Kate Middleton says lockdown parenting is ‘exhausting’ and the children were horrified when she cut their hair

'I've become a hairdresser this lockdown, much to my children's horror,' says Duchess

The Duchess of Cambridge has said that parenting duties during lockdown have left her “exhausted”.

Speaking to a group of parents over Zoom, Kate spoke about the reality of caring for her three children, Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, during the pandemic and revealed that she has been cutting their hair.

“I've become a hairdresser this lockdown, much to my children's horror, seeing mum cutting hair,” the 39-year-old said.

"We've had to become a teacher – and I think, personally, I feel pulled in so many different directions and you try your best with everything, but at the end of the day I do feel exhausted."

The Duchess was asked by fellow parents on the call to rate her maths ability, to which she replied: “minus five”.

The parents on the call had children attending Roe Green Junior School in Kingsbury, northwest London. Headteacher Melissa Loosemore was also on the call.

During the call, Ms Loosemore conducted a “show and tell” challenge, and asked the group to write down "one word that describes parenting during this pandemic".

Kate responded with the word "exhausting", while the other parents chimed in with words including "hectic", "patience" and "challenging".

She went on to discuss the myriad roles that parents have taken during the pandemic.

"I think as parents you've the day-to-day elements of being a parent, but I suppose during lockdown we have had to take on additional roles that perhaps others in our communities, or in our lives, would have perhaps supported us and helped us with."

The group asked the Duchess what she did in order to monitor her own mental health during lockdown.

“Being able to share your own experience with others who are going through the same thing makes it feel less daunting and makes you feel less isolated,” she replied. 

"So it's really important to reach out to loved ones and friends."