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Queen Elizabeth II’s Cousin Margaret Rhodes: I’m “Not Terribly” Excited About Kate Middleton’s Baby

Queen Elizabeth's cousin Margaret Rhodes isn't excited about the baby.
Queen Elizabeth's cousin Margaret Rhodes isn't excited about the baby.

At least she’s honest! Queen Elizabeth II‘s first cousin and longtime confidant Margaret Rhodes has seen the ins and outs of the royal family — and, according to the good-humored relative, once you’ve seen one baby, you’ve seen them all.

When asked by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour whether or not she’s excited for Kate Middleton and Prince William‘s impending bundle of joy, Rhodes makes no pretenses about her feelings.

Related: PHOTOS: Kate Middleton's pregnancy style

“Not terribly,” she said, laughing at her own candid response. “Well, you know, everybody has babies, and it’s lovely. I don’t get wildly excited about it.”

“Really?” an incredulous Amanpour asked. “Not even for the next heir to the throne? History?”

“Yes, all right, I’m prepared to be excited,” Rhodes allowed with a mischievous grin.

prince william and kate middleton
Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting their first child this month.

Rhodes and the Queen were born just a few months apart and grew up together, she explained, and the pair even meet up for a drink after church most Sundays. Rhodes served as a bridesmaid in Queen Elizabeth’s marriage to Prince Philip in 1947. 

Related: PHOTOS: Royal pregnancies

So though Rhodes isn’t overly excited about the new addition to the family, she does admit that she’s happy that the royal baby will grow up with a solid sense of normalcy — as much as a baby growing up in Buckingham Palace can have, anyway — because both she and the Queen were raised to view childhood as “sacrosanct.”

Related: PHOTOS: Royal family baby photos

“I imagine and hope that its early life, at least til it’s at least in its teens, will be just a jolly, happy, ordinary child’s life,” she said of how she imagines the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will raise their firstborn. “[The royals] managed it with Princess Elizabeth [the current Queen] and Princess Margaret.”

“The King and Queen in those days made an enormous effort to keep that childhood sacrosanct,” she continued. “It was just a time for learning and enjoying. I think they succeeded awfully well.”

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