Cambridges open a door into their private lives
Anniversary marked with insight into childhood of Princes Louis and George, and Princess Charlotte
‘Thank you to everyone for the kind messages. We are enormously grateful for the 10 years of support we have received in our lives as a family’
IT OFFERS an unprecedented glimpse into an idyllic family life, complete with sand dunes, toasted marshmallows and a valiant attempt at tree climbing.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge yesterday marked their tenth wedding anniversary with the release of a video montage showing them playing with their three children on a windswept beach and tearing around the garden at their Norfolk home.
The 40-second clip includes a first peek of Anmer Hall, the family home on the Sandringham estate, a child’s paradise complete with an expansive lawn, roundabout see-saw, fire-pit and hay bales.
Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, then two, are in their element as they are chased through the trees and collapse on the grass in giggles.
In a tweet accompanying the clip, the Cambridges thanked those who had sent good wishes to mark the milestone.
It said: “Thank you to everyone for the kind messages on our wedding anniversary. We are enormously grateful for the 10 years of support we have received in our lives as a family.” It was signed “W&C”.
The video was shot by London-based filmmaker Will Warr last autumn, on the same day that the family Christmas card portrait was taken by photographer Matt Porteous.
Wrapped up against the chill in woolly jumpers and khaki jackets, it opens on a Norfolk beach, understood to be a stretch of sand the family visits regularly.
Clambering up the dunes, the Duke is shown leading the way, before the footage cuts to the Duchess, wearing a fedora and holding both of Prince Louis’ hands as she helps him up the slope.
As the camera cuts to an excited Princess Charlotte running towards the camera laughing, the Duchess is shown carrying her tired younger son, clad in Hunter wellies.
The Duke and Duchess are then seen sitting together in the sand, with one of the family dogs ambling behind them. It is thought to be the last public sighting of Lupo, the much-loved English cocker spaniel that was at the heart of the family for nine years.
The Cambridges announced the death of Lupo on Nov 22, revealing he had died the previous weekend. They had been given a new puppy, Lupo’s niece, the previous summer by the Duchess’s brother James Middleton.
Prince Louis is then seen perched on his mother’s lap, head back roaring with laughter, as the Duchess giggles along with him, before Prince George, hands plunged deep in pockets, is filmed briefly gazing out to sea.
The camera cuts to the family larking around in the garden at Anmer Hall, their family home where they tend to decamp for school holidays and long weekends.
Playing chase through the trees, the children are in their element as they dart about. After a brief bundle on Papa, as they call the Duke, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis take to the roundabout see-saw, spinning through the air and beaming from ear to ear.
The Duchess is seen running after Prince Louis before scooping him up, as Princess Charlotte attempts to climb an ancient tree, thought to be an oak, before the family roasts marshmallows on sticks over a log fire, the Duke and Duchess perched on hay bales.
Several members of the monarchy including the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall sent their congratulations to the couple on social media.
Filmmaker Warr has created branded content, corporate films and ads for companies including Tesco, Diageo, Red Bull, Uber Eats and Puma. His company, Detail Films, was also behind the recent Tesco Food Love Stories adverts.
The intimate glimpse of family life is an unusual move for the Cambridges, who have made clear their desire to protect their children’s privacy, only releasing the odd photograph to mark birthdays or special occasions.
The last video released of the children was in October 2020, when they were all filmed asking Sir David Attenborough a question about animals. Seven months earlier, they were filmed standing side by side clapping for carers at the start of the pandemic.
The last time royal home videos were made public is thought to have been in 2016 as part of the programme Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute. Various members of the family, including the Queen, were filmed reminiscing as they looked back at old footage from their private archive.