Kate Middleton's reaction to Prince Louis having a tantrum is the royal flush of parenting
Can we all take a moment and give Kate Middleton a parenting round of applause?

Kate Middleton is every mom.
Can we all take a moment and give Kate Middleton a parenting round of applause? Parenting multiple children is already a tough feat, but to do so publicly is a whole new level of challenge. We can’t just lock our children inside our homes and expect that they will emerge just knowing how to behave in public. Children have to be brought into spaces that require certain behaviors so they can learn societal norms. That makes for pretty spicy armpits of nervous parents.
We might want our children to behave like mini-adults in formal or boring situations, but that’s not realistic. We have to be prepared for the meltdowns that are bound to happen. The Duchess of Cambridge was recently reminded of this during the celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Her youngest, Prince Louis, was acting like a typical preschooler, but on a world stage. Preschoolers were not designed to sit still for long periods of time. They need to move and make noise. I swear, it’s science. That doesn’t stop parents from trying to teach them to sit still and not make noises at fancy events.
Prince Louis behaved exactly like any preschooler would behave at a long event that was not designed with little ones in mind. He threw a tantrum and attempted to hit his mom in the face, and Middleton handled it like a pro. There was no yelling on her part, just a mom doing her best to keep her cool. She calmly redirected him several times and firmly but gently removed his hand from the vicinity of her face.
By now Middleton has gotten this parenting thing down as Prince Louis is her third child, but parenting child number three can be like trying to get a heard of cats into a pool. You know you've done it before but for some reason the last one makes you question your sanity.
\u201cCan we all agree that Prince Louis won the #PlatinumJubilee please? \n\n\ud83d\udcf8 by PA\n\nhttps://t.co/BCC4TijFvo\u201d— Zoe Forsey (@Zoe Forsey) 1654509811
I can only imagine the frustration she felt in that moment, but it was a quick reminder that duchess or not, she’s still just a mom. Being a mother on the world stage is an experience I personally would never want. Every move is monitored and spread across the globe for people to judge, while sitting on their couches as their own children are likely running amok. So let’s cut Middleton some slack. At the end of the day, she’s just a mom doing the best she can and Prince Louis is just a child doing what children do.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."