The Duchess of Cambridge seems to love to share adorable stories about her family. Along with dropping little details about Prince Louis, Kate Middleton has also shared that she has a tradition a lot of moms can relate to: She loves to bake her children's birthday cakes.
She shared that when it comes to celebrating her children's birthdays, "I love baking the cake. It's become a bit of a tradition that I stay up 'til midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing and I make far too much. But I love it."
Kate has often demonstrated that she's a very hands-on mother, which is a departure from how parenting has been traditionally performed in the royal family. The relationship between Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, and Prince Charles has often been described as testy at best, and it's hard to imagine that the Queen would ever have the time or, frankly, the interest in baking birthday cakes for her children.
Kate Middleton has breathed a bit of fresh air into the royal family as long as she's been in the picture. We were first introduced to her in 2004, when she and William were photographed together while on holiday skiing in Klosters. They were both students at the University of St. Andrews, and they even lived in a student house together before they started dating.
After school, the pair parted ways in terms of their careers. Kate began working for her family's party planning company, and William started training as an officer in the military. However, they were still very much a couple, and Kate even began showing up at royal events. Kate also attended William's graduation from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.
The two famously broke up in 2007, only to get back together a few months later. Later, William explained, "We were both very young [and] we were both defining ourselves as such and being different characters. It was very much trying to find our way and we were growing up, it was just a bit of space – things worked out for the better." Kate and William announced their engagement in 2010.
And, of course, the two were famously wed on April 29, 2011. Fans from around the world watched as the couple made vows and kissed. It has been said that more than 2 billion people made a point to tune in to the royal wedding, making it one of the milestone events of the decade.
Kate and William announced her first pregnancy in December 2012, and Prince George was born the following year on July 22, 2013. He immediately became third in line for the throne, moving ahead of Prince Harry. George was christened in October of the same year.
The pair confirmed Kate's second pregnancy in September 2014, and the spunky Princess Charlotte joined the family in May 2015. Prince Charles had previously told reporters, "I hope it will be a girl this time," and he definitely got his wish. Kate was thrilled, telling reporters, "I feel very, very lucky that George has got a little sister."
The family kept growing, with William and Kate announcing her third pregnancy in September 2017. This came after Prince George and Princess Charlotte had roles in their Aunt Pippa's wedding. Prince Louis joined the family on April 23, 2018.
Kate has spoken often about the joy she gets from motherhood and appears to be a natural at the job. In a speech at the Place2Be Headteacher Conference, Kate said, "It is our duty, as parents and as teachers, to give all children the space to build their emotional strength and provide a strong foundation for their future."
On a more personal note, she's also shared details about her experience as a mother: "It is lonely at times and you do feel quite isolated. But actually so many other mothers are going through what you are going through, but it's being brave enough to actually reach out."
The universality of the parenting experience is one that Kate references often. In 2019 she said, "It's so hard. You get a lot of support with the baby as a mother particularly in the early days, but after the age of one it falls away. After that there isn't a huge amount. Lots of books to read. Everybody experiences the same struggle."
Of course, this being one of the most famous families in the world, speculation is rife that the pair may be adding a fourth (or even fifth) child to the mix. If they choose to, there's no doubt that the duchess will continue to demonstrate a love for parenting that is powerful and sweet.
