The everyday household chores Princess Kate insists on doing herself

Princess Kate is a talented cook and often enlists her children to help her prepare meals and set the table, as her parents did with her.  

"The Middletons were an exceptionally close family, and Carole and Mike enjoyed the vibrancy of their children, the stories and noise and laughter," explained Katie Nicholl in her book Kate: The Future Queen.

"Every weeknight, they would eat a home-cooked supper together around the kitchen table," she continued. 

"Mealtimes were an opportunity to bring the family together, and all three children were expected to help. One would lay the table, another would clear up, and they were not allowed to leave their seats until their plates were clean."

Kate shared insight into her love of baking and cooking on the A Berry Royal Christmas special. "I love making the cake," she said. 

"It's become a bit of a tradition that I stay up 'til midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing…But I love it."

She added that getting her children involved in cooking had brought them closer as a family. "I really enjoy [cooking at home] and again for them to be creative, for them to try and be as independent as possible with it," she said.

The mother of three reportedly does the majority of her own housekeeping and relies on her husband and children to help keep their home tidy.

"The children – and William – are expected to do regular chores, such as emptying the dishwasher and tidying around the house," said The Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes. 

"[The family] do not have a full-time housekeeper specifically because Kate wants them to experience as much normality as possible."

Kate and Will reportedly don’t employ many staff members to care for them, and instead rely on a yeoman to look after an array of their needs.

Kate and William share the responsibility of taking their kids to school, as royal biographer Tom Quinn told The Daily Express.

"I have heard that Kate has been very good at both accepting the way the system works, but also slightly subversively modifying it,” he said. 

“[Kate] insisted that William was involved in bedtime, reading to the kids and bathing them, and they split the school run.”

The Prince of Wales confirmed this to be true during an appearance on Eugene Levy’s The Reluctant Traveller, explaining: "I do try and stick to school timetables as best as possible. So, most days we’re in and out of school doing pickups and drop-offs," he said.

HCPC-registered Senior Education and Child Psychologist Dr Sasha Hall previously told HELLO! that school runs helped to build a deeper bond between parent and child.

"Moments like the school run are small but important opportunities for connection, where a parent can be fully present and focused on their child without distraction. That kind of undivided attention helps children feel seen, valued and emotionally secure."

"It also allows those interactions to remain genuine rather than something performed for the public," she continued. 

"For children whose lives are already far from ordinary, protecting these simple family routines can create a sense of normality and stability, helping them grow up in as balanced and grounded a way as possible."

Princess Kate is passionate about the environment and ensures that she recycles at home as much as possible. 

“We go through all the basics of recycling, making sure we minimise water use, and turning off lights when we leave the house and things like that," William told the BBC. 

“I think every family has these conversations. You just try to do what you can”.

The 44-year-old is an avid gardener and grows fresh produce to use in the kitchen. William admitted during a visit to the Men's Sheds that Kate "does all the gardening" and that he "really like[s] it" but has "no idea what I'm doing" when it comes to plants.  

Kate even collaborated in secret with the Royal Horticultural Society in 2019 with her Back to Nature garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.