An analyst discusses Catherine's approach to parenting
Life in the British royal family looks a bit different than outsiders might expect. Minus the palaces and protocol, there’s quite a bit of overlap with everyday life. Kate Middleton, who recently became Catherine, Princess of Wales, wants to give her kids to have regular experiences but she won’t be taking them to McDonald’s any time soon.
As the wife of heir apparent Prince William, Middleton became Princess Catherine in September 2022 with the ascension of King Charles, who then granted William his new title along with his station as Duke of Cambridge, Cornwall, and Rothesay. Famously, Princess Diana let her kids have McDonald’s but it’s a tradition royal analysts don’t see Catherine continuing.
Time and again, select members of the royal family have shown an affinity for the mundane. Princess Diana especially wanted to keep her boys attuned to the rest of the world and had a hands-on approach with parenting them. Former royal staff members claim Diana would spend nights in with the kids munching on McDonald’s while binge-watching reality television. Big Macs were a staple of Saturday nights.
The new book Gilded Youth by Tom Quinn compares Diana’s parenting style with that of Middleton, who is the mother of Charlotte, Louis, and George. “Kate makes no effort—unlike Diana—to bring the children down to earth,” asserts Quinn.
Quinn points to different backgrounds as an explanation for the differing parenting styles. “Diana enjoyed slumming it and was in many ways downwardly mobile,” Quinn reasons, “she wanted to escape her aristocratic childhood.” In contrast, there’s Catherine, and Quin argues “Kate wants to escape her middle-class childhood. She dislikes burgers and chips and wouldn’t dream of taking her children to McDonald’s, and she doesn’t rock the boat when the vast weight of traditional royal pursuits bears down on her children.”
The phrase “Cancel lunch for the boys. I’m taking them out. We’re going to McDonald’s” was one royal staff members reportedly heard more than once. It’s also said young Prince Harry and William would forgo their meals cooked by elite chefs in favor of fast food – in part for the toy included with the meal, of course.
Since this is coming from an outside source, only time will truly tell how Princess Catherine defines her parenting style, what amount of “normalcy” ends up mixed in, and how many trips to McDonald’s they do or don’t make.
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