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Diana's parenting hack Prince William and Kate use to keep Cambridge kids 'humble'

Photo credit: Comic Relief - Getty Images
Photo credit: Comic Relief - Getty Images

It's a well-known fact that kids can be pretty naughty from time to time. It's a wonder then that the Cambridge children, Prince George (8), Princess Charlotte (6) and Prince Louis (3) always seem to be on their very best behaviour. But, as it turns out, their late grandmother Princess Diana can be credited with that, and it's all down to how she raised her own children, Prince William and Prince Harry.

While her sons were growing up, the Princess of Wales instilled the importance of good manners and always showing appreciation. It's something which Prince William and Kate Middleton have been keen to uphold with their own children to ensure they stay 'humble', according to Royal author, Andrew Morton.

Speaking about Princess Diana's parenting skills on the Channel 5 documentary Diana: Queen of Hearts?, Morton said: 'She took the young royals with her on her private charity visits from a young age. One of the reasons was she didn’t want the boys to grow up thinking the whole world was 4×4 Range Rovers, shotguns and nannies.'

Photo credit: Princess Diana Archive - Getty Images
Photo credit: Princess Diana Archive - Getty Images

Another habit that the Princess passed onto her sons, Morton revealed, was writing thank-you letters to anyone who helped them. Now, more than 20 years since her tragic death, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are using the same parenting hack with their three young ones.

'[William and Kate] have developed this brilliant knack of letting as much as they can seem spontaneous and that’s how the children see it,' explained Morton. 'Table manners, thank-you letters and little courtesies are being drilled into the children so they become automatic.'

As well as ensuring her sons had the very best manners, Princess Diana wanted them to understand what life was like for people growing up outside the palace. Leslie Carroll, author of American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry told Vanity Fair: 'Diana gave them [William and Harry] pocket change so they would understand how 'normal' people lived, because Charles never gave the boys money and didn’t understand why they needed it.'

She continued: 'Diana may have had many faults, but a lack of empathy wasn't one of them. She wanted her sons to grow up knowing what the real world was like.' Fellow royal author Christopher Andersen agreed, pointing out that 'Diana drummed compassion into her boys. [She] trained them to be more than those cardboard cutout figures waving from the Buckingham Palace balcony.'


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