The parenting 'nightmare' Princess Charlotte causes is so relatable

Princess Charlotte at the Common Wealth games
(Image credit: Getty Images / Future)

Princess Charlotte might be adorable but she reportedly causes a parenting “nightmare” for Prince William that many can relate to.  

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s parenting style with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis has often attracted attention from fans. Known to be hands-on parents, the couple have often shared intriguing details about their family life over the years. And though they do have help when it comes to who looks after George, Charlotte and Louis when they’re away, during their recent Caribbean Tour, it was claimed Kate juggled mum life and royal duties organising her children’s activities at 4am. 

As senior members of The Firm, balancing work and a family is never easy, though it seems there’s one household task that isn’t quite so easy either. Princess Charlotte reportedly causes one parenting “nightmare” that William dreads... 

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge attends the memorial service for the Duke Of Edinburgh

(Image credit: Photo by Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)

According to People, it was during a royal visit to Blackpool back in 2019 that the Queen’s grandson opened up about this very relatable problem. Speaking to a fellow dad as they took a trip to a newly regenerated family-friendly park, William is said to have joked about the difficulty of doing their daughters' hair!

The publication reports that the resident explained that he’d finally cracked the code to creating the perfect hair-do for her thanks to YouTube tutorials. Meanwhile, William joined in, commiserating over his least-favourite hairstyle to try and replicate as he supposedly said, “Never try to do a ponytail!” 

Helen Haslem, head of the lower school greets Princess Charlotte as she arrives for her first day of school

“Nightmare!” he’s understood to have added light-heartedly before Kate apparently joined in the conversation. Responding to her husband’s exclamation, the Princess asked him about plaits as she suggested that it’s these, not ponytails, that pose more of a challenge.

“Have you tried to do a plait? It’s the weaving…really hard,” she said, before William reportedly explained, “I can do [Charlotte’s] ponytail, but that’s about it as I don’t have enough hair to practice on!”

But whilst he might not enjoy styling her hair, the Prince of Wales and his only daughter are understood to be incredibly close. William even has an unusual nickname for Charlotte that couldn’t be sweeter, as revealed during a visit to the Royal Chelsea Flower Show in 2019. 

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They’d gone to see Kate’s Back to Nature garden design and in a video clip shared on the couple's social media accounts, the future King can be heard calling her ‘Mignonette’, or ‘little sweet’. 

Meanwhile, the doting dad has also been open about Charlotte’s cheeky nature. He revealed that when she turned six she found her sass. He said;  “[kids] grow up very fast. If you ask [Charlotte], she thinks she’s 16… she says, ‘I’m six now, I’ll do what I want’.”

Emma Shacklock
Senior Lifestyle Writer

Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with six years of experience working in digital publishing, ranging from book publishing to magazines. She currently looks after all things Lifestyle for Woman&Home, Goodto.com, and My Imperfect Life.