Prince George of Cambridge, General News 1: December 2014-May 2015

[Excalibur]

When friends (and now friends' children) are expecting babies, I give them one singular piece of advice: "NO ONE knows your child better than you." Not doctors, not other family members (including mothers and mothers-in-law), and certainly not complete strangers.

We need to remember that William and Catherine know George better than anyone on this planet. They know his personality, they know his likes and dislikes, and they know how he reacts to different situations. William is all too aware of his own upbringing and has the maturity to assess his parents' parenting decisions where he is concerned. I have no doubt that he will make his best attempt to not repeat his parents' mistakes in the raising of George. It's what all loving parents do. William and Catherine have experienced firsthand the paparazzi, they are aware of how harmful these experiences could be to George at various points in his life. William knows what will be expected of George as a prince and as a future king, and I am sure he and Catherine will do their best to prepare George for his future. If they think it best that he simply be allowed to be a kid at this juncture in his life, then so be it. An occasional authorized photo to ensure that he is, indeed, alive and kicking will be sufficient for me.

JMHO

 

[hernameispekka]

When friends (and now friends' children) are expecting babies, I give them one singular piece of advice: "NO ONE knows your child better than you." Not doctors, not other family members (including mothers and mothers-in-law), and certainly not complete strangers.

We need to remember that William and Catherine know George better than anyone on this planet. They know his personality, they know his likes and dislikes, and they know how he reacts to different situations. William is all too aware of his own upbringing and has the maturity to assess his parents' parenting decisions where he is concerned. I have no doubt that he will make his best attempt to not repeat his parents' mistakes in the raising of George. It's what all loving parents do. William and Catherine have experienced firsthand the paparazzi, they are aware of how harmful these experiences could be to George at various points in his life. William knows what will be expected of George as a prince and as a future king, and I am sure he and Catherine will do their best to prepare George for his future. If they think it best that he simply be allowed to be a kid at this juncture in his life, then so be it. An occasional authorized photo to ensure that he is, indeed, alive and kicking will be sufficient for me.

JMHO

Very good post!! And what is good for him might not work for his coming sibling. He might show up at Trooping this year or when he's 7 and the sibling at a whole other time. Different kids react differently to the same situations. One kid might be able to handle a flyby on the balcony while the other doesn't at the same age. That other kid might handle a walkabout better long before the sibling. I have faith that William and Catherine will listen to Georges signals and make decisions to the best of their ability.

 

[PrincessofEurope]

Part of me agrees with Rebecca English's tweets - George has not been seen bar leaving the hospital and fathers day polo in England. William and Harry were seen more often notably on the palace balcony at trooping the colour from a very young age. I think it would be much better for the BRF and William and Kate with George to do the trooping the colour etc, release a few more pictures, and there by reducing the price and prestige of papazzari shots and this debate on these Mustique pictures. Charles and Diana used to pose for a picture opportunity on holidays eg in Lech or Klosters and this gave the press what they wanted and then they enjoyed the rest of the holiday - foreign royals do this regularly a timed photo session for privacy the rest of the time. And it seems to work well

 

[hernameispekka]

Part of me agrees with Rebecca English's tweets - George has not been seen bar leaving the hospital and fathers day polo in England. William and Harry were seen more often notably on the palace balcony at trooping the colour from a very young age. I think it would be much better for the BRF and William and Kate with George to do the trooping the colour etc, release a few more pictures, and there by reducing the price and prestige of papazzari shots and this debate on these Mustique pictures. Charles and Diana used to pose for a picture opportunity on holidays eg in Lech or Klosters and this gave the press what they wanted and then they enjoyed the rest of the holiday - foreign royals do this regularly a timed photo session for privacy the rest of the time. And it seems to work well

I don't think Charles and Dianas way was good. Much better to publish pictures or have 2 photographers at an event. This is not what I think is the way to go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXfs9CVCJik

 

[Dman]

I thought that photo shoot was brilliant and at least everyone got to see baby William walk. It was natural and not stiffly set up. William and Catherine did this similar thing on their tour to Australia and New Zealand. They haven't done it since, but I think people would like to see it done in the UK. Not all the time, but once in a while.

 

[hernameispekka]

I thought that photo shoot was brilliant and at least everyone got to see baby William walk. It was natural and not stiffly set up.

