It seems Kate Middleton’s parenting style lacks a certain hallmark of Princess Diana’s. A new book says the mother of three doesn’t want Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, to have a “‘normal’ childhood’ like Diana wanted for Prince William and Prince Harry.
Kate Middleton’s OK with the ‘luxuries and privileges of a royal upbringing’ for Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis
Sure, the Prince and Princess of Wales have taken parenting tips from Diana. But they’re necessarily following the late royal’s approach exactly. In his 2023 book, Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, author Tom Quinn claimed Kate’s a hands-on mother. However, she’s also OK with George, Charlotte, and Louis having the “luxuries and privileges of a royal upbringing.”
“Kate makes no effort—unlike Diana—to bring the children down to earth,” Quinn wrote. The reason, he explained, is “because she doesn’t want them to have a ‘normal’ childhood in the sense that Diana wanted it for William and Harry.”
The royal author continued, writing that Kate feels Diana’s parenting style led to issues. “Most especially with Harry” by seemingly contributing to his “dissatisfaction with his royal role.”
Kate ‘wants to escape her middle-class childhood’ and ‘wouldn’t dream of taking her children to McDonald’s’
Apparently, George, Charlotte, and Louis won’t experience Happy Meals like their father or uncle, the Duke of Sussex, did as kids. Instead, their version is more likely to come from a royal chef or cooking with Kate and William.
A former palace staffer told Quinn that Diana was “downwardly mobile,” the opposite of Kate. “Diana enjoyed slumming it and was in many ways downwardly mobile—she wanted to escape her aristocratic childhood,” they said. Meanwhile, “Kate wants to escape her middle-class childhood.”
The 41-year-old, the staffer claimed, “dislikes burgers and chips and wouldn’t dream of taking her children to McDonald’s.” Not only that but Kate “doesn’t rock the boat when the vast weight of traditional royal pursuits bears down on her children.”
Needless to say, Kate recreating Diana’s fast food meals with her children isn’t likely.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet expected to find George, Charlotte, and Louis’ lives ‘alien’
As for how George, Charlotte, and Louis’ lives may look to their U.S.-based cousins, Quinn shared his thoughts on The Royal Report’s March 1 episode. Predicting the five royal children will have “minimal” relationships, the author explained their day-to-day lives might create a divide.
Harry and Meghan Markle’s children are “not over here [in Britain] stalking in the highlands or shooting pheasants at Sandringham,” he said. “That will be an alien thing for them.”
“And I think it’s extremely unlikely […] they’ll suddenly come back and take part in the sort of activities that younger royals take part in over here,” he continued. “They’re going to be American through and through and I think that’s the way Meghan wants it.”
