The Duchess of Cambridgeshared a beautiful new photo of her daughter Princess Charlotte smelling a bluebell to accompany her extremely honest interview about parenting.
The snap shows the young royal crouching down in a section of overgrown grass near the Cambridge family's Norfolk home – and it's very special to Kate.
She released the photo, which she took herself, to support the point she made about the importance of children spending time outside.
The Duchess sat down with Giovanna Fletcher to discuss everything from giving birth and posing for the hospital steps photos hours later to her mum guilt when it comes to leaving George, Charlotte and Louis at home while she carries out her royal duties.
One of the things she talks most passionately about is the benefits of young children exploring the outdoors, saying it's something she loves doing with her little trio.
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She said: "There are also the environments that you spend time in as well: a happy home, a safe environment.
"As children, we spent a lot of time outside and it’s something I’m really passionate about.
"I think it’s so great for physical and mental wellbeing and laying those foundations. It’s such a great environment to actually spend time in, building those quality relationships without the distractions of ‘I’ve got to cook’ and ‘I’ve got to do this’. And actually, it’s so simple."
She speaks about the photo of Charlotte as an example of this.
She said: "I’ve got this one photo of Charlotte smelling a bluebell, and really for me it’s moments like that mean so much to me as a parent, and I try everyday to put moments like that in even if they’re small or even if I don’t have time… but that in an ideal world is what I would like to do."
William's concerned question to Kate Middleton when they arrived home with baby George
Kate has been widely praised for the candid and honest interview on Giovanna's podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby, which is by far the most open she's ever given.
One of the points many fans have found the most relatable is her views on 'mum guilt'.
When Giovanna asks her directly if she suffers from it, she replied: "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?'
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"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.
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.
Highlights from Kate's candid parenting interview
The Duchess of Cambridge shared lots of sweet details about her children and giving birth during interview on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast.
These are some of our highlights…
- Speaking about why she decided to introduce Prince George to the world on the steps of the Lindo Wing: "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.
- Admitting they practised the famous 'car seat' moment with a doll: "We were like ‘What do we do?… in a swaddle?’. ‘How’s this supposed to work?!’. We’d even tried to practice with a little baby, like a little doll, at home but you know it just never works out the way you planned it so it was quite hard to do that on the world’s stage, but no, he did a very good job."
- On holding Prince George for the first time: "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."
- William's panicked question about parenting: "It wasn’t that quiet in our household. William was like ‘Oh my gosh is this what parenting is going to be like?"
On her experience with hypnobirthing: "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."
On her mum guilt: "Anyone who doesn't as a mother is actually lying. 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."
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.
"I think it makes such a difference for your child, keeping them as constant and happy as possible."
The Duchess’s landmark survey – ‘5 Big Questions’ – examining the early years development of children can be found here and will be live until February 21.
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