Prince William has opened up about his own childhood and how it has influenced the way he raises his own children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
Prince William says he can get ‘overwhelmed’ by things to do with his family
Prince William is determined not to repeat the “same mistakes” his parents made while raising him, as he brings up his own children. The 43-year-old heir to the throne, who shares Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, with his wife, Princess Kate, has vowed to “learn from” the impact his parents’ separation had on his life. He’s conscious of how any “drama” his children experience can affect them in their later years.
In a conversation with Eugene Levy on his Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler, William expressed: “You have to have that warmth, that feeling of safety, security, love.
“That all has to be there, and that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced when I was eight, so that lasted a short period of time.
“But, you take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes as your parents. I think we all try and do that and I just want to do what’s best for my children, but I know that the drama and the stress when you’re small really affects you when you’re older.”
William prioritises finding a work “balance” that suits his family, and he and wife Catherine strive to be there for the start and end of the school day. When asked if he maintains a 9-5 schedule, he responded: “Not really, no. It doesn’t quite work like that, but I do try and stick to school timetables as much as possible. So, most days we’re in and out of school doing pick-ups and drop-offs.
“Getting the balance of work and family life right is really important. Because for me, the most important thing in my life is family, and everything is about the future and about if you don’t start the children off now with a happy, healthy, stable home, I feel you’re setting them up for a bit of a hard time and a fall.
“And so, it’s about making sure that we can look after our families, look after our children, in a way that is best for their future.” But the Wales family always sit down to eat dinner together.
When asked if they gather at the dinner table together, William confirmed: “Yep, absolutely, yep definitely. So, we sit and chat; it’s really important. None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales encourage their children to stay active and participate in various sports. He revealed: “Louis loves the trampoline, so he’s obsessed with trampolining and actually Charlotte does a lot as well.
“As far as I can tell, they just end up jumping up and down on the trampoline, beating each other up, most of the time. Apparently, there is an art to it.
“Charlotte does her netball as well, and her ballet, and so keeping them busy with sports and being outdoors is really important. They’re trying to learn musical instruments. I’m not sure how successful we’re being with that. George loves his football and his hockey.”
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