In a lot of ways (the hair, the palaces) Kate Middleton is far from the average mom, but when it came time for her little prince to go off to school for the first time, the royal felt the same feels we regular moms do, and had to put her trust in his teachers.


“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,” the Duchess told a crowd at the Place2Be School Leaders Forum in London this week.

She didn’t roll up to the school gates on 4-year-old Prince George’s very first day back in September, as the pregnant mom of two was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness, which also impacted her during her first two pregnancies. Little Prince George wasn’t alone though, as Prince William was there to hold his hand that morning and deliver him to his teacher.

According to the Duchess (who has been catching up on the school runs since feeling better) those kind of handoffs are key, as parents and teachers are all teammates on team kid.

“Whether we are school leavers, teachers, support staff or parents we are all in this together,” The Duchess said while speaking at the educational conference. “We are all here today because we share the belief that every child deserves the chance to fulfill their potential.”

This is the second year Middleton has attended the Place2Be School Leaders Forum. She’s a royal patron of Place2Be, a national children’s mental health charity in the UK.

As mom to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, 2, and the as-yet-unnamed royal baby to be, Middleton feels strongly about protecting children’s mental health. That’s another thing this royal mom has in common with us regular parents.