There’s no guidebook on how to juggle a cancer diagnosis and months of treatment. Doing so while being a mum of three young children and holding down an incredibly high-profile job. The Princess of Wales continues to come to terms with life after her devastating cancer experience last year. As she ploughs on with royal duties, her children always take precedence. She and husband Prince William are still navigating their new life post-cancer and learning important lessons as they go.
That has included talking to Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, about their mum’s illness. William, 43, has revealed it’s been a “balancing act” deciding what details to share with the kids, after Kate, 43, was diagnosed last February.
“We choose to communicate a lot more with our children… most of the time, hiding stuff from them doesn’t work,” he said in a recent interview.
“We decided to tell them everything, the good news and the bad. We explain to them why certain things happen and why they may feel upset. Sometimes you feel like you are oversharing with the kids and you probably shouldn’t. “Explaining how they feel, why that’s happening, giving them other viewpoints as to why they might be feeling like they are sometimes helps give them a bigger picture and they can relax more into it rather than being really anxious about, ‘What are you hiding from me?’ “There’s a lot more questions when there’s no answers.”
The challenge of parenting in the public eye
It’s a balancing act to know how much to say, what to say and when to say it, William explains.
“There’s no manual for being a parent, you just have to go with it.”
In another interview, he shares their family has a policy of talking about things that bother them.
“But you never quite know the knock-on effects it can have. So it’s important to be there for each other and to kind of reassure the children that everything is okay.”
“When Kate opened up about having cancer in March last year, she admitted giving George, Charlotte and Louis reassurance was important, and it had taken time to explain everything to them “in a way that’s appropriate for them”.
Juggling royal duties and parenting
Just over a year after Kate finished her chemotherapy sessions, life has returned to normal in many ways. The couple now arranges royal duties around their parenting responsibilities. William has confessed to spending much of his time chauffeuring his kids. He drives them to playdates and sports games, taking on the role of a family taxi. He also regularly ferries them to school, though it’s Kate who usually does the school runs.
“She probably does the bulk of it,” he admits.
Working women with a lot on their plate can feel guilty when they’re not always available for their children. Kate will understand that feeling, says royal commentator Jennie Bond.
“All working mums suffer mum guilt to a greater or lesser degree and I’m sure Catherine is no exception,” she explains.
Prioritising family and health
“But she is fortunate enough to be able to more or less ring-fence school holidays and to arrange her schedule so she can do many of the daily school runs.
“People might complain she’s especially privileged to be able to do that, but most people know they will be able to retire one day,” adds Jennie.
“That is not the case for Catherine. So I admire her for prioritising her children in these early years and for protecting her own health after suffering such a serious cancer diagnosis.”
A potentially life-threatening illness has changed her approach to work, says a palace insider. The series of videos she has released about nature highlights the healing role it played in her recovery. A recently released video, made to celebrate autumn in the UK, shows her spending a day in the woods with a group of children. They share food around a fire and swap stories.
Nature, healing and hidden meanings
Kate narrates the footage and while her words may seem to be all about the different seasons, sentences like, “Trees shed their canopies in preparation for winter, just as we too learn to let go of what is no longer needed,” may have a deeper meaning, referring to her new outlook on life.
Talk of change could also refer to the Wales family’s recent move. They have settled into Forest Lodge, their new home on the Windsor estate. The house, tipped to be their “forever home”, will help them move on after a difficult couple of years spent in their former home Adelaide Cottage, reveals the source.
That may be why Kate speaks of Mother Nature teaching us to find beauty in change, impermanence, and letting go.