Not stiffy. But that is not a kid that is comfortable. He is showed in front of a bunch of people with cameras hiding their faces. I'm surprised he didn't scream.... THAT is not the way to do it. The way to do it is like William and Catherine did on the play date. A natural surrounding for George with certain photographers there. I think the formula William was exposed to was really not thought through from his perspective. He just stood there the poor thing. Not even an event or something to distract him. Just standing there looking at a wall of cameras and people that doesn't even say hi to him..... I just want to run up and hug him in that video!

 

[Dman]

Not stiffy. But that is not a kid that is comfortable. He is showed in front of a bunch of people with cameras hiding their faces. I'm surprised he didn't scream.... THAT is not the way to do it. The way to do it is like William and Catherine did on the play date. A natural surrounding for George with certain photographers there. I think the formula William was exposed to was really not thought through from his perspective. He just stood there the poor thing. Not even an event or something to distract him. Just standing there looking at a wall of cameras and people that doesn't even say hi to him..... I just want to run up and hug him in that video!

I agree, he should have had something to play with during the shoot, but William was just being a kid and the whole thing was rather natural. I agree, a play date outing would be much better. George loved every minute of his outing last year and he wasn't even 1 yet. I think they should do something like that again.

 

[hernameispekka]

I agree, he should have had something to play with during the shoot, but William was just being a kid and the whole thing was rather natural. I agree, a play date outing would be much better. George loved every minute of his outing last year and he wasn't even 1 yet. I think they should do something like that again.

It might have looked natural for the adults, but I have spent some time around kids and he does not seem comfortable. I don't think it is fair for him. Why other would it have prompted him as a very young boy to say "I don't like 'tographers" if these event's weren't at least a little traumatic for them.

I agree that it would be fun (for George) and good for their image to have a similar thing as the play date in the UK. Many UK people feel a little snubbed that he hasn't had an official "engagement" there but he has had 2 in NZ/AUS.

 

[soapstar]

No matter what the royals do, people will complain. I've seen criticism about the way the Danish and Swedish royals are handling access to their children. So even if William and Kate looked to the European royals, it wouldn't stop the critics.

Every royal family is different and what may work for one, may not work for another. The BRF seem to allow their children some space before introducing them to formal and informal events. Charles and Diana didn't give tons of press access to William and Harry until they were school age. Before that, it was basically Trooping and a few photos/photo ops. The same with Sophie and Edward. Louise was 9 or 10 before we started seeing her at events, and James is 7 and we're just now starting to see him.

George is not yet 2 years old, so I don't mind that he's not constantly photographed. Releasing photos of him for events (birthdays, holidays, etc.), seems fine for right now. I'm sure once he gets a little older, we'll start to see him much more.

Part of me agrees with Rebecca English's tweets - George has not been seen bar leaving the hospital and fathers day polo in England. William and Harry were seen more often notably on the palace balcony at trooping the colour from a very young age. I think it would be much better for the BRF and William and Kate with George to do the trooping the colour etc, release a few more pictures, and there by reducing the price and prestige of papazzari shots and this debate on these Mustique pictures. Charles and Diana used to pose for a picture opportunity on holidays eg in Lech or Klosters and this gave the press what they wanted and then they enjoyed the rest of the holiday - foreign royals do this regularly a timed photo session for privacy the rest of the time. And it seems to work well

George was seen at his Christening and during the Australia/New Zealand tour too. Plus they have released quite a few photos of him - their first family photo (taken by Mr. Middleton), the Christening photos, the photos of them at the butterfly exhibit, the ones taken at Kensington and the Christmas photos.

I don't think releasing more photos will stop the paparazzi. They gave plenty of access to George during their last tour and the paps still took photos of them during their private time. Madeleine is pretty good about releasing photos of Leonore and she was still harassed by paps while they lived in New York.

Prince William was two when he attended his first Trooping, so there is a possibility that we might see George this year.

 

[Dman]

It might have looked natural for the adults, but I have spent some time around kids and he does not seem comfortable. I don't think it is fair for him. Why other would it have prompted him as a very young boy to say "I don't like 'tographers" if these event's weren't at least a little traumatic for them.

I agree that it would be fun (for George) and good for their image to have a similar thing as the play date in the UK. Many UK people feel a little snubbed that he hasn't had an official "engagement" there but he has had 2 in NZ/AUS.

