On Thursday 23 April, Prince William and Princess Kate’s youngest child, Prince Louis, turned eight. To mark his special day they shared a beautiful portrait of him on the back of a boat while holidaying in Cornwall. It was an image captured by the family’s trusted photographer, Matt Porteous. As well as his beaming smile and gorgeous mop of hair, Louis sported a clear scratch down his face. Some royal onlookers might be surprised to see such a raw image of the future King, but here’s why it is of great significance…
No Photoshop
Princess Kate has previously had to defend her decision to ‘edit’ photos shared online after inconsistencies were pointed out by royal fans. So, this clearly untouched image may have been a not-so-subtle nod at that incident. However, more likely is that it was simply a natural picture of their son which perfectly reflected him – he’s a boisterous boy who likes to play and therefore sometimes sports bumps and bruises.
Following his birthday picture, a montage of videos was released, which also demonstrated how active he is. In the clips, he was playing cricket on the beach and jumping into the sea. The whole family are big fans of the great outdoors and an array of sports and Louis is no different.
Prince William and Kate’s confidence-building parenting
Dr. Amanda Gummer, who is a psychologist who specialises in child development and Chair of the Association of Play Industries, spoke to HELLO! To explain what this indicates about the Prince and Princess of Wales’ parenting approach. She said: “I think it points to a parenting style that values resilience and real-world experience, allowing children the freedom to be active and curious while recognising that minor mishaps are a normal, healthy part of development.”
She added: “By sharing a natural image rather than a carefully perfected one, they appear comfortable with the reality of childhood, i.e. that play, exploration and the occasional bump are all part of growing up.”
For Amanda, playing freely is an important part of growing up. “We’ve become increasingly uncomfortable with visible signs of risk in childhood, but a grazed knee or small cut is often evidence of a child fully engaged in play. Outdoor, unstructured play helps children learn how to assess risk, build physical confidence and develop independence.
“Shielding children from all possibility of minor injury may feel protective, but it can actually limit these important learning opportunities. What matters is not eliminating risk entirely, but allowing children to experience it in manageable, age-appropriate ways.”
I can relate to ‘real-world’ Kate and William
I’ve got an almost two-and-a-half-year-old and he’s at the stage he wants to do everything himself and with this independence comes inevitable bumps, scrapes and bruises. I try to fight my intuition to fuss over him when he falls and, instead, simply ask him if he’s okay in a neutral tone. I want him to be resilient, brush himself off and try again, which luckily he does regularly. It’s really nice to see the royal family being relatable and showing that their children aren’t picture-perfect all of the time. We’re seeing Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis more often at official events and it’s adorable to see them so immaculately turned out and on their best behaviour, but it’s a refreshing reminder that they are still kids who need to have a childhood.
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