Prince William Shares the 'Crucial Motto' Guiding Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte's Upbringing
"Never go home empty-handed," is a motto that Prince William, 42, tries to always practice when raising his three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.
The heir to the British throne revealed this crucial tidbit of being a regal dad at his latest engagement on Tuesday, October 15, during a visit to a London community day organized by the NFL Foundation U.K.
The future king was gifted a football to take home to his children, which led HRH to further share, "That's really kind of you. Thank you very much. We'll do some practice together. See how many windows I can smash!"
The raising of royal children is evolving under King Charles III's monarchy, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, is reportedly at the forefront of this new style that favors "slow preparation." However, when George is not being gifted footballs, royal duty is "specifically being aimed" at the second in line to the throne, much like it was with William in the 1980s and '90s.
"Most of the time he is enjoying the life of someone from the upper middle classes and spends a lot of time with Kate’s family, the Middletons," royal expert Phil Dampier shared. "However he is growing up fast and William and Kate are slowly preparing him for his role."
Heirs to the British throne throughout the centuries have typically been raised in a rigid and far more public-facing life in line with the Crown's ancient code of lifetime service for its monarchs in serving their people. However, the future King George VII is different, and even his childhood has been less duty-bound than his father's was. Numerous royal commentators credit the future queen with this new trend in line "with how modern society functions."
As for Charlotte and Louis, the king and queen-in-waiting are taking a more sensitive approach to royal life based on past difficulties with "spares."
"William and Kate must be acutely aware of the problems for a royal spare," royal expert Jennie Bond shared. "They have already shown that they have a different and modern attitude to bringing up royal children and I'm sure they will do everything to make Charlotte and Louis feel every bit as special, loved and valued as George."
This is reportedly part of a ploy to ensure that second-in-line to the British throne Prince George's siblings do not become disgraced like Prince Harry and Prince Andrew.
Harry was the "spare" to William's heir, and Andrew was the then-Prince Charles's spare until the arrival of William in 1982. The so-called "spare syndrome" has long been an issue in the British monarchy, dating back to the medieval period, but its most recent occurrences started with Andrew and Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II's spare, before him.
People reported on William's visit.