They must not allow tantrums

They must not allow tantrums
JOHN SHELLEY/SHUTTERSTOCK

It’s truly amazing that royal children behave as well in public as they do. What’s their parenting secret? According to one expert, it’s giving the children lots of practice. “Etiquette training for the royals starts as soon as they’re old enough to sit at a table,” Myka Meier of Beaumont Etiquette told People. For example, to prepare to sit through Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle, the children would have gone through rehearsals and learned specific behaviour and protocol, she says.

But royal parents have an advantage all parents would love: a team standing by to help. “They would have many royal aides and members of the royal family to assist and guide the children through the day,” Meier said. “If there were any issues, they would have been seamlessly taken care of.”

 

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They must treat any bad behaviour with grace

They must treat any bad behaviour with grace
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But we have seen some near-meltdowns, such as Princess Charlotte’s outburst on a tarmac. Still, as Duchess Catherine did in that instance, the royal parents must keep their cool to defuse the situation before their children get out of control. A new tactic Prince William and Duchess Catherine are fond of that bucks royal tradition, but works well to calm children, is to squat to the child’s level to speak to them. Although Prince William has been scolded by the Queen for pulling this common move, in the case of impending bad behaviour, avoiding a scene is more important.

They mustn’t raise their voice to their children in public

They mustn’t raise their voice to their children in public
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You’ll never hear the royals yelling at their kids, especially since a stern whispered word is often more effective. Or, royal parents have the option to take the opposite tack and simply laugh it off, like it’s all part of the show. Duchess Catherine showed this expert parenting move during a recent outing to a regatta when Princess Charlotte (who may be the family troublemaker) stuck out her tongue at photographers. Instead of making a big deal of it, Kate just flashed a smile and quickly ushered her daughter away.

They aren’t allowed to play Monopoly

They aren’t allowed to play Monopoly
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If the Queen’s second son, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, is to be believed, one classic board game is forbidden in the royal household: Monopoly. When presented with the game at an event, he said, “We’re not allowed to play Monopoly at home. It gets too vicious,” according to the Telegraph. But even if he and his siblings were not permitted to play the game when they were growing up, the next generation of royal parents may allow it—just not when they’re visiting “Gan Gan.” Monopoly might not be a family pastime together, but they have others when they’re gathering at Christmas.

They must teach royal duties

They must teach royal duties
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Although this generation of royal children are allowed plenty of playtime to just be kids, they also must be taught some strict rules royal children need to follow. This means their parents must instruct them on the proper wave (Princess Charlotte is already a master). As time goes on, their parents will also share more of the roles they will play as working royals: For Prince George, this means learning how to be the sovereign (for the time being, that’s a secret Prince William and Kate are keeping from Prince George). But for now, one duty that must seem very strange to a child (and to us, for that matter) is learning, by age five, to actually curtsy or bow to their own great-grandma—that is, if she happens to be the Queen of England.

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Source: RD.com

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