While growing her family with Prince William, Kate Middleton established a set of personal “life rules” to ensure that her royal duties did not overshadow her responsibilities at home.
Royal author and journalist Robert Jobson details these guidelines in his book *Catherine, the Princess of Wales*. According to Jobson, Kate communicated her “terms” for balancing her royal role with family life to Queen Elizabeth II and then-Prince Charles III in 2015, during her pregnancy with Princess Charlotte.
Jobson notes that although these “life rules” were not formally documented, Prince William conveyed Kate’s desire to grow into her role and her need for time to adjust to royal life. Kate made it clear that she did not want to be confined to specific duties and insisted on taking her full maternity leave, away from media and public scrutiny. Her primary focus, she emphasized, would always be her family.
This commitment has been evident throughout Kate’s time in the royal spotlight, as she has consistently balanced her royal responsibilities with her duties as a mother to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Kate’s dedication to her family has been especially notable this summer as she undergoes cancer treatment while prioritizing her children. Following her public diagnosis in March and planned abdominal surgery in January, Kate has reduced her royal engagements to focus on her health and family. Despite this, she attended the Trooping the Colour in June and made an appearance at Wimbledon in July.
Christopher Andersen, author of *The King*, shared with Fox News Digital that the couple values the summer months for providing their children with a sense of normalcy away from the press. Andersen said, “Kate and William have always made the most of their summers with the children.”
He added, “The side effects of chemo are bound to make that level of participation more daunting for Kate, but she’s not about to let that spoil the children’s summer.” Andersen also noted that Kate strives to shield her children from worrying about her, believing it is her job to worry about them and keep them engaged with activities like horseback riding, swimming, and sleepovers with cousins and schoolmates during their vacation.