While Prince William and Duchess Catherine are the face of the future of the monarchy, they still honor many royal traditions that have been followed for hundreds of years. One of the most popular and time-honored royal traditions is releasing family photographs to mark special occasions such as a birth or a holiday. In 1982, Princess Diana and Prince Charles introduced William in an official photograph released by the Palace. Two years later, Prince Harry joined them in a photo that was used on the family Christmas card. In 2015, the Cambridges celebrated their first Christmas as a family of four with a sweet photo taken in the fall of 2015 with Prince George and baby Princess Charlotte. In the years since, those photos have served as the Cambridge children's limited exposure in the media.
Recently, however, as the eldest Cambridge kids, George and Charlotte have begun to appear in person with their parents on occasion, like when they took the stage with William to kick-off a half-marathon on Father's Day. When George accompanied his parents to a Euro 2020 match and the championship, he seemed very much the happy young prince, matching with his father in his blue blazer and striped tie. Unfortunately, something happened afterward that's caused William and Kate to question whether they should continue including their children in future outings. Read on to find out what happened and why it's such an important issue for the Cambridges.
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The Cambridges may not release a photo of Prince George for his birthday this week.
William and Kate have always marked their children's birthdays by releasing adorable photos of them doing all the things that children love to do: playing with toys, rolling in the grass, riding bicycles, and finger-painting. Last year, when George turned seven, Kensington Palace released two photos (one of which is seen here) of a casually clad George with his gap-toothed smile, taken by Kate. In one photo, the young prince wore a camouflage t-shirt in an apparent nod to the family's history of military service.
But that may not be the case this week when Prince George celebrates his eighth birthday on July 22. After last Sunday's football match, the internet took jabs at the young prince's reaction when England's team lost, while others criticized him for wearing a jacket and tie. In an appearance on True Royalty TV's Royal Beat (via Daily Mail) royal biographer Angela Levin said: "There are rumors that we might not see the photograph [of Prince George] when he's eight, because they've been so upset by the rudeness of people mocking a little boy aged seven."
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been praised for the careful and gradual way they have introduced George to royal life.
JOHN SIBLEY/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesAlso on True Royalty TV's Royal Beat, royal reporter Roya Nikkah complimented William and Kate for gradually easing their eldest son, who is third in line to the throne, into what will be a life of royal service by bringing him to the Euro games. Nikkah remarked that George's appearance at the Euro Cup was "a very clever way" of giving the young prince a small taste of the type of duties that await him as he grows. "This is an official duty for Prince George at the age of seven," she explained. "It's lovely and happy and there's a lot of emotion. Getting him used to big crowds and knowing that he is being watched by millions of people—it's quite a clever way of doing it."
A source told Best Life that William and Kate chose the occasion for precisely those reasons, but were stunned to see their son attacked on social media. "The duke and duchess understand their responsibility to the British public, who are interested in seeing the children as they grow. They felt [the Euro Cup] was a lovely way to have George be part of such an exciting occasion for the entire country without being overwhelmed by the media." The insider continued, "They had not anticipated people would be horrid enough to criticize a seven-year-old boy's attire all over social media."
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As much as they may want to shield their son in the future, the Cambridge kids will always "have to live some portion of their lives in the public eye."
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty ImagesBecause of his place in the line of succession, William and Kate do not have the same freedom as Prince Harry andDuchess Meghan when it comes to keeping their children from the media. "William and Catherine have done their best to give their children as normal a life as possible, but now that George is getting older, there are decisions that have to be made involving how much he will be exposed to the general public and under what circumstances. Because he is an heir to the throne, there are instances where personal preferences will have to take a back seat to duty," a royal source told Best Life.
Harry and Meghan, on the other hand, have been able to tightly control their children's media exposure since the day they were born. The Sussexes waited days to introduce Archie Mountbatten-Windsor to the world and when they did, there was just one reporter, a few photographers, and a videographer present at Windsor Castle when they met the media as a family of three for the first time. Harry and Meghan also didn't give photographers and royal fans a glimpse of the family as they walked to church for their son's christening, choosing only to release two photographs: an official family portrait and a stylized black and white photo of the new parents gazing adoringly at their first born, taken on the day of the ceremony. In subsequent released photos, Archie's face is often obscured. No images of Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born on June 4, have been released thus far. This may not please many ardent royal fans, but the protective parents living in California are adamant about guarding their children's privacy.
"As much as they may want to, [William and Kate] can't take a page from Harry and Meghan's playbook on this issue," the insider explained. "The Cambridge kids will always have to live some portion of their lives in the public eye."
As the family's photographer, Kate has done what she can to control what the public sees of her children.
Amateur photographer Kate, who is the royal patron of the National Portrait Gallery and once interned for renowned portrait photographer Alistair Morrison, has used her talents behind the lens to immortalize milestones in Prince George's, Prince Charlotte's, and Prince Louis' lives. Her efforts have been recognized by the Royal Photographic Society, which awarded her an honorary membership in 2017. The organization's chief executiveMichael Pritchard saluted the duchess as "the latest in a long line of royal photographers" and praised her "talent and enthusiasm."
Some of her most memorable images of her royal brood include George gingerly kissing his new baby sister's head, a series of photos of Charlotte just after learning to walk, and the photographs of George, Charlotte, and Louis on their first days of nursery school. Last year, Kate took a sweet photo of William sitting on a swing at Anmer Hall, the family's country estate, joyfully surrounded by their children (seen here).
"The Duchess' great love for her children comes through in all of her photographs.," an insider previously told Best Life. "She wouldn't dream of hiring someone else to take the pictures marking birthdays and other sweet milestones in the children's lives."
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Diane Clehane is a New York-based journalist and author of Imagining Diana and Diana: The Secrets of Her Style.
