Royals

Growing up royal: Princes William and Harry

With a little Prince or Princess on the way, we a look at what it is like to grow up as a royal!

Prince William and Harry growing up royal

With a little Prince or Princess on the way, we take a look at what it is like to grow up as a royal!

Announcing the birth

The arrival of the royal baby will be announced with a sign on the gates of Buckingham palace which will detail the sex of the baby and the time of birth.

Palace life

The royal baby will live in the newly renovated Kensington palace, the former home of Princess Margaret.

While traditional baby nurseries have been quite stale, it’s expected that Catherine and William have chosen a much more fun theme for their child, with the Duchess regularly spotted out buying baby products.

A royal nanny

While Prince Charles was raised mostly by governesses and nannies, Princess Diana had a “non-traditional” style of parenting. Despite having a nanny for her boys, she decided to spend a lot more time with her sons then most royals traditionally did.

And while Catherine and William plan to be hands on parents, royal insiders say the pair will also need to have a nanny to assist around the palace.

Going on tour

Dubbed the “rebel royal mum” Princess Diana was against arms-length parenting, much like William and Catherine.

Diana insisted on taking nine-month-old William on tour with her and Prince Charles to Australia. Catherine is expected to have a similar parenting style.

Diana and baby Prince Harry

Diana was very hands-on with her children. She picked which school they attended and often dropped them off and picked them up.

Outside palace walls

Unlike most royals, princes William and Harry were bought up outside of the palace walls, which was very much the intention of their mother.

They went to amusement parks and experienced the things that normal children did as much as they could.

Living in the public eye

As a young child Prince William greatly disliked the papperazzi, but his mother taught him to tolerate them saying they were “part of his life”.

Prince William has however delivered a strong message that he will not tolerate his wife and unborn child to be hounded by photographers.

Education

Prince William was privately educated and it is expected that the royal baby will be too.

The royal baby is also likely to serve in some capacity in the armed forces just like Prince William who is a RAF search-and-rescue pilot and the Queen and Princess Elizabeth who are both part of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Charity work

Following the birth of her sons, Diana continued her public duty and became increasingly involved with a number of charity organisations.

While it was her job as princess to visit hospitals, she became very supportive of those with serious illnesses and health-related matters outside the expectations of her duties.

Charity work

Princes William and Harry were introduced to their mother’s work, at an early age and have carried on her legacy.

“She very much wanted to get us to see the rawness of real life. And I can’t thank her enough for that, ’cause reality bites in a big way, and it was one of the biggest lessons I learned is, just how lucky and privileged so many of us are particularly myself,” William once said of his mother.

Living in the public eye

As a young child Prince William greatly disliked the papperazzi, but his mother taught him to tolerate them saying they were “part of his life”.

Prince William has however delivered a strong message that he will not tolerate his wife and unborn child to be hounded by photographers.

Related stories