Kate Middleton passes on this one important lesson from her parents, to Prince George, Charlotte and Louis

It's an important quality to instil in young people

Prince William and Kate Middleton with Prince George, Charlotte and Louis
(Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Kate Middleton learned a very important lesson from her parents, and is making sure it's passed on to Prince George, Charlotte and Louis.

Kate Middleton is often praised for her parenting skills, taking inspiration from Princess Diana's golden parenting rule to keep her children grounded. Although Princess Charlotte wasn't named after her grandmother, there's one important reason she wasn't, the Wales family honour her memory by bringing up their children in ways Diana would approve of.

Prince George, Charlotte and Louis are awaiting a major decision by Kate and William relating to their attendance at a major event, that again proves their parents put their happiness at the centre of discussions about their future. Now it's revealed Kate is making sure a very important quality instilled by her own parents, is passed down to her children - encouraging and supporting a love of sport.

Speaking on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, Kate explained how invested her parents were in their children's sporting events, sacrificing their time to cheer them on. "My parents were hugely dedicated," the Princess shared, adding "I really appreciate now as a parent how much they sacrificed for us. They came to every sports match, they’d be the ones on the side-line shouting."

"My parents were hugely dedicated. I really appreciate now as a parent how much they sacrificed for us. They came to every sports match, they’d be the ones on the side-line shouting."

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales

Kate clearly has the passion to nurture sporting achievements in her own children. Prince George has taken part in triathlons at school and his parents have been seen supporting him at football matches. Charlotte has been pictured chatting animatedly with her mother about what's unfolding on the courts at tennis matches, and has spoken out about a love of gymnastics. Prince Louis is also said to have a keen interest in football and rugby.

Speaking on a special episode of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast, Kate said "Rugby and football weren't school sports when I was growing up, so it's really great that kids - Charlotte - is playing both. It's really good to see youngsters, particularly girls, playing these types of sports."

The Princess of Wales previously revealed she encourages her children to try new experiences, wanting them to be curious and active. Chatting with students at Nottingham Trent University in 2023, Kate said "I remember university for me was one of those great opportunities to try out new hobbies, and that has carried through now."

She added "I loved trying out new things, and challenging myself, whether (in) sports, music, or art. It’s one of the things with my kids too, just trying out new things, and university for me was when I learned to try out because there is so much on offer."

For more Royal news, Prince George and Princess Charlotte's favourite clothing designer speaks out about the children wearing her creations, while Prince William enjoyed his childhood haircuts for a very relatable reason. It's also been revealed Prince George's future career plans have a sweet connection to Prince Harry

Lucy Wigley
Parenting writer - contributing

Lucy is a mum-of-two, multi-award nominated writer and blogger with six years’ of experience writing about parenting, family life, and TV. Lucy has contributed content to PopSugar and moms.com. In the last three years, she has transformed her passion for streaming countless hours of television into specialising in entertainment writing. There is now nothing she loves more than watching the best shows on television and sharing why you - and your kids - should watch them.