Kate Middleton and Prince William visit Pantoland with family
The Duke of Cambridge has followed in his mother Princess Diana’s footsteps, and has shown himself to be a hands-on father ever since Prince George was born in 2013. He and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, have shared a handful of caring moments within their family through their social media accounts, to the delight of royal fans. Then on Friday night, the couple decided to make their first public appearance with George, Princess Charlotte and their youngest child, Prince Louis, during a trip to the pantomime.
While Kate clutched two-year-old Louis’ hand, Charlotte walked in between her parents and seemed to reject William’s offer to hold her hand.
On the Duke of Cambridge’s other side, George obediently held onto his father — and the cameras caught a special moment between the two.
Just before the family walked down the red carpet, William checked on George and waved his hand to catch his attention.
George, who had been staring into the distance, glanced up at his father, grinned and nodded enthusiastically — his mood changing in an instant.
A three-second clip of this exchange was posted on Twitter, and has collected more than 700 likes over the weekend.
Prince William is often pictured with his eldest, Prince George (Image: Getty/Instagram @kensingtonroyal)
Kate and William appeared with all three of their children for a formal event for the first time on Friday (Image: Getty)
Although it’s a fleeting moment, it triggered a wave of enthusiasm for their father-son bond.
Below the video, one royal fan commented: “William is such a great dad, you can tell his deep love for his children.”
Another noted: “George will always be Daddy’s little boy.”
William has proven himself to be a doting father throughout parenthood, and has regularly broken the “stiff upper lip” mantra so often associated with the Royal Family.
Photographs taken by Kate and released for her husband’s birthday show his three children climbing on him and clearly having a wonderful time.
William has also made it clear he does not want to burden his eldest son with his royal obligations too soon — even though George is third-in-line to the throne.
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Charlotte and George with William on Friday (Image: Getty)
Speaking in a 2016 BBC interview, William said: “As far as we’re concerned, within our family unit, we are a normal family.
“I love my children the same way any father does, and I hope George loves me the same way any son does to his father.
“We are very normal in that sense.
“There will be a time and a place to bring George up and explain how he fits in with the world, but right now, it’s just a case of keeping a secure, stable environment and showing him as much love as I can as a father.”
He added: “If I can’t give my time to my children as well, I worry about their future.”
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The Cambridges clapping for frontline workers earlier this year (Image: Getty)
Kate and William taking Charlotte and George to school last year — William is usually seen holding George’s hand (Image: Getty)
Although he has since taken on more responsibility within the Firm in recent years and has become a more prominent royal in the duration of the pandemic, it is clear that his priorities still lie with his children.
Hello!’s royal correspondent Emily Nash claimed: “William’s always said he wanted to be a hands-on parent and he and George are clearly incredibly close and affectionate with one another.
“From day one, William joked about how he had changed the first nappy and he clearly spends a lot of time with both of his children.”
The Duke of Cambridge also admitted in 2016 how much his life has changed since George’s birth.
He said: “I’m a lot more emotional than I used to be.
William and Kate took George to watch a football game (Image: Getty)
“I never used to get too wound up or worried about things.
“But now the smallest little things, you well up a little more, you get affected by the sort of things that happen around the world or whatever a lot more, I think, as a father, just because you realise how precious life is and it puts it all in perspective, the idea of not being around to see your children grow up.”
William also explained how his son influenced his journey as an environmentalist in the ITV documentary, ‘Prince William: A Planet for Us All’ which aired earlier this year.
While pointing out how both Prince Philip and Prince Charles had been considered ahead of their time in the battle against climate change, he suggested his son’s life pushed him to act sooner rather than later.
He said: “I really want to make sure that, in 20 years, George doesn’t turn around and say, ‘Are you ahead of your time?’ Because if he does, we’re too late.”
