The Birth of HRH Prince George of Cambridge: July 22, 2013


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Thank you for trying to rinse the palate, so to speak, by bringing up so many memorable and wonderful Georges.

George Harrison is still my most favorite, along with George Bernard Shaw (of the historical Georges).
 
I believe Louis is the third name. Really, "Lou" is trendy?
 
I believe Louis is the third name. Really, "Lou" is trendy?

I think Louis in general is likely to become popular as one of the guys from One Direction is named Louis (not sure how he pronounces it).

God... I'm ashamed of myself for knowing that.
 
Interesting Poll: http://www.ipsos-mori.com/newsevents/latestnews/newsitemdetail.aspx?oItemId=1437

"Despite Kate and William’s hopes for some sense of normalcy seven in ten Britons believe it is impossible for children of royalty to have a normal upbringing according to Ipsos MORI’s latest polling on the royal family – and perhaps this week we have seen exactly why. Whatever the Royal couple may decide to do the public is all too aware that no child of theirs can really experience the average childhood."
 
Peter Hunt ‏@BBCPeterHunt 40m
Badar Azim, who displayed Prince George's birth announcement, no longer works for the Queen -- his visa has expired. pic.twitter.com/nnuzASlyRf
 
I'm not sure what people mean by normal and why we would want that for our dear little Georgie.

If by "normal" we mean the norm, well, the norm in our Western world appears to be the family of Miss Cressida Bonas, sans all the lovely, lovely money and connections (and of course all of those ethereal dance moves in the poshest of London nightclubs, but I do digress here). Georgie's way above the norm in that he was born to an educated married couple in their 30's in one of the most advanced societies on the planet.

If by "normal" we mean ideal to raise a whole person, well, who gets that these days?

Why do we need Georgie to be normal? He's not normal, and he should realize his place in the world.
 
The royals are normal human beings but just born or married into extraordinary circumstances.
 
By 'normal'- I'm sure they mean to do as normal as possible. For example, William and Harry got to experience a couple of theme parks - including Walt Disney World in Florida; they went to day school with other children when they were quite young; they went into shops to buy things (ice creams); they lined up at McDonalds and so on and so forth. These are all things that were largely initiated by Diana of course and not done by Charles when he was growing up.

I think that because William and Kate appear to have such a strong relationship they will take these concepts - established by Diana - and build and expand on them in the years to come. I think there are a lot of surprises in store for us down the road in how George is raised.

One factor which will help George - and subsequent children of William and Kate - to have as 'normal' an upbringing as possible is Kate's strong family upbringing. Because say what you will about the Middletons, they have a very strong family unit and they have each other's back. None of them ever really talk to the media about William and Kate (or they are very discreet when they do) and they neither confirm or deny anything (for example, Uncle Gary spouting off about Kate definitely having a girl was met by silence from the Middletons).

The Middleton family will help tremendously in giving George a sense of what a normal family is. As an example, I think the annual Middleton vacation together will continue as will visits to the Middleton home. As the years go on and the family expands with Pippa and James having families, George will experience both worlds. The more private and 'normal' (albeit privileged) family of the Middletons and the much more public - and not as normal - royal side of the family.

It's a delicate balance, but I believe the team of William and Kate are more than up for the challenge.
 
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Where did you ever get the idea that Charles never went to a day school or never went to a shop to buy ice cream? He may never have gone to a McDonalds or a theme park, as they did not really exist when he was a child, but he certainly did not grow up locked behind palace walls.
 
Give a child a loving, intact family and loving, intact extended family and you are about 95% there on the "normalcy," if by normalcy we mean raising a "whole" child or whatever the term is now called in the self-help section of the book store.

Georgie's got that.

As for raising the heir to the throne in a modern world, I suppose if I could offer any advice it's to just get on with things day to day. Don't lay awake nights worrying about what normal means (as it doesn't exist anyway).

The Queen did not have a "normal" existence. Sure, there's things she missed, but in the grand scheme of things, does it matter she never got on a line at the ice cream shop. She never watched her mom at the kitchen table fretting over money either. In some ways I think her grandmother Queen Mary was the best educator - telling her granddaughter she was an ordinary person who need not put on airs, but with an extraordinary place in the world. Embrace the extraordinary role and use it to try to make the world a better place than it was when you were born. I think Queen Mary got it right better than Diana, whose idea of "normalcy" was taking the boys to Disney where they got VIP treatment and went to the head of the line. Not to say Diana did not get some things right, most of her attempts at normalcy (visiting AIDS patients and going to Disney) were a bit grandiose. Again, trying to tell a child with an extraordinary role that they were "normal."
 
One thing that has always impressed me about the Kennedy family was their dedication to public service -- to making the world a better place. In interviews I have seen with the younger generations, without fail, they have attributed this aspect of their lives to Rose Kennedy's teaching, "to whom much is given, much is expected." I would expect that this will be a cornerstone of William's and Catherine's parenting of their children, and that Prince George, especially, will be raised both to understand and embrace his future role and to appreciate the circumstances in which his subjects live.
 
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Lou-wee, Lou-why is exactly why they are unlikely to nickname him Lou or Lou-wee.

...The Queen did not have a "normal" existence. Sure, there's things she missed, but in the grand scheme of things, does it matter she never got on a line at the ice cream shop. She never watched her mom at the kitchen table fretting over money either...
She may not have watched her mom at the kitchen table fretting over money, but she is well aware that her mom had money problems (and she had to solve them).

It isn't clear that Diana was unaware that going to the head of the line was atypical. I'm guessing she knew it was unusual, and she also knew that they'd be involved with charities lifelong, so she prepped them. Seems like the "normal" thing for a mom to do, in her circumstances.
 
