IT’S spooky season and Kate Middleton is looking forward to a fun-filled half-term with her three children which will include baking, crafting and even dressing up for Halloween trick-or-treating.
Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, will also enjoy a week of outdoor activities, such as walking, climbing, birdwatching and pond dipping.
Royal commentator Katie Nicholl predicts the Princess of Wales, her husband Prince William and their children will head to Anmer Hall in Norfolk – their 10 bedroom country pile located on the Sandringham Estate – for the Autumn school break, which starts tomorrow, as it’s a place “they love so much”.
Anmer Hall was given to Kate and William as a wedding present by the late Queen in 2011, and while the family now live close to the childrens’ school, Lambrook, in Windsor, they often spend the weekends and holidays in Norfolk.
It’s as normal and as ordinary as you can possibly get, but they love it
Katie Nicholl
Katie told Fabulous: “When it comes to holidays, they love the pace and freedom of Norfolk. It really is their happy place and they have lots of friends there.
“It’s as normal and as ordinary as you can possibly get, but they love it. For the Waleses, a holiday on the Norfolk coast is always one well spent.”
The sports loving family are expected to have “a heavy focus on outdoor activities” during their week-long break, with Kate taking the children pond dipping (trawling the shallows of a pond to capture creatures), spider hunting, and if the weather is nice, sailing.
The Georgian property used to have a swimming pool and tennis courts, but it’s believed Kate and William replaced them both with an artificial lawn so the children can enjoy the outdoor space, including a Wendy house, a climbing frame and climbing wall.
The kids love Halloween and Kate very much gets in the spirit and takes them out trick-or-treating
Katie Nicholl
Katie said: “The children take part in all the extracurricular activities their school offers, and when it’s half term that doesn’t change. They love to play football and love nothing more than running around barefoot in the grounds.”
Kate, 41, will also have some Halloween activities up her sleeve, including baking and dressing up.
In 2019, Kate was spotted at the self-service checkout in her local Hardwick brand of Sainsbury’s buying fancy dress costumes for George and Charlotte.
Resident Kate Carter told OK Magazine back in 2020: “She was with the children, and she looked lovely. She is absolutely beautiful, and the children were beautiful. They were so well behaved.”
Katie, author of The New Royals, added: “The kids love Halloween and Kate very much gets in the spirit and takes them out trick or treating.”
Kate is known for her down to earth nature and being a hands-on mum, and some of her favourite things to do with the children during the holidays is baking, painting pottery and arts and crafts.
It is incredibly important to Kate and William to keep their children grounded and offer them as normal a childhood as they possibly can
Katie Nicholl
“It’s very important to Kate for her children to have a childhood that is similar to her own,” Katie said.
Kate’s mother Carole previously revealed in a newsletter for her party decoration brand Party Pieces that she’s “looking forward” to pumpkin decorating with her “loved ones”.
The caption, alongside a photo of Carole cosied up in a jumper, read: “Halloween is an Autumn highlight for me. I can still remember the fun and frights from my own childhood; the chance to dress up, decorate pumpkins and go trick-or-treating!
“I’ve even grown my own pumpkins this year, so I’m looking forward to decorating those with my loved ones.”
Katie added: “Kate and William are doing a great job of sheltering their children from the spotlight and giving them this sense of the ordinary, while also slowly preparing them for the royal duties that lie ahead in the future.
“It’s a juggling act, but it’s certainly one that Kate and William have mastered. It is incredibly important to them both to keep their children grounded and offer them as normal a childhood as they possibly can.”