Kate Middleton had to teach Prince William how to do this everyday activity with their kids, and King Charles is to blame

Anyone born and raised within the Royal Family might seem like they’re winning at life, but it’s far from perfect, as an excerpt from Tom Quinn’s book Yes Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants reveals some pretty heartbreaking details about Prince William’s upbringing.

Quinn’s book is a deep dive into the life of the royal family behind closed doors. By interviewing numerous former employees and servants he’s able to paint a pretty accurate picture of what it’s like being a part of the monarchy, as well as giving readers a true insight into the characters and personalities that senior royals try to hide from the public.

One particularly sad revelation came from a maid who worked at Kensington Palace, the home of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The maid claims she witnessed an interaction between Prince William and Kate Middleton in which the future queen had to explain to the future king some pretty basic parenting moves such as giving their children a piggyback. 

“Kate had to explain many of the things that parents outside the royal family do with their children as a matter of course—she had to show him how to give the children a piggyback, for example.”

This prompted William to open up about his childhood, making a somewhat sad revelation: William said very quietly, ‘My father never gave me a piggyback.'”

Let me just get my violin

Jokes aside, it is sad that William lacked a father figure growing up. It seems King Charles’ royal duties and traditional values may have prevented him from being the kind of father his son needed. Prince Harry tells a similar story in his Memoir, Spare, where he recalls his father not showing emotion or even hugging him after news of Princess Diana’s death broke.

Being a part of the Royal Family certainly has its benefits, but it seems William and his brother were robbed of a normal, loving, childhood in many ways due to their heritage. However, Diana certainly did her best to give her children that parental warmth their father seemed to lack.

While his childhood may have been anything but normal, it seems like Kate has been a good and wholesome influence on him. According to the maid Quinn interviewed, the Princess of Wales taught William how to be a better father than Charles was to him. The Prince has been photographed giving his children piggybacks, and he certainly seems to be a more modern father so Kate should definitely be praised for that – not that it’s her responsibility to fix him, of course. 

Middleton was not raised within the Royal Family so as you’d expect, she had a more ordinary childhood, which is likely what has made her such a good influence for William. However, one ex-staffer did claim that she has to act more like a mother to her husband at times, saying “he sometimes has to be treated as her fourth child.” Hopefully Kate and William break the cycle with their kids – we have enough man-children in the world as it is.