Yeah, I know the media aren't too happy that a similar approach to George hasn't been done in the UK, like it was done on the tour. I think they could arrange something in the summer. I really like the tour of Wales idea, but probably won't happen just yet, because of the baby.

 

[Skippyboo]

Technically, he hasn't had any official engagements yet. He didn't get credit in the court circular for the playgroup or zoo trip. It also will be probably several years until he goes back to Australia and New Zealand.

William didn't officially do an engagement until he was 9.


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[hernameispekka]

Technically, he hasn't had any official engagements yet. He didn't get credit in the court circular for the playgroup or zoo trip. It also will be probably several years until he goes back to Australia and New Zealand.

William didn't officially do an engagement until he was 9.


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Yeah, I wrote engagements in the loose sense of the word. Although, I actually think it could count as one.

 

[royal rob]

I don't see anything wrong with a photo op like they did in Australia. I can understand why the UK feels left out.
The Danish royal family do a great job with their photo ops.
I am childhood teacher there was nothing wrong with William at his photo call. Sometimes we look too hard to find a problem which isn't there


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[GracieGiraffe]

I think they should do a reality TV show and have the cameras on George 24/7. Like the Gosselins, or the Duggars, or Honey-Boo-Boo.

They can call it Will and Kate Plus 2 Prince(sses) and Counting.

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

I don't see anything wrong with a photo op like they did in Australia. I can understand why the UK feels left out.
The Danish royal family do a great job with their photo ops.
I am childhood teacher there was nothing wrong with William at his photo call. Sometimes we look too hard to find a problem which isn't there


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I agree about the DRF. I also think the Dutch and Norwegian RFs are good for photoshoots and how much we see the royal children. The Swedish RF don't seem to have photoshoots but we still get to see Princess Estelle and Princess Leonore on a regular basis. We saw Princess Estelle a lot over the weekend at the Figure Skating Championships.

Generally, I've always gotten the impression that the BRF are a bit more reserved when it comes to royal children, and they also don't seem to "do" photoshoots. They used to release group photos sometimes, but they seem to have stopped that now as well. I think something like an annual photocall at Balmoral with the immediate family every summer or something would be a good idea.

I do think there was something wrong with William's photocall, and that was, like others, that he wasn't given something to keep him amused. He seemed like he really didn't want to be there since he kept on trying to escape. I think there should've at least been a slide in the garden.


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[royal rob]

As far as 2 year old William not liking photographers 2 year olds don't like lots of things in fact most things at some stage. Bed , food , potty , mummy , daddy even the cat or dog can be on the list.


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[hernameispekka]

I think they should do a reality TV show and have the cameras on George 24/7. Like the Gosselins, or the Duggars, or Honey-Boo-Boo.

They can call it Will and Kate Plus 2 Prince(sses) and Counting.

Haha, this reminded me of Ellen Degeneres' congratulations on the baby tweet. She wrote something about them working on Will & Kate plus eight.

As far as 2 year old William not liking photographers 2 year olds don't like lots of things in fact most things at some stage. Bed , food , potty , mummy , daddy even the cat or dog can be on the list.


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That is true, but I think that comment was at the time of him starting school. Diana told him that he had to behave because there would be alot of photographers then and he answered with "I don't like 'tographers".

 

[royal rob]

Still not a big deal to me. Lots of children don't like having their photo taken he most likely heard it from Charles who makes it clear what he thinks ( biting the hand that feeds you )


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[hernameispekka]

Still not a big deal to me. Lots of children don't like having their photo taken he most likely heard it from Charles who makes it clear what he thinks ( biting the hand that feeds you )


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True, true... But seeing how he feels now it is not impossible that he actually thought it really scary as a kid. Or as you say, heard it from his parents. I'm not saying I'm right. Just that it is a possibility.

 

[royal rob]

True, true... But seeing how he feels now it is not impossible that he actually thought it really scary as a kid. Or as you say, heard it from his parents. I'm not saying I'm right. Just that it is a possibility.

More likely what happened to his mother


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[hernameispekka]

More likely what happened to his mother


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Absolutely. But I think he always had a little bit of a problem with them. And to be fair, this is not what I constitute as a kid "having their picture taken". I think it is a rather different situation than not wanting to smile when mummy takes out the camera. Look, this is the sight that greeted William when he started pre-school.

