Hands-on dad to a game-changing daughter, Prince William's bond with his daughter Charlotte sets the tone for a next generation of royal reign.
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00:00Hands-on dad to a game-changing daughter!
00:04Prince William's bond with his daughter, Charlotte, sets the tone for a next generation
00:08of royal reign. Princess Charlotte has been breaking ground since she was born.
00:14Her parents announced her birth on their Twitter account, which was only a few months old at the
00:18time. Posted on May 2, 2015, the tweet read,
00:23Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a daughter at 8.34am."
00:29Before this, royal baby announcements were made by posting a traditional easel with the news
00:34outside of Buckingham Palace. Prince William didn't spend much time talking to the press
00:39after Charlotte was born, but it was clear that he was embracing his new role. When reporters
00:44spotted him outside St. Mary's Hospital and asked how he felt about the new addition to the family,
00:49The Guardian reported that William said he was, quote,
00:52"...very happy." Though William was happy to welcome his daughter,
00:56the responsibility of being a dad of two is a weight he felt in the months leading up to her
01:01birth. People magazine reported that a few weeks before Princess Charlotte's arrival,
01:06he told a crowd during a walk about that,
01:09They say that number one is a life-changer and that number two is a game-changer."
01:14As the only daughter of the heir to the British throne,
01:18Princess Charlotte has drawn many comparisons to her grandmother, Princess Diana, over the years.
01:23William's famous mother, who was born Diana Frances Spencer, died nearly 20 years before
01:29Charlotte was born. For William and his brother Harry, losing their mother as an adolescent is
01:34something that has profoundly impacted how they operate in the world. Newsweek printed
01:39that said in the 2017 documentary Mind Over Marathon that,
01:44"...I still feel, 20 years later about my mother, I still have shock within me."
01:49One of the most touching ways Prince William has honored Diana's memory
01:53is by naming his daughter after her, his beloved mother.
01:56The princess' full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.
02:00When you have children, it really does put your own emotions and your own life into perspective."
02:06Princess Charlotte and Prince George gave their dad a bit of a headache when they were younger.
02:10While we're sure that Prince William loved becoming a father of two,
02:14having two young children at home posed a challenge,
02:17especially once both kids were old enough to cause some trouble.
02:20In an appearance at the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust in 2016, as reported by ABC, William said,
02:27"...No broken bones yet, but they're trying. Running around, pushing things,
02:32jumping, please tell me it gets easier."
02:35William may have been exaggerating a bit, at least on the part of Charlotte,
02:39who was just 10 months old at the time, not old enough to be running around and jumping.
02:44George, however, was just a few months shy of three.
02:48As serene as Princess Charlotte may have been as an infant,
02:52her sassy personality didn't take long to assert itself.
02:56Prince William told Sky News of his two-month-old daughter,
02:59"...She's been a little joy of heaven."
03:02By the time she was three, though, Prince William revealed that his daughter had
03:06developed a bit of a naughty side. As reported by Red, in the 2020 ITV documentary Prince William,
03:13A Planet for Us All, he is seen speaking to a little girl in Kenya and says,
03:18"...They're about as cheeky as each other. They're very cheeky."
03:22William didn't seem bothered by his daughter's mischief-seeking ways at the time,
03:26although that may change as she grows older,
03:28considering that the heir to the throne once foresaw more trouble in his daughter's future.
03:33Hello! reported he admitted during a 2017 appearance at a hospital that he said,
03:39"...I think she's going to be trouble when she's older. All fathers say that."
03:44Historically, raising young royals has largely been left to nannies.
03:49Princess Diana broke the mold with her hands-on parenting approach,
03:53wanting Prince William and Prince Harry to have as normal of a life as possible.
03:57It's a modern tradition that William has continued with his own children,
04:01something that defies both royal and patriarchal stereotypes.
04:06Upon becoming a father, he was the one who changed Prince George's first diaper.
04:10He told CNN,
04:12"...I had every midwife staring at me."
04:15While the Prince and Princess of Wales do have a nanny to help out,
04:18they take on quite a lot of child-rearing responsibilities themselves.
04:23A source told People magazine of visiting the family that,
04:26"...you'd think that Catherine and William would have an army of staff to help them out,
04:30but it really was just them and the children."
04:33As an insider explained to the Daily Mail, Prince William is committed to being a better
04:38father to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis than King Charles was to him.
04:43They said,
04:44"...he feels Prince Charles' unquestionable work ethic had a direct impact on his upbringing,
04:50especially after the death of his mother. Far too often,
04:53his father chose his duties over being a dad."
04:56William even does Charlotte's hair, although he's admitted this is a bit of a challenge,
05:01and that he's turned to YouTube for help. People magazine reported he said,
05:06"...I can do Charlotte's ponytail, but that's about it as I don't have enough hair to practice on."
