Kate Middleton, Prince William to Adopt Princess Diana's Parenting Method?
Kate Middleton and Prince William are expected to mirror the late Princess Diana's parenting method after the birth of their first child, reports claim.
The royal couple, who are just days away from welcoming the birth of a royal heir, reportedly want their first child to have a normal upbringing despite the fact that he or she will be third in line to the throne. Diana, who was famously nicknamed "the people's princess" due to her humility and generosity, repeatedly broke royal tradition in order to give sons William and Harry a sense of normalcy.
"William and Harry were very, very fortunate with Diana as a mother because her ideas were so different to the previous generation. The importance of this to her two sons has been enormous. William will want this for his children," Princess Margaret's official biographer Christopher Warwick said according to Arabia MSN News.
"[Kate's] childhood was pretty ordinary," he continued adding. "She won't want her baby to be the subject of rules and protocol before they need to be."
Diana, who was described as being a very hands-on and "rebellious" mother, was often photographed walking her boys to school, which was unusual for royals. William, 30, also became the first heir to the throne to attend public school at his mother's request and she reportedly did her best to prepare him.
"Diana said to him in the car, 'Now listen, William, there's going to be a lot of photographers at your new school, so you need to behave yourself.' And he, in this sort of just William way, said to his mother, just below the pink cap, 'I don't like 'tographers,'" William's personal bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, said according to ABC News. "She said, 'Well, you're going to get this for the rest of your life.'"
In April the Duchess, 31, revealed that her first child is due "around mid-July," when asked by news reporters in Glasgow, adding "but babies have their own agenda." A new report suggests that Middleton may have followed Diana's lead by possibly telling the press that the baby is due weeks after the actual due date, according to The Daily Telegraph.
In 1982 Princess Diana reportedly announced that her first born son, William, was due on her birthday, July 1, but he was born more than one week prior on June 21, igniting speculation that she may have deliberately thrown off the media to protect her privacy.