Duchess Kate describes homeschooling, staying in touch during quarantine: 'It's really hard'
Duchess Kate is giving a glimpse into what life is like during the coronavirus pandemic for her family, including Prince William and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
“It’s really hard," Kate, 38, said when asked in an interview Thursday on ITV's "This Morning" about how her kids are coping with not seeing friends and family members. "We hadn’t done a huge amount of FaceTime and face calls and things like that, but obviously we’re doing that a lot more now, and actually it’s been really great."
“We try and check in daily with family members and speak to them about news and things like that, and in some ways I suppose we’ve got a lot more face time than perhaps we would have done before but it is difficult," she added. "It’s hard to explain to a five and a six, nearly seven-year-old what’s going on.”
Kate, William and 6-year-old George, 5-year-old Charlotte and 2-year-old Louis are spending the quarantine at their family's Anmer Hall home in Norfolk, outside of London.
William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been homeschooling George and Charlotte since March, when their private school in London switched to virtual learning due to the coronavirus.
“George gets very upset because he just wants to do all of Charlotte’s projects," Kate said of her oldest child, who will turn 7 in July. "Making spider sandwiches is far cooler than doing literacy work.”
Kate's new passion project
Kate, patron of the Royal Photographic Society, has launched a photography project to capture life during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Duchess of Cambridge and the National Portrait Gallery are inviting people across the U.K. to send in a photographic portrait that is a snapshot of their life during these times.
From the portraits that are submitted, 100 will be featured in a digital exhibition. A selection of images will also be shown across the U.K. later in the year, according to Kensington Palace.
The project, called Hold Still, will also allow people to send in written submissions with their photos to "outline the experiences and emotions of those depicted in their photograph," Kensington Palace said in a statement. The project is focusing on the themes of helpers and heroes, your new normal and acts of kindness.
“We’ve all been struck by some of the incredible images we’ve seen which have given us an insight into the experiences and stories of people across the country," Kate said in a statement announcing the project. "Some desperately sad images showing the human tragedy of this pandemic and other uplifting pictures showing people coming together to support those more vulnerable."
"Hold Still aims to capture a portrait of the nation, the spirit of the nation, what everyone is going through at this time. Photographs reflecting resilience, bravery, kindness – all those things that people are experiencing," she said.
Kate, who was an art major in college, has become well known for her love of photography and her skill. She frequently is the photographer behind the photos of her family that are shared to the public.
Most recently, Kate took the photos of her two youngest children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, that were shared for their birthdays.
