Growing up as a royal is complicated—exponentially so when you are destined to one day take the throne yourself.
For body language expert Darren Stanton, this proved to be the case in Prince William's childhood, and the expert believes that the Duke of Cambridge now tries to offset those difficulties with his own children.
Ahead of Father's Day in the U.S. and the U.K. this Sunday, Stanton analyzed three of the most famous royal dads' attitudes to parenting, and it is very telling. William is first up.
"Prince William is definitely not averse to being seen in the media first and foremost as a father and husband rather than a future monarch," Stanton tells Marie Claire on behalf of Slingo.
"From the interactions between him and Kate and their children you can see that he wants to be a hands-on, 100 percent committed father, and be a lot more present than perhaps his own father Prince Charles was for him when he was younger.
"We can tell that William is a committed father because of the way he conducts himself when in the public arena; for example, he will kneel down to a child’s level to make eye contact while on engagements which is a classic way to build trust and connection."
Stanton doesn't think Prince Charles was a bad father by any means, but he does believe he has become more comfortable and confident when interacting with his sons (although of course Prince Harry's departure from royal life has added another layer of complication).
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"I think Prince Charles especially has evolved and become a lot more comfortable in his role as a father as the decades have gone on," the expert says.
"Looking at historic footage of Charles when William and Harry were very young, he tended not to play such a hands-on role, instead leaving it to Princess Diana and staff to look after the children during royal engagements.
"What is clear now though is that Charles loves Harry and William very much, even though Harry may have caused him some embarrassment. I believe it’s still clear from the way that Prince Charles still interacts with Harry when they are together that he is still very much the loving father."
Charles also seems to be thriving as a grandpa of five, according to Stanton.
"Prince Charles has mellowed much more now as well as he seems to be a lot more tactile and also more willing to be seen giving public displays of affection like hugs and kisses," he says.
"We definitely saw a softer side to him as he wholly embraced his position of grandfather while looking after Prince Louis at the Jubilee celebrations when the youngster became too restless for his parents."
As for the Duke of Sussex, Stanton sees similarities between the way he parents Archie and Lili and the way his older brother interacts with George, Charlotte and Louis—cementing the bond between the brothers despite the physical and emotional distance.
"Meanwhile, Prince Harry is very similar to William and while glimpses of Archie and Lilibet have been few, it’s clear he’s not afraid to be seen out in public playing with his children and he is obviously besotted by them," Stanton says.
"It appears as though both sets of royal children are going to have a very different relationship with their parents than the kind royals in years past would have had, thanks to the close relationship they enjoy with their respective fathers, William and Harry."
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
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