Before Duchess Kate gave birth, “sources” made sure to diminish our expectations about Kate’s post-baby schedule. We were told that Kate would be taking a lengthy maternity leave with her second child, even more time off than she had after giving birth to Prince George. I’ve been doing my part to manage expectations around here, telling you guys that we probably wouldn’t see Kate until September. But then last week, a curious thing happened. “Sources” went to the Daily Mail and said that royal staffers had been trying to persuade the “prickly princess” to actually get back to work quickly. Kate is said to be quite content as a stay-at-home mother at Anmer Hall, and doesn’t see a need to A) work, B) go back to London or C) run her home when she could just get her mom to do it for her. So, what’s changed? The Queen is apparently not happy with the idea of Kate and the Middletons camping out at Anmer for months on end.

The Duchess of Cambridge is nearing the end of her maternity leave and is set to resume royal duties in June. It is believed that Queen Elizabeth II wants Kate Middleton to be present during her birthday parade June 13.

According to OK UK, Kate Middleton will return to attending public engagements next month — just weeks after giving birth to Princess Charlotte. The Duchess’ maternity leave this time is reportedly shorter than her 39-day leave after having Prince George in 2013.

A source close to the royals said that the queen “thinks a month is more than enough time for Kate to take off before she should return to performing her royal duties.” The source adds, “It’s a huge public event, an incredible pageant carried out by the queen’s personal troops. Kate will be on show for it, dressed up in a smart outfit, with the eyes of the world on her.”

[From IB Times]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Queen expected Kate to appear at the Trooping the Colour annual parade, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Kate knew that appearance was expected of her without having to be told (off) by the Queen’s staff. So, will Kate show up? Probably. But then it will back to Anmer to rest for another three months while Carole organizes the staff.

Speaking of Carole, The Daily Beast had an interesting addendum to the Daily Mail’s story several weeks ago about how Carole is basically acting as Kate’s butler and chief of staff these days. You can read the full DB piece here – the main gist is that now that Kate has given the royal family their heir and a spare, the Middletons are taking over. The DB notes that Carole’s constant presence shows the Windsors that for Will and Kate, “that it is Middletons first, Windsors second when it comes to which family’s influence is to be more significant in the very youngest of royal lives.” What else? Sources say Prince Charles has only met Charlotte once, when she was just a day old. Carole is expected to live full-time at Anmer for “at least another month.” And here’s a glimpse of what that’s like:

The fact is that Carole’s feet are very much under the table at Anmer, and that she has been quietly masterminding a Royal revolution on the home front. In short, the atmosphere at Anmer Hall is very much more middle class than would ever have been imaginable in a royal home just a decade ago. This is how Kate wants it. And William—although far from being the pushover he is sometimes portrayed as—is wise enough to want what Kate wants. William is more willing to embrace the middle-class values of the Middletons than he is to try to impose his own upper-class way of doing things on them.

Although George was brought up exclusively by family for the first six months of his life, there is now a full-time nanny, Maria Borrallo, on the Cambridge payroll. But she is operating under a very different set of principles of royal nurses of the past. Back then it was starched uniforms and ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’. It’s a much more informal arrangement these days, says one source.

Once again, there is a sense that Kate and William are ringing the changes.

“It’s strictly first-name terms at Anmer Hall,” says one source of the triangular relationship between Kate, her mother, and the nanny. “It’s all very relaxed and self-consciously ‘normal.’”

[From The Daily Beast]

I don’t doubt that staff members are probably on a first-name basis with Carole. But I seriously, seriously doubt that the household staff refer to Will and Kate as “Will and Kate” to their faces. Also: why does everyone forget about poor Jessie Webb? Jessie was William’s old nanny and he forced her out of retirement to take care of George when George was only a few weeks old.

Last thing… Dodgy Uncle Gary Goldsmith is selling his Ibiza mansion, La Maison de Bang Bang. It’s listed for £6.5million, in case you want to own a piece of royal history. This is where the Duchess of Cambridge’s dodgy uncle did blow and banged hookers.

Photos courtesy of WENN.