Kate Middleton shot to fame the moment she started dating Prince William, one of the most eligible bachelors at the time. It was the fairytale story every little girl dreamed of. Meet a prince. Fall in love. Get married. Instant princess status.
The world became obsessed. Millions of people tuned in to watch The Royal Wedding as it was broadcast across the TV. Everyone wanted to know what she was wearing. Designers instantly sold out of every style that Kate chose. She had achieved celebrity status overnight and everything she did set a trend.
Like any couple, the moment they were married people started speculating about children. The bump watch began. They were going to need to produce an heir to the throne. It seemed so surreal, which made it even more irresistible. With the announcement of her first pregnancy came a massive frenzy. Everyone was over the moon at the idea of a royal baby. It was a historical time given this baby would be born in direct line for the throne.
That excitement continued through to her second pregnancy. People just can't get enough of the newest royal family. Prince George and Princess Charlotte have stolen the hearts of people everywhere. So what do we know about these two little heart thieves? They are certainly adorable! I bet there's a lot that would surprise you to learn about their short lives and royal upbringing so read on.
Here are 15 things you didn't know about William and Kate's kids.
15 So Traditional
Did you notice both Prince George and Princess Charlotte were born with 3 first names? This is a royal tradition. Each name is selected specifically to honor family before them. Because of this tradition, it isn’t difficult for people to make fairly accurate guesses as to which names will be on the list. It also explains why we have so many Queen Elizabeth’s and King George’s.
Prince George’s full name is George Alexander Louis. George is after Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI. Alexander is to honor the Queen as her middle name is Alexandra. Louis has double meaning as it is in honor of Prince Philip’s grandfather. It is also Prince Williams middle name.
Princess Charlotte’s full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Charlotte is in honor of Prince Charles as it is the feminine version of his name. Elizabeth is after the Queen and Kate's great-grandmother. Diana is a nod to Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana.
14 Bookies Love Them
Las Vegas has nothing on these odds. Bookies go crazy over the royal children! Every aspect of their life has a wager attached to it. What date will the baby be born? Will it be a boy or a girl? What is the weight? Odds even went up for whether Kate would elect for a c-section or go with a natural birth as well as what color dress she would wear when they left the hospital. Don’t forget who would be holding the baby when they presented it to the world? People seemed to care about this stuff a lot! It’s no surprise the biggest action was seen on choosing the baby’s name (or names). Did you know when Princess Charlotte was born, bookies paid out over 1 million pounds! Betting like this in Britain is far more common place than it is in the United States. Nothing was off limits.
13 Prince George Has A Tattoo
Cute little Prince George sporting a tattoo?! That got your attention, didn’t it? While William and Kate didn’t go out and tattoo their son, someone else did create a satirical puppet fashioned after Prince George. The puppet show is a British parody called Newzoids. Apparently, it’s hilarious. The one-year old was featured in the show as a rude little boy. His look was complete with a gold chain around his neck and a tattoo on his arm. The show was styled like a sitcom and spoofs current events in the country and other well known celebrities in the news at the time of the airing. The royal episode provided viewers with a funny, imagined look at what life might be like behind palace doors. All of the sketches were done in good fun. The show received very mixed reviews and ran for a total of 2 seasons (6 episodes each).
12 Require Extra Religious Guidance
It is considered normal to select 2 godparents for each of your children. Their responsibility is to present the child at their baptism and pledge to guide and support them from a religious standpoint. For the British Royal Family, having 2 godparents was not enough. In true royal fashion, they like bigger and better. It is tradition for them that each child be assigned at least 6 godparents! That is a lot of religious guidance! For William and Kate, they mostly followed tradition. They stepped it up a bit with Prince George. He has 7 godparents! Then they scaled back just a bit and gave Princess Charlotte only 5. There is a joke in there that men need more guidance than their female counterparts. It could also be because Prince George is more likely to ascend the throne. Each carefully selected group is made up of trusted family, mentors, and longtime friends.
