'Caring and dedicated' Prince William is totally different dad compared to 'workaholic' father King Charles
The Prince of Wales knows how important a work-life balance is, according to royal expert.
![Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis pose for Father's Day snap, split layout with Prince and Princess of Wales tour of Australia and New Zealand in the Spring of 1983. Prince Charles and Princess Diana pose for press photographers at Government House, Wellington, New Zealand with baby Prince William.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GvQrPgvXZvDexZ93V5EHRm-415-80.jpg)
'Caring and dedicated' Prince William is totally different dad compared to 'workaholic' father King Charles, a royal expert claims.
It comes after Prince Harry's parenting style was described as showing signs of 'joy' and 'protection'.
The Prince of Wales is a future king in the royal line of succession who is juggling both his royal duties with that of being a parent and while his father King Charles did the same when he first became a parent, their parenting styles are very different.
Royal expert Jennie Bond has unpicked them and she claims 'Prince William isn't a workaholic like his father is.'
King Charles was recently revealed as the most hard-working member of the royal family over the last decade - beating his sister Princess Anne to the achievement.
But while Prince William is expected to follow in his father's footsteps - having taken on a number of patronages, he's keen to maintain a healthy work-life balance and it was recently revealed that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis' schooling would change the way Kate and William take on royal life.
Jennie told OK! "With the late Queen’s ailing health, William probably had to step up to his full time royal job quicker than he might have hoped, but you can see now how committed he is.
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"However, I also very much admire the fact that he’s not a workaholic like his father, he knows how important family life is and how much it means to his children to be around at weekends and holidays and whenever he can."
Prince William and Kate have often taken the children with them on fun royal visits and interacted with them like the recent Scouts visit, and previously they 'cut short' their Coronation prep to ensure Princess Charlotte's birthday wasn't forgotten.
She added, "He seems to be a full on, hands-on, caring dad is with a house full of fun and laughter. And, in his royal role, he is coming up with new ideas, new ways of working to make sure that the monarchy stays relevant and moves with the times."
And King Charles' strong work ethic has not gone unnoticed by his children. Prince William addressed how much of a workaholic his father is during a documentary to celebrate his 70th birthday.
William recalled, "He has amazing personal discipline. So, he has – and it's frustrated me in the past a lot – he has a routine. The only way to fit all this stuff in is things have to be compartmentalised.
"The man never stops. I mean when we were kids there was bags and bags and bags of work that the office just sent to him. We could barely even get to his desk to say goodnight to him," William added.
Baby and parenting expert, author of Your Baby Skin To Skin and speaker for The Baby Show, Rachel FitzD, told Goodto.com, explains how parents' own upbringing shapes them as parents. "Each generation of parents has to reflect on their own upbringing - their own experience of being parented - and decide what parts of that parenting script to hang onto and replicate, and which to drop like a hot potato, replacing it with something more in keeping with their own preferred parenting style. It seems that Prince William and Princess Kate are no different.
"It is heartwarming to see how the couple have worked together to bring the best elements from their own childhood experiences to create a warm and loving family life for their three disarmingly charming children."
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Rachel continued, "It is reassuring to learn that he (Prince William) has reached past that experience to ensure he is more physically and emotionally available to his own three children, actively managing his time to create a better work-life balance."
Rachel noted how young children can thrive emotionally if they have at least one deep and caring attachment. She explained, "There seems little doubt that William had a profoundly warm and loving bond with his late mother, Princess Diana. Having had that loving start to life, William has taken care to be involved with his own children since birth and now both he and his children are reaping the benefits, enjoying a close ongoing relationship."
Rachel also explained the importance of parents creating "responsive baby-led style of parenting" - as far from creating a "rod for your own back" she explained how doing this during the first three to four months of life has been shown to help little ones develop trust and confidence. "As babies grow up, a settled and disciplined routine with a continuing warm and loving relationship with the adults in their life can help children to have better emotional resilience, confidence and sociability and, in time, become more emotionally mature adults."
She pointed out Kate's use of gentle discipline techniques - favouring getting down to the level of her children to talk to them rather than dishing out the punishment of the ‘naughty step’, and added, "She and William know that there are no short-cuts to parenting; that we have to give time and energy to our offspring day in and out; that compassion wins over austerity, and that the word ‘discipline’ comes from the word ‘disciple’ and has nothing to do with emotional distance and punishments."
Rachel concluded, "Whilst we should not be tempted to judge either Prince Philip or King Charles too harshly for their more hands-off approach to parenting (both were very much a product of the austere ‘spare the rod and spoil the child style’ belief towards child-rearing) we should celebrate that times are changing and that a warm and involved relationship with a father who makes time for his kids is now seen as important as that with a mother."
Rachel FitzD's second book is due out January 2024.
You can check out some of the best Prime Day Baby deals ahead of the event on goodto.com
Selina is a Senior Family Writer for GoodtoKnow and has more than 16 years years of experience. She specialises in royal family news, including the latest activities of Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet. She also covers the latest government, health and charity advice for families. Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism, and gained her NCTJ and NCE qualifications. During her career, she’s also written for Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, and Woman's Weekly as well as Heat magazine, Bang Showbiz - and the Scunthorpe Telegraph. When she's not covering family news, you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories (including award-winning scarecrows!)
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