Prince William & Kate Middleton Took This Parenting Tactic Straight From Michelle Obama's Playbook
William, Prince of Wales, and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, took a page out of former President Barack Obama and Former First Lady Michelle Obama's book to instill a sense of normalcy in their children. In 2024, a source informed the Daily Mail that while Prince William and Kate Middleton had employed staff to assist with upkeeping their home while the couple dealt with their hectic schedules, they primarily looked after their kids themselves. In fact, the royals didn't even take their nanny with them when they relocated to their new home in Windsor. Kate, in particular, wasn't in favor of hiring someone to help out with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis even after her cancer diagnosis because she feared it might take away from their idea of normalcy.
"I think it would surprise people to see how ordinary things are at home," the confidant proclaimed. "The children help with laying the table, clearing their plates when they've finished eating and helping with tidying up. There's no preferential treatment." In 2019, another source shared a similar account of the princess's parenting tactics with People, revealing: "She wants to emulate her upbringing, living in the countryside with a close-knit family." The insider further elaborated that Kate wanted her kids to grow up in an environment that was as close to normal as they could get given their circumstances. Notably, the royal couple's approach to parenting is reminiscent of the way in which Barack and Michelle raised their two daughters while living in the White House.
Sasha and Malia Obama had to pick up chores around The White House
Michelle Obama gave her daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, several reality checks while they were growing up in The White House. While speaking to an audience to promote her bestselling memoir "Becoming," the former first lady shared that she had to plead with staff not to tidy up her daughters' rooms and to let them handle their own laundry. Michelle recalled how she confirmed with them that Malia and Sasha would not be taking the luxuries of the historic building with them when they left, so they needed to have basic life skills under their belts.
Likewise, in a 2008 interview with People, Michelle and Barack Obama confirmed that their daughters had non-negotiable bedtimes throughout his presidential tenure. Furthermore, the girls were only given a $1 allowance per week on the condition that they completed all their chores accordingly. Likewise, Michelle also made a major fashion change in The White House to ensure that her daughters and other young visitors didn't get a skewed perspective of their lives.
In her "Becoming" documentary, she admitted that the sight of The White House's butlers dressed in tuxes greatly displeased her when she visited Laura Bush. "I didn't want [my daughters] thinking that grown African American men serve them in tuxedos. The truth was that some of those men were uncles, they were the Pullman porters," Michelle explained. "We had to change the dress code, you can't walk around every day in a full tuxedo," (via Us Weekly).
Neither couple wants their children to follow in their footsteps
When Barack Obama attended a fundraiser for Joe Biden's 2024 presidential campaign, he reiterated that his daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, won't be following in his political footsteps. The former president explained that Michelle Obama had strongly cautioned them against getting into politics from a young age, so he couldn't see either viewing it as a viable career option. As a result, it's unsurprising that Malia has been forging a career in Hollywood instead. Likewise, William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales, are reportedly not too keen about the idea of their three kids becoming full-time working royals either. According to a June 2024 Daily Mail article, William and his father, King Charles III, are striving to create a more tight-knit monarchy going forward.
"When the older members of the family retire, His Royal Highness [Prince William] won't be inviting anyone else to become working royals," a source professed. "It remains to be seen if he will even want his two younger children to be working royals." Meanwhile, another insider told the Daily Beast that same month that the royal couple would most likely advise Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to pave their own paths in the world. Unfortunately, the confidant pointed out that they wouldn't be able to encourage George in a similar fashion because he was directly in line to the throne.