The Princess of Wales has hinted that her family could be coming on an official royal visit to New Zealand.
Kate revealed during a visit to army barracks to celebrate St Patrick’s Day that she’s keen to bring Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis down under.
George, 11, came here with his parents in 2014, when he was just nine months old, but making the journey with all three hasn’t been an option since. However, now the children are older, a family trip is on Kate’s wish list.
While chatting to members of the Irish Guards and their families at their London barracks, she told Corporal Adam Hamilton, an Australian who serves with the regiment, “George finds it fascinating that he has been to Australia and New Zealand. I would like to go back there with them now. It’s finding time to do that.”
She sparked speculation that an official royal visit with some holiday time for the family added on may be on the cards when she said, “We tend to go further afield when it’s official visits, it’s being able to carve out time to experience these countries in a more private capacity. Because otherwise you end up seeing lots of insides of amazing buildings but you don’t get to meet that many people. It’s making sure that you can combine a bit of work with the children.”
She then told Adam, “I might see you down there!”
If Kate, 43, and husband Prince William, 42, do bring George, Charlotte, nine and Louis, six, to New Zealand and Australia on a royal visit, it could mean we’ll get to see more of them than people in the UK. Royal experts there are saying they expect the children won’t be out in public as much this year because William and Kate want to reduce their time in the spotlight.
Royal biographer Robert Hardman says after a few years of seeing the youngsters fairly frequently, it’s expected that they’ll only attend the really big family occasions in 2025.
“I think there’s definitely a view that we the public should not expect to see them any more than at the main official royal family gatherings,” says Robert. These include Trooping the Colour in June plus Kate’s annual Christmas carol concert and the Christmas Day church service in December. They may also attend the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day in May.
Kate and William appreciate how much people like seeing their children, but they’re also keen to give them as normal an upbringing as possible, and now the children are getting older they’re more aware of being in the public eye, so privacy is becoming more important.
“William and Kate are very keen to find a balance between the public and the private sides of life,” says a palace source. “The children understand that public appearances are a part of life, but William and Kate are trying to make that just a small part.”
Adds another royal insider, “Kate has always wanted the children to live in the real world. She and William don’t want them to live in a gilded bubble. They want them to grow up having the same experiences as other kids.”
Kate shared more about some of those experiences during the St Patrick’s Day engagement.
She told one soccer-mad youngster, “Our kiddies play football,” and when a mother whose daughter is the same age as Charlotte mentioned she’d seen Kate on the sideline watching matches, Kate
told her, “I was just saying, they’re doing so much, sporting events.”
Kate, who sipped a half pint of Guinness after shouting drinks in the soldiers’ mess, also talked about having moved from Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate for
a better family life.
“We were in London but moved there for more green space.”
And she commented on the beard William is currently sporting. “These trends come and go,” she told one soldier. “I was saying to my husband, I’m not sure how long he’s going to keep his for.”
William and Kate are like any other parents when they’re at home at Adelaide Cottage with George, Charlotte and Louis, says a family friend. Kate in particular is “very chilled” but definitely not a pushover. She tells the kids off when needed, but does it without raising her voice, as she and William have a pact not to shout at the children.
There are no airs and graces in the home, the friend adds. “It’s a normal, busy, family home with kids running around and knocking things over.”
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