INSIDE THE PALACE TOY ROOM with George & Charlotte
A royal aide reveals just what life is like for George and Charlotte – and it’s a whole lot of fun!
He will one day be king, but Prince William is adamant he wants his children to have as normal a childhood as possible. So behind the walls of their home in Norfolk, he and the Duchess of Cambridge are ensuring Prince George and Princess Charlotte have plenty of relaxed family time and play.
Now a palace insider has revealed Wills and Kate, both 35, favour the traditional games they grew up with themselves when it comes to entertaining their kids.
For George, four, that’s “anything with wheels” and William and his son often enjoy riding bikes together.
As they ride – George has just given up his training wheels! – they’ll chat about the world. “He’s full of questions and curiosity about everything around him,” says the insider. “He’s growing up to be a very confident young boy.”
CURIOSITY ABOUNDS
The little prince is a huge fan of dinosaurs and loves visiting the skeletons at London’s Natural History Museum.
“George loves the T-rex because it’s the noisiest and the scariest,” says Kate.
He also has a keen interest in volcanoes and is “very good at arts and crafts”, boasts his proud dad, adding, “George likes doing his stickers. He is big into his stickers.”
Meanwhile, Charlotte is a mummy’s girl at heart. “Mummy definitely has a shadow,” says the palace insider. “Wherever Kate goes, so does Charlotte.”
On Sundays, that’s into the kitchen, where Kate will cook a fry-up for her family, despite there being a housekeeper on hand, and two-yea two-year-old
Charlotte helps out with her miniature kitchen play set.
“Whenever the housekeeper or Kate are preparing food, Charlotte needs her own little toy set by her side to imitate,” the insider says, adding Charlotte is also Disneyprincess obsessed.
“I don’t think it’s quite dawned on her that she’s a princess herself!”
Following in the footsteps of the horse-mad royal family, Charlotte is also keen on ponies and has already had a go at riding one!
When it comes to fictional characters, both George and Charlotte are fans of children’s book The Gruffalo and love listening to the audiobook. William adds they watch a lot of cartoons as a family.
CUTE RELATIONSHIP
“Some of them are really good, but you have to pretend you’re really interested in it because George gets very upset if you’re not showing due diligence to the characters.”
George loves Fireman Sam, while Charlotte’s favourite show is still Peppa Pig.
Palace insiders add the prince takes his big-brother duties very seriously.
“He’s very protective of her, but they still like a bit of rough and tumble,” says one aide, who adds George loves smothering his little sister with cuddles.
When Kate and William have official duties, Kate’s parents Carole, 62, and 68-yearold Michael are the children’s favourite babysitters.
And while 91-year-old Queen Elizabeth’s gruelling work schedule makes it tough to have regular catch-ups with her great-grandchildren, “she spends time with George and Charlotte as much as she can”.
‘They still like a bit of rough and tumble’