Prince William Asks Staff Not to Wear Suits to Keep Things Normal

Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are royal children, but they're children first and foremost—and their parents Prince William and Princess Kate want to make sure they get as normal a childhood as they possibly can.

To that end, the Wales couple start with keeping the atmosphere at home inviting and not austere, apparently.

"When William and Kate’s children were young, and the family were dividing their time between Anmer Hall in Norfolk and Kensington Palace, William told his staff that he did not want them wearing suits when they were in the office," writes Valentine Low in his new book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown (via Express).

A household staff member told Low, "He wants it to be casual. The kids run around the office, and he does not want it to be stuffy."

They added, "If we have important meetings, or are going to Buckingham Palace, then of course we [wear suits]."

Low writes that for the Prince of Wales (then Duke of Cambridge), "What they wore did not matter."

He told staff, "This is where my family lives," with the implication that people don't typically wear suits in family homes.

William and Kate have taken a leaf out of Princess Diana's book when it comes to raising their children: The late princess similarly tried to keep things casual and "normal" when Princes William and Harry were small.

For example, she let her boys have popular takeout staples on Saturday nights, when they got to eat pizza, hamburgers or fried chicken, former royal chef Darren McGrady previously recalled.

Now, the Wales children also sometimes get treated to a delicious burger and fries, which I'm sure they thoroughly enjoy.

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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 British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. 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.