20 Times Kate Middleton Was Anything but a Royal Mom

Louis' second birthday portraits were so fun, because he got to get messy for them! Kate captured him finger painting ⁠— and smearing paint all over his face, because that's what kids do. But the princess wasn't annoyed that Louis got dirty. She just documented the fun moment to share with all of us. Sometimes, kids just have to be kids ⁠— even when they're royal ⁠— and Kate recognizes that.

Kate usually brings the kids with her to watch Prince William play polo, and she has a pretty casual attitude about these events. At a recent match, she even held a picnic lunch on the grass with her children. The kids sat in the trunk of the car and ate out of Tupperware. She could have been any regular mom in this moment.

She may be perfectly polished at all of her royal events, but at home, Kate loves playing with her children and making memories with them. And if she brings the kids along with her to an event, she can often be caught chasing after George, playing around with Charlotte, or making funny faces at Louis. Her royal work definitely comes second to having fun with her kiddos.

Will and Kate are doing things differently with their children. William and Harry were sent off to all-boys boarding schools, while Kate's kids go to a co-ed day school. That means they get to come home every day, and there are both boys and girls in their classes. It's a much more modern approach to educating a young royal than in the past.

Not only do Kate's kids go to a regular school, but she even does the drop-off herself. As Vogue reported, the first time she left George at school, she had a big realization. 

"As a mother just getting used to leaving my own child at the school gates, it is clear to me that it takes a whole community to help raise a child," she said. "Whether we are school leaders, teachers, support staff, or parents – we're all in this together. We are all working to give children the emotional strength they need to face their futures and thrive.”

Now that school is online for the foreseeable future, the duchess has become a homeschool teacher for Charlotte and George. "Kate is leading on most of the teaching. She spends time every day doing something with them," a source said about the mom's isolation education schedule. They could have hired an online tutor for the children, but Kate is just like us in that she took on the teacher role herself.

Kate could very well have the royal chef prepare fancy desserts for her little ones, but she loves making her children's birthday cakes herself. "It's become a bit of a tradition that I stay up till midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing and I make far too much. But I love it," she said about the sweet tradition. We love how hands-on she is in every aspect of her children's lives.

Since Kate is a fan of baking, she's encouraged her kids to partake in the activity as well. It's come in handy now that there are so many hours in the day to keep the kids occupied. "Kate bakes and decorates cakes with the kids [on] the weekend to keep them entertained," a source told Us Weekly. "The kitchen is always a complete mess by the end of it, but it's all part of the fun — that's how Kate sees it." 

There might as well not even be a royal chef considering how much Kate and the kids like to bake and cook. One meal that the children love to make with mom is pizza, according to Town and Country. The outlet reported that Kate likes to let the kids cook to encourage their creativity and independence.

She's no kitchen micromanager. 

The royals don't publicly celebrate Halloween, but that didn't stop the Duchess of Cambridge from letting her little ones dress up for a private celebration. Last year, she was even spotted buying her kids costumes at the supermarket just like any of us would. Kate was raised in a commoner household, so it's likely second nature for her to just dash out to the store herself for an errand like this.

There are certain rules that royals are expected to follow. For the most part, the princess does, but when she does break protocol, it's usually for her children. For example, Kate is starting to let both Prince George and Prince Louis wear pants, even though royal boys are usually expected to wear shorts until they're around 7 or 8 before they can graduate to pants. Sometimes, mama knows best, not the monarchy.

Shortly after Princess Charlotte was born, Kate decided that the family should skip the traditional Christmas with the Queen and instead spend it with Kate's side of the family. The Duchess of Cambridge goes to a lot of royal events, but sometimes, we all just need a little downtime with our immediate family. Kate knew when to put her foot down and ask for some time out of the Queen's spotlight.

Our cameras/phones are never far, because who knows when we might need to snap a photo of an adorable baby moment? Kate is the same, reportedly bringing her camera on all their family trips so that she can capture every important moment. Sometimes, she shares these photos with the public, but we're betting she has a whole bunch that are just special to her and probably line the hallways of her house.

Since we're all staying indoors right now, Kate hasn't had her usual access to the kids' barbers. (No problem!) She's just been cutting George, Charlotte, and Louis' hair herself. According to Vanity Fair, a source said, "[[Kate's mom], Carole Middleton,](https://thestir.cafemom.com/celebrities/225287/kate-middleton-carole-middleton-style-twins) taught both Kate and sister Pippa how to cook and cut children's hair. To them, it is no big deal." 

Just a regular mom being regular.

Kids are gonna have meltdowns ⁠— even royal kids. And because they're royal kids, some of those meltdowns are going to be in the public eye. But Kate is a pro at dealing with difficult toddler behavior even with the cameras clicking away. She's soothed many a tantrum in her days as a mom, just like we have.

It's part of being a mother.

Kate's sunglasses aren't cheap, with some of her favorite pairs running $100 or more. But moms know that we can never truly have nice things when kids are around. They play with and break and mess up many things in their way. So Kate didn't mind when Prince Louis played with her glasses during a polo outing. She's probably unfazed by things like sticky fingerprints on the lenses.

Children always want their moms to look at and be excited by every little thing, and Kate has her "shocked and intrigued" face down pat. To George, she looks so invested, even though she probably doesn't totally care about whatever he's showing her. This face is the mark of a true mom. Being excited when need be, even if we have to fake it.

Kate has been seen on more than one occasion carrying her kids' toys around for them. At this 2015 polo match, she chased George around while holding tightly to his beloved red car. When our kids are little, we often feel like we've always got at least one toy in our hands at all times. Kate is just like us in that regard, and there are no nannies in sight to help with the physical load.

Any mom with long hair knows that their children love to play with it. They also love to pull on it, which can really hurt! Kate's no stranger to that pain — like here when Prince George tugged on her locks during an event in New Zealand. He may have outgrown that phase, but now, Prince Louis has moved into prime hair-pulling age.

On a trip to Australia with a 9-month-old Prince George, he was getting a little drooly. Kate didn't think twice before wiping off his mouth with her hand, and then rubbing it on her designer dress. Moms are used to their clothes being covered with all kinds of fluids in those early baby days. Being a royal mom doesn't change that for Kate.