Prince William and Kate Middleton have been married since 2011 and share three children, and a royal expert said Prince Andrew and Prince Harry “should stand as a warning” for how they parent them
Prince William and Kate Middleton have been cautioned that Prince Andrew and Prince Harry “should stand as a warning” regarding how they ought to raise their own three children, according to a royal commentator.
The future king and his spouse are parents to three youngsters – Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and seven year old Prince Louis. George is set to follow in his father’s footsteps when he ascends to the UK throne.
However, royal experts at the Daily Mail suggested William and Kate are working to ensure his younger siblings don’t mirror the trajectories taken by Andrew and Harry as troublesome ‘spares’ in the Royal Family.
The publication’s Diary Editor revealed on the Palace Confidential podcast: “I think Andrew and Harry should both stand as a warning to Prince William and Catherine that how you treat that ‘spare’ is very difficult.
“We’ve seen in both cases I would say they’ve grown up with the wrong attitudes, with that bitterness, resentment from Harry, then in Andrew’s case that sort of weird entitlement.
“From everything we’ve heard, William and Catherine are making real efforts to avoid that but it is hard in that sense when winner takes all type of thing,” reports the Daily Express.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle dramatically stepped down as working royals in 2020 to carve out their own future in the United States. Harry has subsequently launched repeated attacks on his family through platforms including his explosive memoir Spare and the bombshell interview he and his wife gave to Oprah Winfrey.
Tensions continue to simmer between Prince Charles and his son, as well as the rest of the Royal Family.
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew stepped back from his royal duties following a disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, where he attempted to clear his name amidst growing rumours about his connection to convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In recent years, controversy has surrounded his occupancy of Royal Lodge, with Prince Charles seemingly eager to evict his brother, and his alleged ties to a Chinese spy.
Palace Confidential drew comparisons between the attitudes of Prince Andrew and the Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward. Richard Eden suggested their differing personalities are due to “character” as “they’re different people and married different people”.
Edward’s friends reportedly said “he never changed that much, he’s not arrogant and always behaved in a positive way”. Richard also mentioned that Edward’s marriage to Sophie has been beneficial.
The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English added: “There’s an element of where you come in the pecking order. As a younger child, so moved away from the line of succession, unless there was a major disaster there was no chance he would ever become king.
“He’s growing up with different pressures, and as Richard says it does come down to personalities and the people around you.”
