Royals

Kate Middleton: ‘Parenting is tough’

The royal mother-of-two opens up on the hardships of motherhood as she takes on her first engagement of 2017.

The Duchess of Cambridge has revealed to a group of mums who have struggled with addiction and abuse that even she doesn’t always find parenting easy.

Kate, who has a nanny to help her with Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, 20 months, listened to the young parents at London’s Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families as they spoke about how their difficult pasts impacted their relationships with their kids.

Among the women she spoke to were those who had been trafficked into the UK, and others who had their children put into care.

“Parenting is tough,” Kate said honestly.

“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.”

The royal then joined in on a “theraplay” session, which promotes the attachment relationship between parents and their little ones.

The Anna Freud Centre is one of eight partner charities of Heads Together, an organisation spearheaded by Prince William, brother Prince Harry and Kate.

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