Kate Middleton's selfless sacrifice for Prince George and Princess Charlotte as she focused on 'priorities'

The Princess of Wales's selfless sacrifice for Prince George and Princess Charlotte as she focused on her priorities was so special.

After undergoing abdominal surgery in January, the Princess of Wales is continuing her recovery at Adelaide Cottage and isn't expected to resume engagements until after Easter. During her time at home with no public duties she’s perhaps been enjoying getting to see a bit more of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Maintaining a balance between her royal duties and life as a parent-of-three isn’t always easy and Kate once made a selfless sacrifice for Prince George and Princess Charlotte that meant she missed out on a significant annual event. 

Prince William became Colonel of the Irish Guards in 2012 and Kate later succeeded him in this role in 2022 and attended her first parade as Colonel in 2023. During Prince William's time as Colonel, the Princess handed out sprigs of shamrock alongside him every year except 2016.

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Kate missed the 2016 parade and it was reported that she did so out of a desire to prioritise spending time with her children before a major trip. 

According to Express.co.uk, a Palace statement declared, "While the Duchess has accompanied the Duke every year since his appointment [as Colonel] in 2012, and will do so again in future, this year she sadly could not make it because she is prioritising time with her children before next month’s tour of India and Bhutan."

The Prince and Princess of Wales (who were then primarily known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) were set to undertake a Royal Tour of India and Bhutan a few weeks later. This meant they spent a week away from two-year-old Prince George and 10-month-old Princess Charlotte. 

At the time, Kate's decision didn't escape criticism as some accused her of snubbing the regiment and the centuries-old tradition of handing out shamrocks. However, Kate's selfless sacrifice for George and Charlotte could also be seen as a sign of her focusing on her family priorities as well as her royal ones. 

For this particular day she put spending time with her children first, though Kate has previously described her sense of guilt when work commitments mean she's not always there to take them to school. Getting candid on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, Kate described life as a working mum as a "constant challenge".

"Even this morning, coming to the nursery visit here - George and Charlotte were like, 'Mummy how could you possibly not be dropping us off at school this morning?'" she said.

It's been suggested that the Prince and Princess of Wales received permission from King Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth to focus on their family whilst their children were young. Meanwhile, earlier this year The Sunday Times reported that the mood for the Wales family is "100 percent family first, day job second".

"The kids are always at the centre of their universe. That will continue to be the case," a royal source claimed. "They want to make sure they have as much normality as possible going forwards."

The next time Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are seen in public could be Easter Sunday when the Royal Family traditionally walk together to St George’s Chapel to attend a service.