lots of people have it far, far worse, but it was definitely a challenge. Not just for me but also for your loved ones around you – and I think that’s the thing – being pregnant and having a new-born baby and things like that, impacts everybody in the family.
“You know, William didn’t feel he could do much to help and it’s hard for everyone to see you suffering without actually being able to do anything about it.
“I wasn’t eating the things I should be eating – but yet, the body was still able to take all the goodness from my body and to grow new life, which I think is fascinating.”
After much speculation Kate also confirmed she did hypnobirthing, saying she didn’t discuss the idea with William at all.
She said: “I’m not going to say that William was standing there sort of, chanting sweet nothings at me. He definitely wasn’t! I didn’t even ask him about it, but it was just something I wanted to do for myself.
“I saw the power of it really, the meditation and the deep breathing and things like that – that they teach you in hypnobirthing – when I was really sick and actually I realised that this was something I could take control of, I suppose, during labour.
“It was hugely powerful and because it had been so bad during pregnancy, I actually really quite liked labour! Because actually it was an event that I knew there was going to be an ending to.”
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kate-middletons-heartbreaking-charlotte-admission-23043301