Carole and Michael Middleton's sacrifices for Kate’s childhood are something that she’s never forgotten.
The Princess of Wales’s parents have continued to play a vital part in her life since she became a royal. Over the years Carole Middleton in particular has been described as "indispensable" and a regular visitor at Kensington Palace to help with Prince George, Charlotte and Louis’s bedtime before the Wales family moved to Adelaide Cottage. The families now live closer to each other and Kate has previously reflected upon how "dedicated" Carole and Michael are. So much so that they "sacrificed" a lot for Kate and her siblings, Pippa and James growing up and she came to appreciate this even more as an adult.
Speaking to Giovanna Fletcher on her Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, the Princess of Wales reflected upon her idyllic childhood. It was then that she explained how Carole and Michael "sacrificed" their free time to cheer them on at all their sporting events.
"I had a very happy childhood. It was great fun. I’m very lucky I come from a very strong family. My parents were hugely dedicated," Kate shared. "I really appreciate now as a parent how much they sacrificed for us. They came to every sports match, they’d be the ones on the side-line shouting, and we’d always have our family holidays together."
It seems that since becoming a mum herself, Kate has come to value Carole and Michael’s unwavering commitment to supporting their children’s hobbies in a slightly different way. Kate’s memories of playing matches and seeing Carole and Michael Middleton on the side-lines cheering have clearly had a huge impact upon her.
She’s been pictured attending one of Prince George’s football matches before and has often discussed her children’s favourite hobbies.
During another podcast appearance last year Kate explained how her parents encouraged her love of sports when she was a child.
"I suppose as a family we were just very active. And I can always remember being physical, using our bodies, whether it's walking, climbing the lake district in Scotland [or] swimming from a young age," she said on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast. "[My parents] always encouraged us to be physically active and sporty and they always encouraged us into doing team sports and trying things."
Carrying this lesson through to her parenting approach, the senior royal now encourages Prince George, Charlotte and Louis to try different things too. Kate explained at a visit to Nottingham Trent University in 2023 that whilst at university she’d gone to plenty of clubs and that "it’s one of the things with [her] kids too, just trying out new things".
Whilst the Princess of Wales seems to be taking a similar approach to her parents, their decision to be there at every sports match isn’t the only sacrifice they’ve made. Writing previously in the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine, Kate Mansey claimed that whilst the public "may not have noticed", Carole allegedly accompanied the Waleses on their tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2014 so she could "help with Prince George".
If this is correct then Carole selflessly spent three weeks away from home to assist with childcare and as she was believed to have still been running her former business, Party Pieces, day-to-day at the time she might have had to work around the time difference too. This was such a heartfelt gesture from Carole and one that was likely very much appreciated by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
