Princess Diana began a sweet tradition that Prince William continues to do with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis

The family are keen to make sure their kids pick up Princess Diana's polite habit

Princess Diana, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
(Image credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images and Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Prince William is teaching his kids to have polite manners in the same way his mum Princess Diana taught him and Prince Harry.


Prince William and Kate Middleton may have an 'informal' and 'fun approach' to parenting that relies on child-led parenting methods, but the couple are still parents to three children who sit second, third and fourth in the royal line of succession and that means there are some strict rules they have to learn and follow.

One of those etiquette rules is having good manners. It's something every parent wants their child to have and George, Charlotte and Louis have reportedly been learning how to be polite since an incredibly young age, though others speculate that they're just naturally well-mannered children. 

Whether it's inherent or learned, Prince William has employed a sweet tradition started by his own mother Princess Diana, who passed away in 1997, to make sure that George, Charlotte and Louis pick up a sweet habit that Diana felt was incredibly important to show respect.

Princess Diana and Prince William

(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

According to reports in OK! Magazine, Diana made sure to instil good manners in her children and prepare them for a life of royal duty by getting them to write thank you notes to anyone that had helped them or showed them kindness. 

Prince William has continued this habit and is now passing it down to his own kids, though he is not approaching it as a task to be undertaken, but a 'spontaneous' idea that he hopes the kids will soon start to do on their own without any prompting. 

A source told OK! Magazine, “[William and Kate] have developed this brilliant knack of letting as much as they can seem spontaneous and that’s how the children see it. Table manners, thank you letters, little courtesies are being drilled into the children so they become automatic.”

prince william, kate middleton, prince george, princess charlotte and prince louis

(Image credit: Getty)

Diana famously ensured that William and Harry were exposed to the wrongdoings and injustices in the world to help give them perspective of life outside of the royal bubble. 

The young Princes were often taken on charity visits as well as for normal family days out because she wanted them to have well-rounded lives. 

As reported by OK! Magazine, Diana's biographer, Andrew Morton, said, “She took the young royals with her on her private charity visits from a young age… One of the reasons was she didn't want the boys to grow up thinking the whole world was 4x4 Range Rovers, shotguns and nannies.”

Again, William and Kate are taking a similar down-to-earth approach with their own kids. The parents famously take the summer holidays off, stepping away from royal duties so they can spend normal family time with the youngsters. They're also exposing their kids to the injustices of today, mainly by focusing on environmental problems that Prince William has admitted leave George 'confused and annoyed.'

News writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.