With a successful return to royal duties under her belt, the Princess of Wales can now enjoy a well-earned rest and some quality family time this week.

Along with many other children up and down the country, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, broke up for half term on 14 February and have already kicked off an exciting week of adventures. Aside from the break being a chance for the family to make the most of time together behind closed doors, it also gives Kate the opportunity to take stock following her triumphant return to the spotlight this year.

“I’ve been surprised and delighted at the number of engagements the princess has taken on in recent weeks,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond tells The Mirror. “She makes it look easy, but being on show and having to be careful about everything you say, while at the same time remaining relatable as well as effective, is a tough call.

“I think Catherine has looked eminently relaxed and, although being in the public gaze can be wearing, even when not in recovery from cancer, she has looked well and happy. She has taken control of her schedule and is doing exactly and only what she feels ready for.”

Jennie adds, “She is in charge and that should make her feel proud, rather than drained and tired. I think she will feel energised by how well her return has gone. I believe her when she says she loves her work, and I think it’s now more than just work to her – it’s a mission to achieve a change in attitudes and behaviour… and to improve our society for future generations.”

As both Kate, 43, and Prince William, 42, missed this year’s EE Bafta Film Awards in London on Sunday, it is clear that every moment of this half-term break will be cherished. “As neither was scheduled to be at the awards this year, it’s meant they can have a free week or so with the children. Perhaps they are taking another ski break in the mountains, as they reportedly did in the New Year, or they have jetted off for some Caribbean weather – very much under the radar,” Jennie explains.

“Half term will provide a welcome pause in activities and time to enjoy family life and recharge her batteries ready for more engagements, when she chooses. Whatever they do, it will be time together and I’m sure Kate will want to be out in the open air enjoying nature as much as possible – perhaps taking in a few rays of sunshine, which she said she longed for during her chemotherapy treatment.”

If the royal children aren’t overseas, it’s likely they will be roped into mucking in with the chores – quite literally! During a previous visit to a goat farm in Wales, Kate let slip that George had been responsible for moving animal feed on the estate during a previous half-term break. After William pointed to a robot silage sweeper, Kate told the farmer, “That was George’s job at half term – moving feed.”

We also know that the family love to spend time on Holkham Beach, close to their Anmer Hall residence in Norfolk, before ending the day toasting marshmallows over a roaring fire, just as they did in a special video released to mark William and Kate’s 10th wedding anniversary back in 2021.

Ahead of the half-term break, Kate, whose work is centred on the importance of early years development, visited a prison in Cheshire. Showing she does not shy away from more challenging issues, the princess toured HMP Styal and met inmates in a mother and baby unit. While at the prison, Kate, who undertook the visit in her role as patron of Action for Children, was shown a project designed to develop strong and healthy relationships between mothers and babies “even in the most challenging of environments”.

It was a subject area the princess is familiar with, as she has visited prisons on previous occasions. It was also one that saw her praised by experts, as Jennie explains. “Kate has grown into a strong woman and we are seeing her take agency over her own life,” she says. “In many ways she is continuing where her late mother-in-law, Diana, left off – refusing to be dictated to by ‘the grey men of the palace’.

“It took Diana a long time to stand up for herself, but if you think about it, Kate has now been either associated with or an integral part of the royal family for longer than Diana was. She is championing causes that she has chosen, and I think her cancer diagnosis has made her even more determined to carry out her role in the way that she believes is most effective.”

During her visit to the prison, the princess gave a rare insight into her personal views. In conversation with a group of mothers being helped by the charity, Kate was told by one prisoner, “We are both first-time mums and to put it this way, we didn’t start the best way. But where we are now is incredible. We got the most out of it we possibly could.

“We made silly decisions and ended up in this position, but you can’t turn back the clock. So we just stuck with it in here and got as much out of it as we could. There is so much we have done that I wouldn’t necessarily get access to if this hadn’t have happened.”

The princess then responded, saying, “It shouldn’t have to take something like this to get access to something like this…” While Kate has typically not publicly shared her own views or engaged in the political side of her causes, it is a line that is increasingly being blurred by both her and William. The prince’s work to help the homeless and support the environment are subjects that naturally see him tread the political line – a move Jennie applauds.

“Both Kate and William are set on using their influence to try to repair the things that they believe are going wrong in modern society,” she tells us. “They want to provide good moral, social leadership. And they are both doing things in a new way, which perhaps the old guard of the palace might have found alarming. Highlighting homelessness and educational needs are, by definition, political topics, but that has not stopped either of them from wading in, in a bid to make a real and lasting change.

“I think it’s brilliant that they’re taking control of the way things are done. You can see the joy on Kate’s face when she is with children and helping them learn.

“Some of her and William’s remarks venture close to political commentary, but I don’t think anyone should get too stuck on convention and the constitution. Things are wrong in the country. Things need changing. William and Kate have influence and they want to use it to make things better. It’s common sense.”

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