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Don't worry, the media will find all sorts of Nick names depending on circumstances. For now, let's focus on the road of recovery to Kate and the newly found pride of daddy the helicopter pilot! I hope he will not land an Appache in his garden to impress baby!!!
 
Where did you ever get the idea that Charles never went to a day school or never went to a shop to buy ice cream? He may never have gone to a McDonalds or a theme park, as they did not really exist when he was a child, but he certainly did not grow up locked behind palace walls.
Well, I know that.

I was generalizing that William and Harry have had many more opportunities to do everyday things than their father did. And George will have even more opportunities than his father and uncle did. :flowers:

GracieGiraffe said:
I think Queen Mary got it right better than Diana, whose idea of "normalcy" was taking the boys to Disney where they got VIP treatment and went to the head of the line.
That had nothing to do with Diana. All VIPs (including celebrities etc.) are given a personal guide and get head of the line privileges for the safety of not only the celebrities but for all the other guests. (Can you imagine the crush of people and the near riot if Diana had stood in line with the boys?) The last high profile celebrity that I can recall with a personal guide/front of the line privileges at Disney (and I go there at least twice a year) is Tom Cruise and his daughter, Suri.
 
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Diana and the boys waited in line just like everyone else.
 
Well, I know that.

I was generalizing that William and Harry have had many more opportunities to do everyday things than their father did. And George will have even more opportunities than his father and uncle did. :flowers:

I'm really not sure about that. I think they will try and live a very similar life. Go the nursery, day school, prep school, Eton, university, military service, royal duties. William and Harry have had lots of opportunities and I can't think of how their children could have more.

What is actually at risk is that opportunities might reduce as their forays into "normal" by their mother were planned photo opportunities - carefully managed and orchestrated. No one had mobile phones, i-pads, all those private cameras at the ready to record the simple mistakes that we all make as children but it "news" cos its a royal. No twitter, facebook etc.

Worldwide interest now which we saw last week.

William might want "normal" but its how he balances that with guarding his children's privacy.
 
Diana and the boys waited in line just like everyone else.
Yes, where possible - such as McDonalds - they waited in line like everyone else as the number of people in line was small.

However, at Disney, where there are many more people in line, they were shown through the Cast Member (Disney speak for 'employee') entrances and exits to the front of the line. Celebrities are free to decline these security and safety measures of course, however, most major celebrities - once it is explained to them that front of the line access is for the safety of other people - usually agree.
 
If I was a VIP, I would be in front of the line. Standing in those long lines at Disney, Six Flags or any other theme park is too much, IMO.
 
...William might want "normal" but its how he balances that with guarding his children's privacy.
We are in agreement there.

At only a couple of days old, George left with his parents for the Middleton's home in Berkshire for an unknown length of time. The Middletons do not have a PR team and so there is silence from Berkshire (the media have no one to bug - like they would if George was in a palace with a PR team, so they end up making up stories). William and Kate have apparently not engaged a maternity nurse for the first 6 weeks postpartum (as Mum Carole is helping with William and Kate being very hands on).

Changes from William's upbringing already...and more in the wind, I'm sure.
 
I don't know where to post this, but this gives an indication of what Catherine and William have to cope with today - something which Charles and Diana didn't have to manage for their young boys.

Revealed, what happens in just ONE minute on the internet: 216,000 photos posted, 278,000 Tweets and 1.8m Facebook likes | Mail Online
Revealed, what happens in just ONE minute on the internet: 216,000 photos posted, 278,000 Tweets and 1.8m Facebook likes

  • Infographic gives snapshot of what happens across the web in 60 seconds
  • This includes 72 hours of video uploaded to YouTube and 278,000 tweets

Scary. And basically, not controlled.
 
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I was just thinking about this, will Prince George will be allowed to have a Facebook/Twitter Account (If they still exist by then) when he get older or any other types of new Social Media Websites that might be around then? If he does I bet it wold/will be be very much monitored by The Palace, William and Catherine, etc.

I know a lot of the The Royal Family members do not have a personal Facebook or Twitter Account including William, Harry, Zara, Beatrice, Are they allowed to have any social media accounts. I know Andrew has a Twitter Account.

David Cameron said his kids can only have a Facebook account as long as he could monitor them.

The Obamas said that their daughters are not allowed to have a Facebook or Twitter account.

I could imagine that it pretty common for kids of high profit people's like that (politicians, Celebs) not to have a social media account or be monitored.
 
Its the other boys in the classroom with the twitter and facebook accounts
 
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I was just thinking about this, will Prince George will be allowed to have a Facebook/Twitter Account?...
I'm sure they are allowed them, I imagine some of them might have them under made up names. I frequently imagine DailyMail writers or royals even have an account on her under a randomly generated name so they can just sit and laugh or take ideas etc. They can't obviously use social media as I would, family photos, status updates about where I am, where I'm going. "Off to grans for a knees up" with a picture of BP might cause a little suspicion.

By the time David Cameron's children are old enough to have Facebook, that guy won't be in power and the only people trying to spy on him are his own family. Obama I can understand a little more but he's the President not his children and one day he won't be.

A British Royal should have a skin like an elephant's, thick!
What's that got to do with anything?

Its the other boys in the classroom with the twitter and facebook accounts
That's true, you unfortunately can't ban them from twitter and Facebook but that's where trust comes in and George is going to have to learn fast.
 
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I was just thinking about this, will Prince George will be allowed to have a Facebook/Twitter Account?...
That's a darned good question. Social media and teens is a rather toxic brew in the best of circumstances.
 
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