Follow their lead: always put children in their best bib and tucker
It would take a heart of granite, or possibly Jeremy Corbyn, not to smile at the photographs of Prince George and Princess Charlotte on their parents’ European tour.
William and Kate have adopted my rule of thumb for schlepping offspring about: smocking, and a crisp shirt.
Whether you go by private jet or public ferry, royal train or (heaven forfend) proletarian Megabus, you can’t go far wrong if your children are impeccably dressed, regardless of comfort.
Why? Because no matter how badly or sadly or madly your children behave, they will look smart and ironed and quaintly old-fashioned, so all the other passengers won’t blame you.
If things get out of hand, look up from your (specially bought) airport copy of Time magazine, sigh and murmur: “Such a shame… a little old lady in the queue insisted on giving them a Werther’s.” Job done.
It’s so rare now to see children dressed up – I’ve been to funerals where the boys wore their school uniforms because they had nothing else appropriate – that it acts as a perfect decoy.
Counterintuitively, a dinky Prince in Christopher Robin shorts and a winsome Princess in Start-rites is just the sort of diehard tradition we want from our thoroughly modern monarchy.