Prince William and Kate Middleton Are Changing the Way Royals Parent When It Comes to Prince George and Princess Charlotte

Duke of Cambridge is deny the ''stiff upper lip'' culture with his kids

By Kendall Fisher Apr 18, 2017 3:39 PMTags
Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Kate Middleton, CanadaChris Jackson - Pool/Getty Image

Prince William and Kate Middleton are writing a new chapter in the book of royal parenting.

The Duke of Cambridge opened up to CALMzine and revealed that both he and his wife are letting go of the infamous royal "stiff upper lip" strategy when it comes to raising Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Rather, he's focused on garnering an environment in which his kids are both able to express their feelings and emotions.

"Catherine and I are clear that we want both George and Charlotte to grow up feeling able to talk about their emotions and feelings," he told the publication. "Over the past year we have visited a number of schools together where we have been amazed listening to children talk about some quite difficult subjects in a clear and emotionally articulate way, something most adults would struggle with."

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Prince William's Family Album

But this revelation goes beyond the royal family.

"Seeing this has really given me hope things are changing," William continued. "And there is a generation coming up who find it normal to talk openly about emotions."

The discussion comes on the heels of Prince Harry's revelation that he "shut down all of his emotions" for almost 20 years following his mother, Princess Diana's death in 1997.

"My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand and refusing to ever think about my mom because why would that help?" he told Bryony Gordon's Mad World in an interview that aired Monday. "It's only going to make you sad. It's never going to bring her back."

He admitted it was only three years ago that he realized he needed to seek professional help after shoving all of his emotions down for so long. So, he sought counseling and believes it was one of the best decisions of his life.

Today, he feels therapy and mental fitness should be a part of everyone's life, which is why he, William and Kate founded the Heads Together campaign.

"We're not robots," he said, discussing how he's used his influential platform to change the stigma around mental health and "normalize" the conversation.

"What my mother believed in is if the fact that you are in a position of privilege or a position of responsibility and if you can put your name to something that you genuinely believe in…then you can smash any stigma you want."

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