School Gate Kate! Wonder how the Princess of Wales juggles her many engagements with three children under 10

Balancing a full-time job with being a hands-on parent is not easy for any of us. Appointments, work visits, drop off, pick up… the to-do list is endless and then everything goes smoothly.

Consider the Princess of Wales, who is climbing the ranks as a senior royal, while simultaneously trying to raise three children under the age of ten.

How is she doing? Aside from a roster of assistants and Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, her dedicated Norland nanny, behind the scenes, it all comes down to careful planning, especially in terms of timing and location.

In the past eight weeks, nearly all of Kate’s engagements have been within a 30-mile radius of her home – Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, Berkshire. The family moved there from Norfolk in September last year.

Plus, they all took place between 9am and 4pm, meaning she can be around both before and after school (all three kids go to Lambrook prep school, near Ascot) and never miss her bedtime. miss kids.

Ingrid Seward, royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, says this clever planning is an example of Kate’s “extremely logical mind.”

“Every mother will wonder how on earth she does it,” adds Ingrid. “Kate has been organized and disciplined from the start. She gets up very early in the morning and can decide for herself which appointments she does and does not do and discuss in advance which days she wants to work.

“It’s extraordinary — somehow she also manages to exercise, get her hair and makeup done, and still be there for the kids.” But don’t forget she can delegate, and she has a lot of help that most women don’t have.’

Kate rarely appears at a royal event on a Monday or Friday, although she likes to work weekends when she is free from school.

Tuesday through Thursday, on the other hand, are her busiest days when it comes to engagements — and the days when she’s willing to travel the furthest from home.

For example, this week she opened the Young V&A museum in East London, 50 kilometers from her front door, and she has twice made a midweek trip to Buckingham Palace, which is 40 kilometers away.

It’s a good thing that the princess is hosting private functions at Windsor Castle, a ten-minute walk from Adelaide Cottage.

Several of her public appearances have been very close: earlier this month she visited Maidenhead Rugby Football Club, just 10km away.

And in May, she and William participated in the Big Help Out program at a Slough scout cabin, a 20-minute (8.4-mile) round trip.

She has been abroad for work just once this year, to attend Crown Prince Hussein’s wedding to William in Amman, Jordan, and has since made just three trips outside the 30-mile radius of her home (to Bath, Southampton and Nuneaton). the beginning of last month.

Her focus has also shifted to daytime openings, meetings and walkabouts: much more school-friendly than the glitzy dinners, galas and premieres she and William used to frequent.

And the working window is likely to get even narrower as the school holidays approach, as the princess’s official calendar currently shows nothing at all for July and August.

So how does royal juggling work in practice? Sarah Rainey investigates the careful calculations behind School Gate Kate’s busy week. . .