11 Ignored Royal Education
In the royal family, it has been tradition for children to either be privately homeschooled or attend a same-gender school (typically the one attended by past royals). Prince George is blazing a new path and causing a stir! Princess Charlotte is expected to follow in his footsteps. When he started preschool, William and Kate shocked everyone by selecting a mixed gender Montessori school. He will not only be learning his ABC’s, but he will be learning about respect and grace. The focus in Montessori education is to focus on the “whole child”. It allows them to guide their own education while developing a love of learning and building confidence. William and Kate believe this will provide the best foundation for his education. They wanted to ensure their children are learning to be good human beings first and foremost. If he is to be the future King, compassion will be important.
10 Nannies Step Aside
Kate Middleton continues to push the limits to modernize royal traditions. She has taken a lot of heat from the Queen, as has William, for their parenting style. In the past, royal mothers took a fairly hands off approach. Princess Diana was the first known royal to take on a more active role. Kate and William are following in her footsteps. While they have hired 1 nanny, they set the tone for discipline! It is very “unroyal” to stoop to a child’s level in public. Yet, we’ve seen photos of William and Kate doing just that. Kate is also active in taking the kids out for 1 on 1 outings and errands. When the family has traveled, the kids join in. They are not left at home with nannies to care for them. It is an area we will likely see more controversy in as the royal kids get older and tradition is outdated.
9 Economic Drivers
Nothing boosts Britain’s economy like a royal baby! When Prince George was born, there was an estimated 247 million pounds generated in retail sales. People when crazy buying souvenirs and all the baby gadgets and outfits Kate purchased. When it came time for baby number 2, we saw another huge influx of cash. There is never as big a boost with a second child. Prince George is in direct line for the throne so it makes sense he would motivate a larger boost to the economy. However, Princess Charlotte gave an estimated 80 million boost to retail sales following her birth. There is also an expected lifetime boost to the fashion industry. Little girls' clothing is far cuter. Who knew you could be such a fashion icon before birth! Like mother like daughter. How surreal it must be for Kate to think that her children are so powerful.
8 Expert Gift Receivers
Prince George and Princess Charlotte were born to be a great gift receivers! From the day they were born, gifts have been pouring in to congratulate and commemorate them. On Prince George’s first royal tour, he received 706 gifts. That’s more than 7 times the amount the Queen received during a royal tour. For Charlotte’s first birthday, she received letters and gifts from 64 countries. Gifts range from stuffed animals, blankets, clothing, toys and books to large charitable donations. Many are from retail companies that send a gift as a thank you for a boost in sales received when people find out the royal family has made a purchase there. It should be easy to purchase gifts for young children. However, it seems people get very stressed out trying to select the perfect gift for someone that literally has everything. Imagine what happens to all those gifts. There is no way they keep them all.
7 National Treasures
Prince George and Princess Charlotte want for nothing. While their parents are very selective and smart about gifts they choose, many others opt for extravagant. Even their own country has gone above and beyond to commemorate their lives. Prince George appeared on his first stamp when he was just 2-years old. It was a photo of the Queen with her 3 direct heirs to the throne back at the time of her 90th birthday. Each of them had a stamp released with their photo on it as part of the collection. When both Prince George and Princess Charlotte were christened, the country released a commemorative coin. The coins were decorated with 2 cherubs playing the harp. The design is said to signify the link between the 2 siblings using the royal christening font (yes, there’s an official font). This was Charlotte’s second coin. The country released the first coin when she was born.
6 Breastfeeding Icons
Breastfed royal babies are few and far between. That makes Prince George and Princess Charlotte part of the minority! Historically many royal mothers found breastfeeding to be distasteful. They refused to do it. Therefore, there was a stigma attached and women would hide their decision. Some even believed breast milk was harmful to the baby. Other royal mothers hired a team of lactating women to feed their children for them. They found the idea beneficial for baby but not themselves to participate. They were too busy or needed to focus on creating the next heir. As the Royal Family begins to modernize and embrace the mantra “breast is best” more babies will join the ranks. It is only the last two generations (William’s mother and Kate) that have stepped outside of the royal comfort zone to take a more hands on approach to being a mother and feeding their children.
