Princess Kate has endured some very difficult moments in the last 12 months, but there’s one person in her life that has been her complete ‘rock’.

After bravely telling the world that she was having chemotherapy treatment following a cancer diagnosis last year, Kate recently announced that her cancer is in remission. The news came after her emotional visit to a hospital where she received her own treatment, which saw her chat with patients and staff alike.

And now as Kate makes a gradual return to work duties, an expert has revealed that Kate has leaned heavily on her mum Carole during what has been an incredibly testing time for the family.

Carole will likely have been a real support when it came to childcare the expert claims ( Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Carole is known to be close with Kate and her siblings Pippa and James ( Image: Getty Images)

Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of Majesty magazine, explained that the “proactive” Middleton matriarch will have been sure to help her eldest daughter out as much as possible during what Prince William has described as a ‘brutal’ year for the family – particularly when it came to childcare.

“Carole has always been a rock for Kate, especially this past year – she’s been amazing,” the expert told Hello magazine, “I have met her a couple of times and the word that keeps coming back to me is ‘strength’. I imagine her as a sort of pioneer woman driving a wagon with a rifle at her feet, and three children in the back, fighting off any enemy. Basically, that’s what she’s been doing all her life, isn’t it?”

Ingrid added that Carole’s “proactive” nature would likely have meant that Kate didn’t have to ask her mum to help out, but instead that the 70-year-old entrepreneur would have taken the initiative when it came to helping Kate out with daily tasks and childcare – something that the expert thought would be a relief to the future Queen.

‘Proactive’ Carole has been Kate’s ‘rock’ amid health challenges ( Image: Kensington Palace)

“Rather than ask what she can do, she just gets on with it; she’s very proactive. When William went back to royal duties, she was doing the school run and probably doing things like filling the freezer with the kids’ favorite foods. Looking after the three kids would have been absolutely no problem for her whatsoever and Kate would have been able to relax in the knowledge that her mother’s hand was on the wheel. She has been both a physical and emotional support to Kate and always has been. The Middletons are a traditional family, which is why William enjoyed being around them so much.”

Carole is the only grandmother of Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six – with William’s mother, the late Princess Diana, tragically dying many years before they were born. The Wales children are clearly close with Carole, who played an important role in a candid video released by Princess Kate last year.

When Kate announced that she had finished her chemotherapy, she released a sweet video filled with shots of the Wales family spending time together, and in one moment, Carole and her husband, Michael Middleton, were seen playing cards with the Wales family as they all sat around a dining table.