When you see the Wales family laughing and smiling at royal events together or appearing in videos or photos, it’s hard to imagine William and Kate being super strict with George, Charlotte and Louis. It’s understood that instead of a “naughty step”, the couple take a different approach and talk things through on a “chat sofa”.
However, like all parents, they have their non-negotiable rules and Prince William just revealed that there’s one they take very seriously. It’s easy to miss amid all the other personal revelations the future King shared with Eugene Levy in Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveler, but he explained that their children aren’t allowed phones yet.
Whilst chatting about what he does when he’s home at Adelaide Cottage, William declared, “We sit and chat, none of the children have phones, which we are really strict about.”
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Considering that Prince Louis is only 7 and Princess Charlotte 10, it probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone that the Prince and Princess of Wales have deemed phones off limits for them. Prince George, though, is a slightly different story.
The young royal is 12 and at the age where many of his classmates might already have their own mobiles. Prince William’s comment to Eugene that he and Kate are “really strict” about this rule could perhaps suggest that they have come up against some pleading or questioning about it, but are staying firm in their decision.
This means that the Wales family can enjoy family time together without anyone being tempted to check their phones. Growing up and parenting in the digital age aren’t easy and the couple’s former aide, Jason Knauf, said in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia earlier this year that they do have concerns about it.
“His childhood in front of the media was quite difficult at times,” Jason claimed. “And then he knew that he was going to be raising his kids to deal with social media and mobile phones and all of that stuff.”
Meanwhile, Prince William himself delved into things a little deeper during an appearance on Channel 5 News back in 2018. He disclosed that he and Kate “still [hadn’t] worked out what the right balance is for online time” generally and would have “that discussion” with their family.
“This generation are going to be the first generation to grow up fully immersed in mobile phones, social media, lots of stuff,” the Prince of Wales said. “And yet our generation, the older generation, the parent generation, we’re completely left at, ‘How do we deal with this? Where do we go to? Where do you learn about how to look after your children’s digital world?'”
(Image credit: Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
For the moment it seems that he and Kate’s choice was to be “strict” over phones and they’ve most likely set an age limit on when George, Charlotte and Louis can have one. Family time is hugely important to them – as is privacy – and making their home a no-phone zone for their kids could help with this.
Even the Prince and Princess are rarely seen with phones in public. Instead of constantly messaging, the Wales children have much more outdoor-focused hobbies. William shared with Eugene that Charlotte and Louis make good use of their trampoline.
“Louis loves the trampoline, he’s obsessed by trampolining and Charlotte actually does it a lot as well. And as far as I can tell they just end up jumping up and down on the trampoline and beating each other up most of the time. Apparently there is an art to it,” he said.
Watch The Reluctant Traveler season 3 on Apple TV+, with new episodes landing every Friday.
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