The Princess of Wales has offered insight into how she and the Prince of Wales parent their three children.
Following the coronation of King Charles III last May, Prince William and Kate hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace, where they met with thousands of specially-invited guests. As Kate Middleton spoke with one 93-year-old guest, Aldith Grandison, and her daughter, Jay Cee La Bouche, the mother of three revealed which parent is the “strict” one in their household.
In a video shared by Sky News, the women could be seen chatting about jokes. “I’m terrible, I’m terrible at jokes,” Kate said, laughing. She then revealed that her husband is “very good” at telling jokes and “if he was here” he would crack a pun.
Princess Kate’s response prompted Grandison to label the royal as “the strict one” in the family, to which she jokingly replied: “I’m definitely not strict! How can you tell that? Surely not!”
The Prince and Princess of Wales are parents to three children: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five. The royal couple have previously opened up about the challenges of parenting. In a recent video interview with radio host Roman Kemp, Kate addressed the financial struggles that many parents around the world continue to face.
“Every family is different. The pressures we face are all different, whilst raising the importance of early childhood,” she said back in February. “This isn’t about putting extra pressure on families. It’s actually saying they need the support and help reprioritising family life, home life and all that it takes in raising children today because it is tough.”
She added that the “relationships in the family” children are surrounded by are “so important,” as well as the space in which they are raised. “The environment in which you bring up a child is as important, as whereas the experiences you engage them with,” Kate continued. “It’s not about the number of toys they’ve got or the number of sort of trips that you go on with them. It’s just making sure that they’ve got the right emotional support around them and that comes from the adults in their lives.”
Both William and Kate have showcased their own parenting skills over the years. Their youngest son, Louis, famously stole the show with his amusing antics during the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee celebrations in June. The then-four-year-old was seen pulling faces and sticking his tongue out throughout the festivities. While some people criticised the royal parents for not disciplining Louis, others praised William and Kate for keeping their cool as their youngest son acted up.
Their parenting skills even caught the attention of Supernanny star Jo Frost, after a video captured Louis placing his hand over his mother’s mouth when she tried to speak to him. Under an Instagram video of Louis shaking his finger and ignoring Kate’s instruction, Frost commented: “Love how mum is addressing in public Prince Louis needing to listen up and do as his [sic] told.”
Another user wrote: “Yep, she is one tough loving, bada** momma and he WILL be loved up and corralled into the required behaviour. Very lucky, loved up children.”
Most recently, William proved that he can crack quite the “dad joke” during his speech at the Coronation concert last May. The extravagant concert was held on the grounds of Windsor Castle in celebration of King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s coronation. Taking to the stage in front of 20,000 people at Windsor Castle’s East Lawn, the heir to the throne made a touching tribute to his father and praised his dedication to the crown, as well as his environmental and charity work.
Before he began his speech, however, William made a “goofy” dad joke that prompted laughter from members of the royal family. “I want to say a few words about my father and why I believe this weekend is so important. But don’t worry, unlike Lionel, I won’t go on all night long,” he said, referencing Richie’s hit song “All Night Long” that he performed earlier in the evening.