5 Habla Espanol
Prince George and Princess Charlotte are being exposed to everything Spanish. Their nanny, Miss Borrallo, is from Spain. She attended Norland College, a world-renowned nanny school after getting her teaching degree. She was hired on when William and Kate realized they needed more than just part-time help while traveling. Kate’s mother and William’s former nanny had been assisting. Now the children are eating Spanish foods like paella, gazpacho, and empanadas. Most importantly they are learning to speak some Spanish. Who better to learn from than a fluent nanny and at such a young age. It is great training for the language skills they should be developing as they get older. Spanish is the 2nd most used in the world after all. Miss Borrallo also brings to the table the ability to emulate the kind of environment they would create for the kids. All around it appears to be a great fit.
4 Emotionally Free
William and Kate are yet again breaking with royal tradition (this is becoming a tradition). Both have taken a stance to embrace authentic emotion and wear their heart on their sleeves. It is not the royal way! They both believe Prince George and Princess Charlotte should grow up in a different environment than has existed at the palace in the past. They want their children to be free to express themselves and hope to help normalize the idea of talking about your emotions openly. They founded an organization called Heads Together to help focus on mental illness and removing the stigma. Kate openly talks about how they would seek support for either of their children should they be diagnosed with a mental illness. It is nothing to be ashamed of. In a way, George and Charlotte are helping to pave the way to helping people seek treatment for themselves and their children.
3 All Dolled Up
From the moment Prince George and Princess Charlotte were born, people have been paying attention to their fashion choices (or rather Kate’s choices). The moment brands and styles are known, buyers rush to buy it up. Retailers are making money hand over fist. Within 4-hours of Prince George leaving the hospital, he had crashed the website of the baby retailer Aden + Anais. People had to have the exact white swaddling cloth he was using. In 9-days the retailer had sold over 7,000 of them. When he wore a cute pair of sailboat overalls to a playdate, they sold out almost instantly. At barely a week old, Charlotte’s choice in baby bonnet was making headlines. First, people were looking so closely they noticed she was wearing it backwards. The designer was inundated with orders for the handmade bonnet. There is a website dedicated to Princess Charlotte’s style. Click the photo and get the details. Crazy!
2 Jet Setters
In the past, royal babies were left at home with a team of nannies to care for them while their parents traveled the globe. It was believed they would do better maintaining their schedule in familiar surroundings. Not Prince George and Princess Charlotte! The are experienced globe trotters. William and Kate have made a point to bring them along for the journey with just 1 nanny in tow to help. Their passports are racking up the stamps. Locations they have visited in their short lives include Scotland, Canada, Australia, France, and New Zealand. William and Kate have done more international travel since the birth of the kids. However, the Queen doesn’t necessarily approve of the kids tagging along. Rumors fly that she bars the kids from going at times. While on their trips, the kids make several public appearances with their parents. They also factor in some private family time.
1 Move Over And Make Room
Move over Prince George and Princess Charlotte! Make room for royal baby #3. Bookies started listing odds on when the next royal pregnancy would be announced shortly after Princess Charlotte was born. No surprise there. In the past, Prince William has publicly stated his wishes for 2 children. Some might think having both a boy and girl would make their family complete, perfect even. However, there is some speculation coming from Kate’s side of the family that there may be more babies on the horizon. Her Uncle Gary has stated he believes they will go for baby #3. It’s easy to assume he has the inside scoop given his relation. However, it has now been 2-years (roughly the age gap between Prince George and Princess Charlotte). There hasn’t been a baby announcement yet. Not that it means much. Only time will tell if we will see another royal baby for William and Kate.