The Prince and Princess of Wales' nanny has been a loyal member of her family's staff since 2014, and while she was just recognised in the New Year Honours list with a Royal Victorian Medal (Silver) for her services to the couple, there is still one childcare task that Kate insists on picking up herself.
According to a new profile by The Times, Kate feels great pressure to "get it right" where the parenting of her eldest son, Prince George, is concerned when it comes to raising the future king. Key to her success, the insider report claims, is ensuring that she is present for school runs and sporting fixtures.
Princess Kate's dedication to the school run
Along with Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, George, 12, is a student at Lambrook School near the family home at Forest Lodge in Windsor, though he will soon head off to secondary school and Eton College and Marlborough College (his father and mother's alma mater respectively) are thought to be the frontrunners.
Our interview with Louenna Hood, a nanny who trained at the same prestigious Norland College where royal nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo was educated, revealed that it is usually a Norland nanny's duty to take care of the school run and responsibilities associated with the child's sporting activities.
"With children at school during the day, you are required to organise school pick-ups and plan logistics of the different pick-up times due to after-school sports and clubs," Louenna told us.
"Organisation is key for making each child have a filling breakfast, fuelling them for a busy day at school. And remembering to send the children to school each day in the right uniform or sports kit."
When has Kate been seen during the school run?
Though Kate will largely do the school run in private, she has been photographed on a small number of occasions dropping her children off for the day. In 2022, both William and Kate were seen dropping their brood off for their first day at Lambrook, the matriarch looking all smiles as she held the hand of each of her sons.
The sighting came after the family's move to Windsor (where they lived at Adelaide Cottage until their move to Forest Lodge at the end of 2025), having previously lived at Kensington Palace near to George and Charlotte's school, Thomas' Battersea.
Royal nanny's after-school duties
Planning meals is also a key part of a Norland nanny's duty, and Louenna revealed that Maria would have been trained to encourage the children to try new foods, telling us: "Offer small, manageable portions so your child isn’t put off or overwhelmed."
Dr Sasha Hall, a HCPC-registered senior education and child psychologist, explained to us the benefits of this approach when it comes to nurturing children to have a healthy relationship with food. "Children are more motivated when they feel a sense of control. Providing structured choices, such as one bite or five bites, encourages participation without creating power struggles," the child psychologist said. "The key is that eating is framed as a choice, not a test."
Other duties that would fall on Maria's shoulders include ensuring all clothes and shoes fit correctly and are labelled accordingly, supporting each child with their homework and making it as fun as possible, and being a listening ear. She will also promote independence in the children by teaching them skills such as making their bed in the morning or learning to make scrambled eggs for breakfast.