To be annoyed by the Duchess of Cambridge's claim that home schooling is 'exhausting'

[Livingtothefull]

www.edp24.co.uk/news/kate-middleton-video-call-parents-homeschooling-challenges-pandemic-7080128

I accept that lockdown has had an impact on everyone to some extent, however privileged. But I can't help being irritated by this. Even if we accept that she is doing the home schooling herself without any help, I don't think there is any comparison between her situation and that of many other people. I am not saying lockdown isn't difficult for her.....but it is a million times harder if you are say a single parent, struggling with home schooling and a minimum wage job which you may lose any time, worried sick about your and DC future if this happens. And doing it in a poky flat instead of a vast country estate.

And I know she may be trying to show empathy with the rest of us. But TBH I would have much more respect for the royals if they would just acknowledge their privilege rather than claim common ground which just isn't there.

Whether she has help or not, she may be exhausted having three children at home. I can’t imagine it’s easy being the future kings wife.

I can’t imagine MM issuing a statement like this.
I hope she doesn’t.

I think a lot of people on MN have an unrealistic idea of what staff can achieve.

Well I certainly miss my cleaner, the difference is huge.

Insensitive . I have friends who if asked how things are, I would not be so insensitive in my reply.

Next they'll be remarking on how worried they are about having a job to go back to after all this

If you're jealous of someone, they won't be able to say anything right.

Why is criticism always based on jealousy? You should hear what I've said about Trump. Not jel though!

You really think she is homeschooling her kids herself?

@HeelsHandbagPerfumeCoffee

No it’s not a competition so Kate shouldn’t falsely enter best in show category

Ew.

Lol.

Won’t somebody think of the wretched royals?

I’m sure she’ll survive.

I always get confused by the “Duchess of Cambridge” “Duchess of Cornwall” nonsense, just say Kate or Megan or whoever you mean. Is Camilla the Suffolk one? Or the Essex one.

Isn’t it all just bollocks?

She could have said something like "well I know I am very lucky because I have help here and the DC can blow steam off in the grounds garden, but even so home schooling is far from easy for anyone" .

Tbh though I don't really think this is about Kate personally. As others have said, she hasn't really put a foot wrong to date. It's more about the family and the institution she represents. What feels wrong is that Covid-19 has taken a big fat highlighter pen and shown up what is irrelevant and frivolous in our society right now: the Royal family, celebrity nonsense and overpaid footballers (imho).

Jesus!!

Ok, so, some people homeschool, work, and run a house. Exhausting

She homeschooled, no doubt has royal duties, and has to do everything under a microscope. Exhausting.

Just because she isn't knocking up a spag bol and trying to do sales scales from a kitchen table, doesn't mean she can't be exhausted

*I had a video call with DoC last year in Lockdown No 1. PW set up the call on the laptop and couldn’t figure out what to do. There was a few minutes of shouting “are you on mute???” At each other. Figured it out and had the call. As we were finishing up G and C ran in and PG showed us some shit he’s been making, DoC trying to usher him out. C then had the mother of all tantrums and went absolutely berserk, threw herself on the floor and all sorts. DoC and I and the other people on the call and wry “homeschooling, shit isn’t it “ type remarks. Eventually Nanny turns up and drags them out.

Honestly, looked like a normal family to me, although most of us haven’t got a nanny*

Honestly, though that’s the thing. None of us expect her kids to be perfect angels and deal with this weird situation brilliantly. They are children. But she herself has a lot more resources than the rest of us. My children don’t have massive tantrums on zoom calls. I am so lucky they will do what I ask them 99% of the time. But as keyworker DH is out of the house a lot, I’m pretty sure she has more options on dealing with the grind than I do.

@Thewithesarehere

I can’t imagine MM issuing a statement like this. I hope she doesn’t.

She didn't issue a statement. She answered a question in a Zoom call with parents and teachers at a primary school, gave a one-word throwaway answer.

Plus, what's she meant to do.

It might be an idea for her to discuss another topic entirely. They can say before the start of any chat what they will or won't talk about. Perhaps how hard her life is might be a good topic to remove from the list of topics approved to ask.

She’s allowed to be exhausted you know. This isn’t a competition!

This annnoyed me when I heard it and I'm a fan of Kate. You're exhausted? Take the afternoon off dear, let Nanny take over and Chef will call you when dinner is ready.

Don't try and act like one of us, it doesn't do you any favours.

They can say before the start of any chat what they will or won't talk about.

Don't be ridiculous. She's a parent. She will naturally talk about the challenges of parenting.

You're just jealous.

Her life is obviously going to be easier than many other people’s lives but I imagine she parents much like she was parented, with engaged and hands on parents. I would imagine that when her and William aren’t doing their duty the nanny is an extra pair of hands to keep Louis out the way while she or William deal with the others. She’s just as likely as the rest of us to have George on the floor crying because he doesn’t want to write 5 sentences using frontal adverbials and charlotte making a song and dance about reading biff chip and kipper and the sodding golden key as the rest of us. My understanding is that they don’t have a huge staff and bottom line is, they’re the kids parents and lovely as nanny is, they’ll be wanted mummy and daddy as much as any other kids

And of course there are many people out here struggling with lockdown for all sorts of reasons and are totally bloody knackered that don't happen to have any children!

Comparing circumstances is pointless when you have no idea of what someone else's life involves or what struggles they have.

This whole pandemic has me realise what a waste of space the royal family are (used to like them). They are no REAL use to us. The odd zoom chat here and there isn't actually getting us out of this mess. Not sure what purpose they serve anymore other than annoying us with their words of 'wisdom'.

I voted YABU, but only because it's just all so relative. Most of us are far FAR better off than families camping in Calais, with the same covid fears, contemplating sticking their kids on a boat to Britain (or the gazillion other examples we could all come up with) but we still see posts here about people being upset because they can't have a babyshower or their husband bought them a shit birthday present. We all moan about our lot. We're all suffering to varying degrees. If she can't moan, we can't moan. We should all check our privilege... but if we did it every second of every day, none of us could ever have a grumble. I just think we all know what this is now... and we have to wait it out and stop picking on each other. All this comparing and sniping and dobbing each other in isn't getting us anywhere.

Do they really think that a royal saying how hard it is for them will make us all feel like we are all in it together?

Fuck that. Some of us will not fall for that bollocks.

None of us walk in her shoes, how do we know how she feels. She was asked to sum up the situation in one word, she said Exhausting. It is fucking exhausting. This feeling is not exclusive to just poor or a single parents ... we are all dealing with some sort of crap at the moment.

What's she meant to say, oh it's the nannies..chefs..butlers..cleaners..housekeepers day off and I'm knackered?

I'm not a royalist at all but even I know she cant win.

@bert3400

None of us walk in her shoes, how do we know how she feels. She was asked to sum up the situation in one word, she said Exhausting. It is fucking exhausting. This feeling is not exclusive to just poor or a single parents ... we are all dealing with some sort of crap at the moment.

It's not exhausting for her. How can it be?

My children don’t have massive tantrums on zoom calls. I am so lucky they will do what I ask them 99% of the time.

I really think you should shut up about that, it's not fair on the rest of us.

Do you realise how privileged you are?

99%?

Get out of here, it's an offence to have such an effective parent in a safe space.