Kate Middleton has reportedly ‘FaceTimed’ Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis everyday to keep in touch with them as she recovers in hospital from abdominal surgery.
Kate Middleton has not only stepped back from royal duties due to her recent surgery, but also from her parenting ones as the 'successful' and 'pre-planned' operation has left her with a longterm recovery period.
While she is expected to return to her family's home of Adelaide Cottage in Windsor next week, she will not return to royal duties until Easter and will likely be taking it easy when it comes to family time too.
Prince George, Charlotte and Louis have not visited their mum in the hospital, with sources saying the parents have kept them away in order to keep everything 'as normal as possible' for the youngsters, though Kate has reportedly FaceTimed with them every day to catch up and reassure them that she is ok.
"Kate loves FaceTiming the children when she is working away overseas so I'm sure they will be in regular contact while she's in the hospital, and the kids will be keen to see her as soon as she's well enough," royal expert Emily Nash told The Mirror.
"She loves having her family around her so will be looking forward to getting home and having cuddles with the kids. Both William and Kate are very hands-on parents – they take the kids to school, attend sports matches and concerts and try to be home for bedtime as much as they can. While Kate is in hospital, William will be at home keeping things as normal as possible."
Keeping things normal for kids who sit second, third and fourth in the royal line of succession looks surprisingly similar to keeping things normal for your average child. Like many families would be forced to do when one parent gets sick, Prince William has stepped back from his work and dedicated his time to his children.
“We know they are a very tight family unit, and he wants to be there for them,” Robert Hardman, author of The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, told PEOPLE. “So much of what they do with those kids is about normalising life and not making them feel like they are in a special gilded cage.
"They are a modern royal couple. There would have been more delegation [in the past]. He doesn’t want to leave it all to the nanny.”
The couple's decision to keep the children out of the hospital has been praised by child psychologist Dr Catherine Wikholm, who says that seeing a parent in such an environment would be too jarring for such young kids.
Speaking about how best to deal with speaking to kids about a parent's illness, she told The Express, "The parent should respond to questions calmly and honestly in an age-appropriate way – keeping details to a minimum, especially if some of the details are uncertain.
"It can be a lot for a young child to process and it is important to not give too much information at once but let them know they can ask further questions."