05:11Princess Charlotte is a bit of a firecracker, and it's a trait that she gets from her dad.
05:17While she's typically very well-behaved in public, she's also let loose a time or two.
05:22In 2019, the 4-year-old princess stuck her tongue out while in the audience of a sailing race.
05:28It's a move that mirrored one her father's brother Harry made at the same age,
05:32sticking his tongue out at the press.
05:34It's not the only time Charlotte's inherited sassiness has come through.
05:39At Prince Louis' christening in 2018,
05:41My London reported that Charlotte cheekily told reporters,
05:45"...you're not invited."
05:47We can't blame Prince William or Princess Charlotte for being frustrated with being
05:51in the public eye, especially at such a young age. Considering that William is now the picture
05:57of decorum, though, and Charlotte is a bit older, we aren't likely to see too many more breaches of
06:02royal conduct. Charlotte has even been seen keeping her brothers in line during royal engagements.
06:10While it's hard to truly know the inner workings of any relationship,
06:14a body language expert evaluated Prince William's interactions with Princess
06:18Charlotte in a video and determined that his affection for his daughter is genuine.
06:23In fact, Express revealed that William's pride for his little girl is evident even
06:28when he's not singing her praises, saying,
06:30"...William's body language as he talks about his daughter is bashful,
06:34self-effacing, playful and, of course, besotted."
06:38The royal gossip mill loves to speculate about any hint of scandal, whether it's Prince William's
06:44rumored affair with Rose Hanbury or conjecture that Prince Harry is not the biological son of
06:50King Charles. While the allegations are often cruel, this sort of vicious theorizing has
06:55thankfully missed Princess Charlotte so far. Then again, even the nastiest of loose tongues
07:01would have a hard time trying to convince people that Charlotte is anyone's daughter
07:05but William's, considering just how much the two look alike. A fan tweeted,
07:11"...it's eerie how much Princess Charlotte looks like Prince William."
07:15The resemblance is striking and has startled even Prince William,
07:19who was once presented with a photo of himself as a young boy that he initially thought was his
07:24daughter. The photo was part of a cupcake display that featured photos of him and Catherine Middleton
07:30at various ages. As told by People magazine, Prince William asked,
07:35"...is that me? Because that looks just like Charlotte. That is incredible."
07:41Prince William and Princess Charlotte are so sweet together,
07:44this hasn't failed to enamor fans and royal watchers. They frequently take to social media
07:49to comment on how obvious it is that William dotes on his only daughter. One Twitter user noted,
07:56"...I did notice that Charlotte is very fond of William and vice versa."
08:00Another fan posted a collage of photos of the father and daughter over the years,
08:05captioning it,
08:06"...I love that we get to see the father and daughter relationship of Prince William and
08:10Princess Charlotte. William is so sweet with his children and he's not afraid to show that
08:15side of himself to the public."
08:18While it's unlikely that we will ever hear the Prince of Wales admitting to having a favorite
08:22child, we know that he's not afraid to take sides in an argument when his kids bicker.
08:28Back in 2019, Prince William was honoring that year's recipients of the Diana Award
08:33at Kensington Palace. The charity was named after William's mother, Princess Diana,
08:38and its goal is to,
08:40"...empower young people to lead that change through a range of initiatives,
08:44which unlock their potential, inspire action and create opportunities,
08:49ensuring that no young person is left out or left behind."
08:53While speaking with Olivia Hancock, a teenage soccer player who was being celebrated for her
08:59efforts to combat gender inequality in the sport, William revealed that Princess Charlotte
09:04and Prince George are also fans of the sport, and that George, then six, would boast about
09:09being better than Charlotte, then four, during their family matches. Hancock told Hello! that
09:14William wouldn't let this fly, telling his oldest child,
09:18"...George, Charlotte could be as good as you."
09:21The British royal family has traditionally been quite stoic and not talked much about
09:26their feelings, especially in public. That's something that the younger generations are
09:31moving away from.
09:33"...you have to prioritize, you know, prioritize your mental health."
09:35Prince William is determined that his kids will be comfortable talking about whatever
09:40they are going through. He told CalmZine in 2017,
09:44"...Catherine and I are clear that we want both George and Charlotte to grow up feeling
09:49able to talk about their emotions and feelings. Emotional intelligence is key for us all to
09:54deal with the complexities of life and relationships."
09:58The Prince of Wales has become increasingly open about his mental health as he's grown
10:03older. He talks about everything from the pain of his mother's death to his grief at
10:08seeing a little boy badly injured during his time as an air ambulance helicopter pilot.
10:12"...when you see so much death and so much bereavement, it does impact how you see the
10:18world."
10:19Thankfully, it seems Charlotte, as well as George and Louis, will get any mental and
10:24emotional support they need as they grow up, with parents who are committed to being more
10:28open.