How has motherhood changed in the British royal family? Queen Elizabeth gave birth at home while Princess Diana and Meghan Markle made public appearances while pregnant

Mar 16 , 2022

Find out how motherhood has been changing along with the times in the British royal family. Photos: @princegeorgeofcambridgeuk/Instagram, Alpha

Queen Elizabeth’s pregnancies weren’t announced back in the day, but royals now break the news on social media while Princess Diana broke with tradition to give birth in a hospital

Kate Middleton has spoken out on the challenges of parenting during a pandemic and Meghan Markle has written a bestselling children’s book about Prince Harry and Archie

Meghan Markle is certainly raising little Archie and Lillibet far differently to the way the queen raised her children back in the day – so just what was life like for Princes Charles, Edward and Andrew, and Princess Anne, when they were young? Or Princes William and Harry?

Here are 10 photos that show how motherhood has changed in the royal family …

1. Queen Elizabeth gave birth to all her children at home

Queen Elizabeth with young Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Photo: AFP

Queen Elizabeth was 22 when she had her first child, Prince Charles. All her and Prince Philip’s four children were born at home – Charles, Edward and Andrew in Buckingham Palace and Anne in Clarence House, a British royal residence in London.

2. Queen Elizabeth had prime time with her kids despite her busy schedule

Queen Elizabeth with Charles and Anne, posing in Balmoral. Photo: AFP

Queen Elizabeth often spent holidays at Balmoral Castle, the royal family’s summer residence in the Scottish Highlands.

3. Princess Diana made many public appearances while pregnant

Princess Diana opens a community centre, her last official engagement before the birth of Prince William, in 1982. Photo: Getty Images

“The Prince and Princess of Wales, the queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and members of both families are delighted by the news,” the palace’s official announcement read when Diana was pregnant with Prince William in 1981. “The princess is in excellent health. The princess hopes to continue to undertake some public engagements but regrets any disappointment which may be caused by any curtailment in her planned programme.”