With Prince George attending his first day at school today, it was perhaps inevitable that the subject would be brought up on Loose Women.
But the show was on the receiving end of a social-media backlash after the discussion turned to Kate Middleton and her third pregnancy.
The criticism stemmed from a comment made by Andrea McLean, who told her fellow panellists, Saira Khan, Jane Moore and Linda Robson, that Kate had been unable to take her son to school because she was still suffering from “morning sickness”.
In actual fact, the Duchess of Cambridge is suffering from a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), and some viewers were up in arms about the error, with one calling it an “insult”.
While one in seven women will get morning sickness during the early stages of pregnancy, HG is much less common.
It’s estimated that just one in 100 women will suffer from the illness, the symptoms of which include severe vomiting – sometimes up to 50 times a day – low blood pressure and dehydration.
And many of the people who watched the Loose Women segment were quick to point out the mistake.
One scathed: “Please, Andrea, don’t call Hyperemesis Gravidarum ‘morning sickness’. That’s an insult, as it’s so much more than that!”
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Another fumed: “Why are you trivialising Kate’s illness? Women in the depths of HG can barely lift their head, let alone do the school run.”
And a third added: “HG is a terrible condition – far worse than ‘morning sickness’, which is how it’s been described by @thismorning & @loosewomen. Wise Up!”
The comments didn’t escape the attention of HGSupportUK, either. The group tweeted: “A lot of upset has been caused within the HG community by comments at the beginning of the show – please contact us for accurate information.”
Kate and William announced earlier this week that they’re expecting their third child – a sibling to George, four, and Charlotte, two.
Poor Kate suffered HG during both of her previous pregnancies, and is reported to be ill again with this one.
In her absence, Prince George was escorted to school – Thomas’s Battersea in London – by his dad.
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The young royal looked smart in long shorts and an open shirt – if a little apprehensive as he readied himself for his first day.
And keeping with modern times, Kensington Palace tweeted a video of George and William as they made their way to the school entrance.
Within an hour, the video had received 180,000 likes