Prince William has worked hard to ensure that his children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, have a different upbringing from the one he experienced. The 42-year-old has been keen for his children to have a "normal" childhood, after his own was plagued by endless paparazzi attention and being thrust into the spotlight following his parents' divorce.
Photographer recalls William's plea
In the 2025 documentary, Prince George: How to Make a Monarch, a royal photographer examined the upbringing of William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, and how the elder is trying to make a change for his three children. Veteran photographer Arthur Edwards said: "I remember once when we were in Switzerland on a skiing trip, and they would do a photo call, and I remember William saying to me, 'Please, Arthur, no more pictures, no more pictures'."
The ski trip he was referring to took place in either 1991 or 1992, meaning William would have been aged around nine or ten. He noted that William was "so sad" on that trip, adding: "He's had enough of it, and when I think back to that, I think, 'My God, how he suffered.'" Speaking of getting photographed on such trips, he added that William "was determined that wasn't going to happen to his children".
Keeping children out of the spotlight
William and his wife, Princess Catherine, have made sure that their children are largely growing up out of the spotlight, with photographers only welcome for 13-year-old George's first day at Eton College in September. Royal historian Amanda Foreman said that the couple chose Eton for their eldest son as "they know there will be absolute discretion".
Also speaking on the programme about George, psychotherapist Lucy Beresford added: "I think William and Kate making sure that George, Charlotte, and Louis have these normalising experiences where they just interact with really normal people actually gives them that grounded sense that they are human beings like the rest of us." She continued that the Prince and Princess of Wales want George, Charlotte and Louis to know "they're not rarefied, they're not elevated," and that they hope to "hopefully dilute that sense of 'I'm invincible.'"
Normalcy and school routines
Royal author Tom Quinn previously spoke to the Daily Express about the couple's desire to provide a sense of normalcy for their children. He said back in 2023: "For example, the fact that they've moved to Windsor so that their children can have more space, they can only have that because they have the private grounds of Windsor Castle, hundreds of acres.
"And it's almost certain, I would have thought, that George and Louis will go to Eton, which is only a 10, 15-minute drive from Windsor. Normal for most people doesn't mean [accessing] the most expensive, the most exclusive school."
The couple are said to have previously ensured that their royal schedule fit their children's school hours. In 2019, Catherine and William reportedly left England to begin their tour of Pakistan only after carrying out the school run in the morning. They also returned from their Caribbean tour in time to celebrate Mother's Day in 2022. Modern royal parents often clear their diaries ahead of half-term to spend time with their children while they are out of school. With George now a boarding student at Eton, the couple still have Charlotte and Louis at home.
