Kate Middleton reveals if she’s the ‘strict parent’ — or if it’s William

It’s not all strictly business for the royal family.

While attending a Buckingham Palace garden party, the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 41, mingled with specially invited guests. Princess Kate was seen in a video shared by Sky News discussing jokes with guests Aldith Grandison, 93, and her daughter, Jay Cee La Bouche.

Kate can be heard admitting, “I’m terrible. I’m terrible at jokes,” adding that Prince William is “very good” at them.

When Grandison suggested “You’re the strict one” in the royal duo, Kate was quick to laugh it off, saying, “I’m definitely not strict! How can you tell that? Surely not!”

Both William and Kate are keen on providing a healthy dose of normalcy to the royal lives and roles of their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, a palace insider recently told People.

“Those children look pretty happy with life,” the source said. “A lot of it is the stabilizing normality Kate brings — and that’s how she grew up.”

This sense of normalcy is all thanks to Kate’s non-royal upbringing in the village of Bucklebury. The eldest of three children grew to love the outdoors by being raised in the country.

On the “Happy Mum, Happy Baby” podcast in 2020, Kate revealed that she is happiest when “I’m with my family outside in the countryside, and we’re all filthy dirty.”

The royal couple makes it a point to drive the kids to school when they can and make sure at least one parent is home to greet them.

“Coming from a different background, she appreciates the importance of having family time. She wasn’t brought up in that aristocratic setting where you see the children for a short time each day,” an insider close to the royal household told People.

But don’t be fooled to believe that William’s royal background makes him no fun. William “absolutely loves” the sense of normalcy Kate brings to the family.

With permission from the queen and then-Prince Charles, William and Kate decided together to prioritize parental responsibilities above royalty’s demands, making a conscious effort to give the kids a normal upbringing, the source said.

“Royal families over the generations haven’t had the chance to get those foundations right, but they have,” a friend of the couple told the outlet.