Kate Middleton puts on brave face to hide secret heartache at huge royal event

When the Royal Family takes part in major events, they know the eyes of the world are upon them. When Kate takes part in these high-profile moments for the monarchy, she is consistently picture-perfect, and when she meets members of the public or representatives of charities she works with, she always greets them with a wide, warm smile.

Whilst there are many privileges that come with being part of the monarchy – from wealth and resources to a big platform to boost the causes they care most about – it also comes with a certain level of sacrifice. In the name of the role they play as the central part of the UK’s national symbols, they are regularly required to put their individual personhood aside when they appear in public.

A royal expert has claimed that despite how engaging Kate manages to be, even at the most high-profile royal events – there is still one major aspect of her duties that she struggles with. Katie Nicholl – a royal author and journalist – has travelled extensively with William and Kate throughout the years when they have gone on official royal tours and claimed previously that these trips were “difficult” for Kate.

“Kate wants to be modern, she wants to be hands-on, she wants to be present,” Nicholl explained, about why Kate finds the royal tours “tricky”. As a dedicated parent, the Princess of Wales struggles to be away from her children, the expert said. “Despite being the Duchess of Cambridge and being able to afford around-the-clock nannies and so on, she had her mum looking after Prince George and Princess Charlotte, which struck me as just really normal. I could see how much comfort and confidence that gave her in getting on with her job, which she does brilliantly, but I think it is always such a wrench for her to leave her children behind,” the expert said, per the Daily Mail.

The late Queen Elizabeth was known to be expert at demarcating her public and private selves, keeping a firm lid on her private self to maintain the symbolic position of the crown and allow herself to be a representative to people across the UK and the Commonwealth. Equally, other high-profile royal women have walked in these footsteps, with the late Princess Diana struggling privately for years with mental health issues and an eating disorder, but appearing in public with all smiles and warmth, until she finally admitted after the breakdown of her marriage how much she had struggled behind closed doors.

Equally, Meghan admitted after stepping back as a working royal that she had struggled with suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy, and Harry explained during their bombshell sit down with Oprah that the evening that she shared those with him, they still had to attend a royal engagement – at which photographs of the couple were taken of the pair looking perfectly happy.

“Because of the system that we were in and the responsibilities and the duties that we had, we had a quick cuddle. And then we had to get changed and jump in a convoy with a police escort and drive to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event and then step out into a wall of cameras and pretend as though everything is okay,” Harry explained.

“There wasn’t an option to say, ‘You know what, tonight, we’re not going to go’. Because just imagine the stories that come from that. While my wife and I were in those chairs gripping each other’s hand, the moment the lights go down, Meghan starts crying. I’m feeling sorry for her but I’m also really angry with myself that we’re stuck in this situation”. For Harry and Meghan, the pressure of royal duties and scrutiny of the attention that comes with them were too much full-time and were a major factor in their decision to step back as working royals.