The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are the doting parents to three young children, and while their royal status means that their lives are in the public eye, behind-the-scenes they are just like any other family.
On Tuesday night, Kate’s children weren’t far from her thoughts when she attended the National Portrait Gallery’s gala as spoke to a guest about her hopes to bring oldest son Prince George to see some painting in the near future.
William has previously spoken out about their family unit, where he described them as “very normal.” Talking to the BBC in April 2016, the future king said: “As far as we are concerned, within our family unit, we are a normal family.”
William continued to explain that they are waiting for the time is right to tell George that he will one day be a king. He explained: “I love my children in the same way any father does, and I hope George loves me the same any son does to his father. We are very normal in that sense. There’ll be a time and a place to bring George up and understand how he fits in, in the world. But right now it’s just a case of keeping a secure, stable environment around him and showing as much love as I can as a father.”
In contrast, William found out about his royal title as a child. Jeremy Paxman recalled how Princess Diana would often talk about how William didn’t really want to be the king. Talking on Paxman on the Queen’s Children, he said: “We talked about our children and she [Diana] said William often told her that he didn’t really want to be king, and then Harry would say ‘If you don’t want the job I’ll have it.'”
William and Kate often speak about their children during their engagements, and it sounds like they are very hands-on parents. William has previously joked that George has told him that he isn’t very good at arts and crafts, while the cheeky five-year-old has told his mum Kate that she is “rubbish” at playing football. The royal couple are also parents to three-year-old Princess Charlotte, who loves dancing and cooking, and baby Prince Louis – who turns one on 23 April. On Tuesday, it was revealed by Kate that the little boy has started walking, and will no doubt be running around with his older siblings before long.
The Cambridge family recently returned back to London from their country home, Anmer Hall, where they spend the majority of the school holidays. It sounded like they had a great time too. According to the Daily Mail, Kate enjoyed a half-hour swim with her kids at a local swimming pool on one of the days, with a source telling the publication: “Both the children swam unaided and were super confident. They went under the quite forceful jets in the water. Kate politely asked us if it was ok for them to switch it on.”