Duchess Kate’s best quotes about motherhood

We have watched as Duchess Kate’s eldest kids – Prince George and Princess Charlotte – have grown from beautiful babies to adorable children and big siblings to the fifth member of the family, Prince Louis, who was born last year. But even the Duchess of Cambridge has admitted motherhood isn’t always easy.
Click through our favourite quotes from Kate about motherhood and about her little princes and princess...
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She may have a live-in-nanny and other staff available to help with her children, but Kate admitted during a visit to Family Action in January 2018 that parenting is still a challenge.
“It’s so hard. You get a lot of support with the baby as a mother particularly in the early days but after the age of one it falls away. After that there isn’t a huge amount - lots of books to read. Everybody experiences the same struggle.”
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“It is lonely at times and you do feel quite isolated, but actually so many other mothers are going through exactly what you are going through,” Kate said of parenting at a meeting at the Global Academy in 2017. But she said meeting and speaking with other mothers has helped her parent. “It is being brave enough, like you obviously were, to reach out to those around you.”
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The athletic royal loves spending time in the great outdoors, especially with her children.
“I’ve got such fond memories of being in the garden and being outside from my own childhood, and I’m sharing that with my own children, George and Charlotte, at the moment,” she said in 2017 on a visit to Robin Hood Primary School.
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On a visit with Coach Core Essex at Basildon Sporting Village in fall 2018, the duchess was quick to embrace fans of all ages. When she met 58-year-old Janet Emery, who embraced both Prince William and Kate, the royal shared one of her parenting lessons.
“Hugs are very important,” she said. “I keep saying that to my children.”
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In a speech at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in March 2017, Kate confessed to a lack of confidence.
“Personally, becoming a mother has been such a rewarding and wonderful experience,” she said. “However, at times it has also been a huge challenge, even for me who has support at home that most mothers do not.”
The Duchess pointed out there was no rule book, no right or wrong and you just had to do your best. “For many mothers, myself included, this can, at times lead to lack of confidence and feelings of ignorance.”
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“Nothing can really prepare you for you the sheer overwhelming experience of what it means to become a mother,” Kate also said at the same event. “It is full of complex emotions of joy, exhaustion, love, and worry, all mixed together.
“Your fundamental identity changes overnight. You go from thinking of yourself as primarily an individual, to suddenly being a mother, first and foremost.”
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Kate paid a visit to the EACH hospice in Quidenham, Norfolk, in 2017, and mom Michala Benton said, “Kate also said about her kids that Charlotte and George run in different directions all the time.”
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Chatting to the pupils at Mitchell Brook Primary School in north west London, the royal said, “My parents taught me about the importance of qualities like kindness, respect, and honesty, and I realize how central values like these have been to me throughout my life. That is why William and I want to teach our little children, George and Charlotte, just how important these things are as they grow up. In my view it is just as important as excelling at maths or sport.”
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Referring back to her own childhood, the Duchess said: “When I was growing up, I was very lucky. My family was the most important thing to me. They provided me with somewhere safe to grow and learn, and I know I was fortunate not to have been confronted by serious adversity at a young age.”
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To the mother of a sick baby at Ronald McDonald House Evelina, Kate said: “Having a baby is a life-changing moment but for you having to go through all that as well is extraordinary.”
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Kate spoke about George and Charlotte’s friendship at a Iraq-Afghanistan memorial service. Attendee Samantha Burge told reporters: “Kate said that Charlotte is growing up really fast. She is the one in charge. We have both got two-year-olds and they are ruling the roost. It was a bit a mummy chat.”
She also revealed Kate said George and Charlotte are becoming “very good friends.”
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On a Place2Be engagement, November 2015, she said: “I know that I was lucky. My parents and teachers provided me with a wonderful and secure childhood where I always knew I was loved, valued and listened to.”
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Speaking about Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Natural History Museum, November 2016, Kate admitted: “George loves the T Rex because it’s the noisiest and the scariest.”
One of the students at the museum,
Amani, 10, said: “We asked her about her home lifestyle and her children. She said that Charlotte is very chatty and likes doing play dates with George. George is interested in dinosaurs and volcanoes.”
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“Parenting is tough,” Kate said while attending an event at the Anna Freud Centre’s Early Years Parenting Unit. “And with the history and all the things and the experiences you've all witnessed, to do that on top of your own anxieties, and the lack of support you also received as mothers... I find it extraordinary how you’ve managed actually. So really well done.”
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Proud Prince William has previously said he is “lucky” to have Kate, describing her as “an amazing mother and a fantastic wife.”
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Speaking about her advocacy for those with mental illness, Kate commented: “People often ask me why I am so interested in the mental health of children and young people. The answer is quite simple – it is because I think that every child should have the best possible start in life.”
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