The summer holidays in the UK are finally coming to an end, and everyone, including royals, is back to work and school.
Prince William and Kate typically take time away from the spotlight during their children's school holidays, including half-terms, Christmas, Easter, and the summer, so they can spend time with George, Charlotte, and Louis.
Speaking to HELLO!, author Robert Jobson responded to criticisms that the Waleses chose to spend this time away from the public eye, arguing that their jobs can be "relentless" and it provides them valuable time to recharge.
He told us: "A lot of people might think that it's lazy or whatever [taking the school holidays off], but I don't think it is.
© Getty Images"They've got a long time in the top job, and after this it becomes even more relentless so I think they’re trying to manage their time as best they can whilst they've got an element of freedom."
How Prince William and Kate spent their summer
Prince William and Kate's most recent public engagement was attending the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with their three children at the start of the summer.
They've since stayed more or less out of the spotlight, though they were photographed driving around Balmoral during a week-long stay with King Charles and Queen Camilla in Scotland.
Robert, author of The Windsor Legacy, added: "They’ve got their image right, they've got their engagement at the level they want, they're spending enough time with their kids. I think they've managed it quite well.
"I think they're certainly stronger as a couple, but also as a family unit and everything. You only have to look at them in public, and they are very much a together couple, and they're very much doing their job. They really haven't really put a foot wrong."
Prince George gets ready for an exciting new adventure
William and Kate have been making their summer count for their last holidays before Prince George, 13, flies the nest and heads to Eton College, which is a boarding school.
His younger siblings Charlotte, 11, and Louis, eight, are staying at Lambrook School in Berkshire.
© Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty ImagesThe family has also spent time at the Wimbledon tennis tournament this summer, and will likely have spent many a morning walking their beloved cocker spaniels, Orla and Otto.
"George is about to become a teenager, so it's a huge moment for them as parents. And he is, of course, heading off to boarding school in September," Simon Vigar, the author of The Four Wives of Windsor, told HELLO! previously. "Eton is just around the corner from where they live, so they're going to be pretty nearby, but it’s a big summer ahead for them."
