9 Parenting Lessons We've Learned from Kate Middleton

Bucking Royal tradition, she said no to a maternity nurse for Prince George and dragged her world-famous heels while hiring a nanny, insisting that—together with William—she could handle mom duties on her own. And even though her family has grown since then, Kate still insists on covering playdates and doing everything within her royal power to maximize time with the kids.

Look, she gets the public interest in her children, but Kate will stop at nothing to protect these babes from peeping paparazzi. In fact, following the birth of Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Kate and William issued a friendly reminder to photographers saying, "Hey, give us our space—or else."

Kate proved she has mad photography skills with the release of Charlotte’s first-day-of-school pictures—shots she took herself. It’s not the first time, either. The Duchess also took Charlotte’s first official portraits.

A basketball game in New York, a romantic midweek movie, a low-key dinner at their local pub—Kate and William nurture their relationship with a regular dose of kid-free nights.

Prince George is already taking after his sporty parents—on a royal tour of Scandinavia, Kate Middleton and Prince William visited the Holmenkollen ski jump and revealed that little George had his first ski lesson at just 2 years old. Will Char take up field hockey, we wonder?

Kate makes one thing clear: Her role as mom comes way before royal protocol. This means she let her hubby drive her and the future heir and heiress home from the hospital after she gave birth instead of hiring a chauffeur. They've spent Christmas dinner at her parents’ place instead of with the Queen. She even had a baby shower.

When in doubt, Kate calls Carole. George hearts QT with his grandmother, too.

Her secret? One-on-one bonding time with George.

At sister Pippa's wedding in 2017, the Duchess wasn't afraid to tell her kids (and the other little page boys and bridesmaids, too) to use their indoor voices. Hey, you can't be the fun parent all the time.