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Royal baby: How the legacy of 'perfect mother' Diana could help Kate Middleton

"I think Diana was a brilliant parent to her boys and Kate can only learn from that"

Royal baby: How the legacy of 'perfect mother' Diana could help Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton will be the ‘perfect mother’ but she could also learn a few things from Princess Diana, say Royal experts.

The Duchess of Cambridge will be taking her first steps into motherhood very shortly and the world will be watching how she adapts to her new role.

Royal experts believe she will take to it like a duck to water, but also think she could learn from her late mother-in-law Princess Diana.

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Author of ‘Kate: The Making of a Princess’, Claudia Joseph said: "Whatever her faults, I think Diana was a brilliant parent to her boys and Kate can only learn from that."


Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams agrees. He told Yahoo!: "Diana was devoted to her boys. She brought them up to see how privileged they were and ensured they were linked with ordinary people. There was a lot of love and look at the way she played with her children. The photos we have seen of them are so spontaneous. She and Charles were in a marriage of terminal decline but they produced well-adjusted children."

Diana tried to give William and Harry ‘normal’ childhood experiences with trips to McDonald's and theme parks. She was also regularly seen dropping them off at the school gates.


[Raising a royal: How will Kate and William bring up their baby?]


Fitzwilliams believes Kate will be the ‘perfect mother’. He said: "She’s shown she is someone who is deeply loving – someone William could lean on at St Andrews - and has a steely determination. She has great strength of character. When she and William split up for a brief period she was pretty independent."

Although Kate may follow in Diana’s footsteps as a devoted mother, Royal experts say there are differences between the pair.

Joseph said: “Kate may well be as glamorous as Diana but they are very different people and come from totally different backgrounds.”



Diana hailed from an enormously privileged, aristocratic, old English family, while Kate comes from a family which descends from mining stock, she explains.

She said: "Diana’s parents were divorced. She was only 20-years-old and a much more fragile and troubled character when she walked down the aisle of St Paul’s. Kate comes from a much more stable background. She is already eight years older than Diana was when she got married and is more mature, well-grounded and comfortable in her own skin. Prince Charles and Princess Diana also had a considerable age gap. There were 12 years between them - almost a whole generation - whereas Kate and William are the same age and come from the same generation."


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Joseph points out that although Prince William and Kate come from different backgrounds, they actually had some similar experiences growing up.

"I think their childhoods were not as dissimilar as you might think," she said.

They were both brought up in rural surroundings and share a love of the countryside, a prerequisite for fitting into the royal family, where hunting, shooting and fishing, watching polo and going to the races are the norm, she explains.



"They both went to exclusive private schools, in neighbouring counties, where pupils socialised with one another and played against each other in sports tournaments - another interest they have in common.

While Kate was good at hockey and netball, William had an aptitude for rugby, soccer and polo. They are both keen skiers and tennis players. And they both spent part of their gap years working for Operation Raleigh in Chile before going up to St Andrews. So I am sure they will have similar ideas on how they want to bring up their children."


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Royal watchers say Kate has handled her pregnancy very well despite suffering from acute morning sickness in the early stages, putting her in hospital.

She worked right up until the last month with her final public engagement at Trooping the Colour.


Although she may not have the guidance of her late mother-in-law in bringing up her baby, she will be supported by her own parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, after giving birth.

It is thought she will move in with them for at least the first few weeks.

Joseph said: "The Duchess is very close to her own family and believes that nobody is better placed to teach her about bringing up a baby than her own mother."