Press Photographers And Journalists Gather For Prince William's First... Nyhetsfoto | Getty Images

 

[Rudolph]

We need a new thread,

What Now for George? Future Duties, Roles, Responsibilities

Surely a record for the BRF. Not even 2 and George is being called on to do official engagements hahah!

 

[Lumutqueen]

How original

 

[hernameispekka]

We need a new thread,

What Now for George? Future Duties, Roles, Responsibilities

Surely a record for the BRF. Not even 2 and George is being called on to do official engagements hahah!

HHahaha, thank you for the laugh!! I agree. We can speculate on how we would do in the situation but at the end of the day it's their decision (as it should be, they know him best).

 

[miche]

I really don't understand why people are trying to say W&K should take notes from the Swedes. The SRF don't get close to the same level of media attention that the BRF does and their media don't seem to be stalking people either.
History has shown the British/world media will stalk members of the BRF (Diana, etc) for 4+ decades now no matter how much they share and Diana shares a lot.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Because they chose and seek out the limelight. Nothing says a child born in royalty has that want/need. It might be better to get them used to it since it will be unavoidable in the future. And we're not saying he should be shown off all the time. Maybe Trooping + one or two closed engagements.

An excellent idea of one or two closed engagements.
Look to the future: Prince George has been at a boys' boarding school for one month. Two, and only two reporters, ask him a limited number of questions. George is experiencing an interview, not proclaiming a royal proclamation.
​

 

[hernameispekka]

I really don't understand why people are trying to say W&K should take notes from the Swedes. The SRF don't get close to the same level of media attention that the BRF does and their media don't seem to be stalking people either.
History has shown the British/world media will stalk members of the BRF (Diana, etc) for 4+ decades now no matter how much they share and Diana shares a lot.

This is very true. Estelles garden is right besides/in the middle of an public park. People wave and stop and say hi on their run or something like that but there are no photographers parked outside. Once in a while Victoria and Daniel is photographed on a run. This is a totally different situation than for George.

 

[royal rob]

I think this started because someone said it would be nice to see George like he was in NZ and Australia.
I was very surprised how much he was on show then


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[Queen Camilla]

William is a part time royal who is planning on taking a non-royal position, so why would anyone expect George to seen until his father is a full time royal.

William was seen less than George even though his parents were full time.

William was seen less than George even though he was the son of the POW and the grandson of the monarch. George is the grandson of the POW and the great grandson of the monarch.

At the same age, George has already met more people than William.
William was cloistered in Australia, whereas George met several different groups of people.

Finally George has more important things to do than to appear in public. He has a new sibling he needs to get to know.

If he has already started potting training, he will relapse once he realizes the new sibling is here to stay. Once George realizes he is no longer the only apple in his parents' and Maria's eyes and he has to vie for their attention the temper tantrums will start. It is better he remain 'hidden' until he overcomes his jealousy. No one wants a royal tantrum, especially in public. Or a royal public potty mishap.

I would be surprised if George made it to the balcony, his siblings christening or visiting his sibling in the hospital.

Let the kid deal with the stress of a new sibling before he is asked to meet and greet the public.

 

[hernameispekka]

William is a part time royal who is planning on taking a non-royal position, so why would anyone expect George to seen until his father is a full time royal.

William was seen less than George even though his parents were full time.

William was seen less than George even though he was the son of the POW and the grandson of the monarch. George is the grandson of the POW and the great grandson of the monarch.

At the same age, George has already met more people than William.
William was cloistered in Australia, whereas George met several different groups of people.

Finally George has more important things to do than to appear in public. He has a new sibling he needs to get to know.

If he has already started potting training, he will relapse once he realizes the new sibling is here to stay. Once George realizes he is no longer the only apple in his parents' and Maria's eyes and he has to vie for their attention the temper tantrums will start. It is better he remain 'hidden' until he overcomes his jealousy. No one wants a royal tantrum, especially in public. Or a royal public potty mishap.

I would be surprised if George made it to the balcony, his siblings christening or visiting his sibling in the hospital.

Let the kid deal with the stress of a new sibling before he is asked to meet and greet the public.

Nothing says it has to be that stressful for him. It can be but it's not a given. I think he will be at the Christening at least!