The Royal Family tries to balance visibility and privacy when it comes to their youngsters, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may need to just appreciate it. It's a tightrope Prince William and Princess Catherine have expertly walked for years, simply by not making it a ground-swallowing issue.
Take 13-year-old Prince George, second in line to the throne; he's just followed in his father's and uncle's footsteps at the esteemed £63,000-a-year Eton College. But rather than cloud his arrival in a strict veil of secrecy, William and Kate knew that they had to - if carefully - share a little of the moment with the nation. He is, after all, a future king.
A Carefully Controlled Reveal
Footage was made available of the proud parents beaming as they passed a bronze statue of Henry VI, the school's founder, in the centre of a quadrangle, before shaking hands with Simon Henderson, the headmaster. The Royal Family were then shown entering the fourth-form passage in the original school building. George's new bedroom comes with just a single bed, a desk, and a stack of shelves.
Next came professional images supplied of Prince George wearing the traditional Eton uniform, which consists of a black tailcoat, waistcoat, pinstripe trousers and a white bow tie. But then comes the balance: after this access William and Kate will hope, and rightfully expect, that George's life and education at Eton will now take place away from public view.
Allowing Children a Normal Childhood
Whatever public appearances Prince George, Princess Charlotte or Prince Louis engage in, we must remind ourselves they are just children and must be allowed to grow up as ordinary kids. When it came to drop-offs at Lambrook School, in Berkshire, Kate herself would regularly ferry the trio to school and walk them into the gates, clearly to let them have a normal childhood.
Until 2022, before the family moved to Windsor, Kate was also spotted dropping off Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Thomas's Battersea in London with other parents reportedly noting how she simply blended in easily and never drew much attention.
The Sussexes' Privacy Paradox
So we come to Meghan and Harry and their overarching obsession with privacy and security while in the UK. They have to accept they are still key members of the Royal Family, whether working royals or not, so there will be public interest in them and Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. But also they have stressed in recent days that they wish to be known as 'public figures,' not, as a Buckingham Palace statement this week described them, 'private citizens'.
So if they are public figures as they seem so desperately to be pigeon-holed, then they have to accept that with that influence and privilege comes a little compromising in terms of privacy. If they want to attend events like Trooping the Colour next year with Archie and Lilibet they have to accept those images of the youngsters will be beamed across the globe. Is that what they want then?
If it is and they are seeking more exposure I would suggest they look at the way William and Kate balance their private and public lives, and echo that. With their sibling feud still simmering I appreciate telling Harry and Meghan to copy William and Kate is like urging Coleen Rooney to "be a bit more like Rebekah Vardy," but it's sage advice. Whether Harry and Meghan bother to heed it is another kettle of fish.
