That’s not all, though. According to reports, William and Kate Middleton were cautioned that having a third child might not be a smart idea while they were considering the possibility. Prince Louis was born, fortunately, because the future king and queen ignored them.

In December 2012, Buckingham Palace made public the news that Prince William and Kate Middleton were expecting their first child. Prince George, the couple’s firstborn son and future monarch, was born in July of the following year.

Kate Middleton was ‘terrified’ after the birth of Prince George

George made his first public appearance in front of a sizable audience outside the Lindo Wing in Paddington, London, just a few hours after his birth. Naturally, his parents were ecstatic, but Kate Middleton also experienced tension when she gave birth to her first child and a future king.

The Princess of Wales described her experience of leaving the hospital as “terrifying” in an interview with Giovanna Fletcher’s podcast, Happy Mum, Happy Baby.

The Princess of Wales was questioned on the show about what it was like to welcome a child into the world knowing that thousands of people were already anticipating the newborn boy’s arrival.

“Yeah, slightly terrifying, slightly terrifying, I’m not going to lie. I like to decompartmentalize – what’s the word – compartmentalize, yes, the whole thing.” She also explained that she decided to follow in her late mother-in-law Diana’s footsteps and pose on the hospital steps with her little bundle of joy, as per the Mirror.

“Everyone had been so supportive, and both William and I were really conscious that this was something that everyone was excited about, and you know we’re hugely grateful for the support that the public had shown us, and actually for us to be able to share that joy and appreciation with the public, I felt was really important.”

“It wasn’t a place I wanted to hang around in”

“But equally it was coupled with a newborn baby, inexperienced parents, and the uncertainty of what that held, so there were all sorts of mixed emotions,” the Princess of Wales went on.

Additionally, Fletcher questioned Kate if she could recall the amount of time she had between giving birth to George and then posing on the steps of the Lindo Wing.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t remember. Everything goes in a bit of a blur,” Kate replied.

She concluded: “I think, yeah, I did stay in hospital overnight. I remember it was one of the hottest days and nights with huge thunderstorms, so I didn’t get a huge amount of sleep, but George did, which was really great. I was keen to get home because, for me, being in hospital, I had all the memories of being in hospital because of being sick so it wasn’t a place I wanted to hang around in. So, I was really desperate to get home and get back to normality.”

At the end of the day, William, Kate, and the other royals are just as human as everyone else. The Princess of Wales did, in fact, experience the same difficulties as many other expectant women.

Kate was diagnosed with acute morning sickness, or hyperemesis gravidarum, in 2012 while she was expecting George. She even had to go to the hospital, which she remembered as being “rotten.”

When she was expecting Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the Princess went through the same thing. Her condition even forced her to postpone a royal visit in 2014.

Kate Middleton revealed she “quite liked” labor

The Princess of Wales made the decision to talk candidly about her experience with severe morning sickness in 2023 while visiting the Orchards Centre in Kent.

As reported by the Daily Express, Kate spoke to a father whose wife went through the same thing, telling him: “I went through that. I know what that feels like.”

When Kate appeared as a guest on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, she discussed her illness in greater detail.

“[It was] utterly rotten. I was really sick,” she said. “I wasn’t eating the things I should be eating and yet the body was still able to take all the goodness from my body and to grow new life, which I think is fascinating.”

“William didn’t feel he could do much to help and it’s hard to see you’re suffering without actually being able to do anything about it.”

Kate went on to say that because she had felt awful during her pregnancy, she “quite liked” going through delivery.

“Because actually, it was an event that I knew there was going to be an ending to,” she explained. “But I know some people have really, really difficult times, so it’s not for everybody. No pregnancy is the same; no birth is the same.”

Additionally, Kate started deep breathing exercises and meditation, both of which were beneficial.

“I saw the power of it really, the meditation and the deep breathing and things like that, that they teach you in hypnobirthing, when I was really sick,” she said. “I got very bad morning sickness, so I’m not the happiest of pregnant people.”

The birth of Prince Louis

Podcast host Fletcher later asked: “Have you had it every time or just the first time?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” Kate responded. “Lots of people have it far, far worse, but it was definitely a challenge. Not just for me but also for your loved ones around you – and I think that’s the thing – being pregnant and having a newborn baby and things like that, impacts everybody in the family.”

Two years after the birth of Princess Charlotte in 2015, William and Kate decided it was time for a third child. The couple revealed the Princess of Wales was expecting their third child on September 4, 2017.

Like his older brothers, Prince Louis was born at London St. Mary’s Hospital’s Lindo Wing on April 23, 2018.

“Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 1101hrs. The baby weighs 8lbs 7oz. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well,” the statement read.

Prince Louis was introduced to the world just seven hours after his birth. However, Prince William and Kate Middleton had received warnings about the possibility of having a third child prior to his birth.

According to Marie Claire, Kate informed William, “We’ll just have to have more babies,” after receiving a baby toy in the Polish capital during a 2017 trip that included stops in Germany and Poland.

Kate Middleton and Prince William was warned about having a third child

But not everyone agreed with the concept. Prince William and Kate Middleton were urged to reconsider their choice by Anne Green Carter Dillard, the Executive Director and President of the children’s charity Having Kids, which advocates for a “sustainable and child-centered family planned mode.”

Dillard emphasized the value of modest families for global resources in an open letter to the royal family.

“As you know and appreciate, the example the British Royal Family sets is extremely influential. Many studies also show that public figures serve as effective role models when it comes to family planning. Your discussion of having a larger family raises compelling issues of sustainability and equity,” the letter read.

“Large families are not sustainable.”

Kate Middleton has frequently reflected about her early motherhood. “I keep thinking Louis is a baby but he’s a big boy now,” she remarked of Louis in 2022 while touring the postnatal department at the Royal Surrey County Hospital. It seems like yesterday.

Furthermore, despite your level of preparation, giving birth is a “shock to the system,” according to the Princess of Wales.

“No matter how much everyone tells you what you expect, it’s a shock to the system, isn’t it?” Kate told some mothers at the hospital

“You have this idea of what will happen but every single birth is different.”

Kate Middleton craved odd food when pregnant with Prince Louis

The princess had a strong bond with the new parents she spoke to at the hospital, according to Amy Stubbs, deputy director of midwifery at Royal Surrey County Hospital, who spoke to People.

“She was very relatable. She talked a lot about how it felt for her when she became a mother,” Stubbs said.

“She just really talked about her own children, including how they chose their names. A lot of the new mums and dads are thinking about how to choose names for their babies, and they spoke with her about how Kate and William made their choice.”