As Prince George continues to grow into his future role as King, his younger siblings are thriving in their own right. Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, who will turn 7 later this month, bring plenty of energy, personality and—at least in Louis's case—cheeky antics to royal life. While they might not be destined for the throne like George, the royal duo will need to carve out their own place in the Royal Family—and it's something Prince William and Princess Kate constantly keep in mind as they raise their three children.
George, 11, will be entering his last year at Windsor's Lambrook School in September, marking a major milestone in the future King's life. It's currently unclear if he'll be heading to Eton like his father or Malborough College like mom Kate—or perhaps even a London day school. But according to the royal rumor mill, the prince and princess are keen to keep all three of their children together, making a co-ed school a must.
At the end of the day, the Prince and Princess of Wales must play a delicate balance between preparing George for his future role and making sure their other children still feel appreciated and heard.
"William and Kate must be acutely aware of the problems for a royal spare," former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told the Mirror. "They have already shown that they have a different and modern attitude to bringing up royal children and I'm sure they will do everything to make Charlotte and Louis feel every bit as special, loved and valued as George."
Princess Diana had the same dilemma when it came to raising Prince William and Prince Harry, and although she used tactics like dressing her sons the same and insisting palace staff give them equal treatment, her former butler Paul Burrell recently told Marie Claire that "didn't happen."
"Diana often dressed William and Harry the same, in identical outfits," Burrell recalled. "The boys hated that, by the way, they didn’t want to be dressed the same, but this was Diana’s way of saying, both my boys are equal to me, they’re both wearing the same outfits."
In a Channel 5 documentary, the former butler shared a story that illustrated the different treatment Prince Harry received versus Prince William. "I heard one of the nannies say to William, 'I'm going to give you three sausages, William. You need to grow big and strong, because you're going to be king one day,'" Burrell recalled.
"Poor Harry's face across the table," he added. "I looked at him [and knew he was thinking], 'Why did you get three sausages and I got two?'" It's no surprise that Harry went on to title his memoir "Spare."
When it comes to Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, Bond noted that they might want to look to their great uncle Prince Edward's example, as the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip is a fellow "spare." While he struggled to find his place in the family at first, the Duke of Edinburgh has gone on to become one of the hardest working royals.
Speaking of Edward and his wife Duchess Sophie, the royal commentator said, "They have always been quietly devoted to their various causes, but their work has been overshadowed by other royals. I suppose every cloud has a silver lining...and as the King calls on them to take a more prominent role, Edward and Sophie are showing they are very much up to the task."
She pointed out the couple "serve as excellent role models to their great nephews and niece—showing that you can be a 'spare' or even a 'spare to the spare' and make a real success of working as a valued member of the Royal Family."
