Kate reveals 'mum guilt' and says she was 'terrified' after having George

The Duchess of Cambridge has admitted royal life doesn’t stop her feeling mum guilt as well has how terrified she was after having her first child, as she gave an insight into her childhood as well as her three pregnancies.

Kate Middleton was speaking on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, as her nationwide survey on Early Years enters its final week.

She admitted she struggled with “mum guilt” and said her children George and Charlotte had asked why they weren’t being dropped off at school on the day the podcast was recorded, as she was at a nursery visit.

“It starts from the moment you have a baby,” she said.

“I feel huge responsibility. I would have done things differently during my pregnancy now, with what I have learnt.

But then she got a helpful piece of advice, “A very wise man did say to me, about my guilt of being away for work, in a nuclear family, where parents are the sole charge, we are more like animals than we think, the more people you have around your children who are safe and loving, the better,” she explained.

“It took a weight off my shoulders, because it’s not all my responsibility.”

The duchess has three children, George, six, Charlotte, four, and Louis, one.

Kate also talked about her own childhood, saying it was a happy one and praising her parents for their dedication admitting “now I’m a parent I realise how much they gave up”.

She said the ‘simple things’, like going for a walk with her children, resonated with her the most, especially when life can get so busy and distracting.

Speaking about the first time she held her eldest son Prince George, she said: “It was amazing, it is extraordinary.

“How can the human body do that?

“Also, I was relieved.”

And she said they had kept the gender a surprise so did not know they were having a boy.

The duchess said it was “slightly terrifying” knowing there was so much of the world’s media waiting outside the Lindo Wing for her, but added she and William and “hugely grateful” for the support.

Speaking about what she would like to give her children, she mentioned a photo she has of Princess Charlotte smelling a bluebell, saying “moments like that mean so much to me as a parent”.

Asked who she would write a letter to about motherhood, Kate said she would have liked to write back to herself, telling herself in her first pregnancy what she had learnt.

She also said she wanted her three children to remember moments like going to the beach and getting soaking wet and failing to light a bonfire, not a stressful home and trying to do homework.

The pair also compared their three children who are similar ages, with Kate saying she is a “hands-on mum” and wants to “do the best for my children”.

Kate spoke about her survey through Ipsos MORI and her passion for Early Years work, one she has held since marrying William.

The duchess said while she had done a lot of work with experts and doctors, she wanted to get the views of parents and caregivers who are doing the day to day work with children, which is why she launched the survey.

Kate said while there was a perception of those doing well versus those struggling, there were universal issues that went across backgrounds.

Giovanna added that mums she had spoken to had shared experiences, referencing mum guilt for those who work, sleepless nights, or thinking they were a “terrible mum”.

Kate praised Giovanna for getting mothers to speak openly about their experiences, and stopping stigma and judgement so that more families would reach out for services in their areas.

Kate answered Giovanna’s three snap questions at the end, finishing the sentences:

Being a mum means: compromise

Since being a mum I: have found a new enjoyment out of life

I’m happy when: I am with my family, out in the countryside and we are all filthy dirty.

With reporting by Rebecca Taylor.

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