Being a part of the royal family is a lot of pressure. It's something that both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have been able to do with a dignified grace that most of us couldn't manage.

But the thing is, joining the royal family was a choice for them, but for the families of these two duchesses, they couldn't really opt out.

While we are all painfully familiar with Meghan's struggle with her estranged family, Kate's family has been a lot less controversial. They've kept quiet and respected the protocols in regards to speaking to the press, but now Kate's mom Carole Middleton has opened up a bit and revealed some of the long-standing traditions of her family.

With Christmas on the horizon, Carole shared that she's already preparing the menu, but more importantly she shared that her home won't have just one tree, but instead it'll have about half a dozen!

Each of the grandchildren get a tree in their room of the Middleton's Bucklebury manor, "so that they can decorate it themselves." That means George and Charlotte will both get their own personalized tree, and Louis will likely get one too when he gets a little bit older.

The family has grown a lot this year, with both Kate and her sister Pippa having children this year. Prince Louis was born in April, and Pippa's son Arthur was born in October.

But even though the mother of the future queen-to-be has been quiet, she has been heavily involved in her daughters life. "Over the years, it's proved wise not to say anything," she said, but admitted that she used to be concerned with how she was perceived.

"I thought it was better to know what people thought. But it doesn't make any difference. I'm not really sure how I'm perceived now," she explained, admitting she no longer reads the stories about her. "But the thing is... it is really normal "” most of the time."

Carole then explained that both of her daughters worked with her on her successful business Party Pieces. "They did a lot of modelling," she said. "Catherine was on the cover of one of the catalogues, blowing out candles. Later on, she did some styling and set up the First Birthday side of the business. Pippa did the blog."

Carole's interview is a refreshing look at the royal family, especially when compared to the Markle family. While Kate and Meghan are both delightful and handling their new life as royals well, Meghan's extended family has been taking advantage of her new high-profile life and using it to draw attention back to themselves.

It doesn't seem like that's what Carole was trying to do when she opened up about her life as the mother of a future queen. She just wanted to prove that they really are just a normal family - despite all the royal obligations.

I don't know about you, but I can't really blame her for wanting to stay out of the papers, but hearing her thoughts on the family is pretty delightful.

Source - Daily Mail / People / Hello / The Telegraph

Do you like hearing about the behind-the-scenes life of the royal family?