The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived in Pakistan on Monday evening to kick-off their royal tour, leaving behind their three children in the UK. And on Tuesday, Kate will have been thinking of her family back home a lot as her nephew Arthur was celebrating his first birthday. The doting aunt will no doubt have wanted to be with the little boy on his milestone day, as first birthdays are particularly important to the Middleton family who run a party planning business, Party Pieces, that Kate and her siblings Pippa and James have all been involved with over the years.
Kate Middleton is missing her nephew Arthur's first birthday while in Pakistan
In 2018, Kate's mum Carole Middleton revealed how first birthdays are extra important to her daughter due to her involvement in the family's First Birthday brand. Talking to Good Housekeeping magazine, the Party Pieces founder revealed that all her children have contributed to helping her business to grow, with Kate taking charge of the First Birthday brand. She said: "My children have all worked for the business. Catherine started the First Birthday brand – she chose the products and looked after all the imagery and the catalogue production. Pippa set up the blog, as we didn’t have one. James came up with the idea of personalised cakes and got them off the ground for us."
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Kate is very close to her sister Pippa Middleton and no doubt will celebrate Arthur's big day when she returns
No doubt Kate and Prince William will join Pippa and James Matthews to celebrate Arthur's special birthday when they return to the UK. Arthur is just six months younger than the couple's son Prince Louis, who celebrated his first birthday in April. Kate and William are extremely close to the Middletons and it is thought that Carole and Michael are looking after their grandchildren along with their royal nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, while their parents are in Pakistan.
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Prince William and Kate have left their children in the UK during their royal tour
Pippa and James live nearby to the Cambridges and while they tend to keep out of the public eye, Pippa occasionally gives glimpses into their private life in her Waitrose Weekend magazine column. At the beginning of the month, the mother-of-one opened up about her experience of motherhood so far and revealed what she had found to be her "saving grace" when it comes to raising her child. "Now that Arthur is 11 months old and more mobile, I have been trying to come up with different activities to do with him," the 36-year-old wrote. "I needed to find something more than just park walks in the pram. Our local baby gym has been a saving grace. It’s a big space full of fun, soft objects, playmats, stairs, balls, swings, mini trampolines, and more to stimulate and physically engage babies and toddlers."
She further explained that in addition to free play, there are classes with "structured activities that help promote movement, balance and strength". She added: "Arthur burns lots of energy in this safe environment and learns many physical skills. I have also noticed him building his confidence with each visit."
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