By Kate Thomas

Copyright hellomagazine

The Prince and Princess of Wales have a “strict” no-phones policy for their young children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The fascinating insight into their life at Adelaide Cottage – and soon-to-be new forever home, Forest Lodge – was revealed by Prince William in a special episode of Eugene Levy’s Apple TV+ show, The Reluctant Traveler.

Speaking to Schitt’s Creek actor Eugene in his most personal interview to date, the royal dad, 43, said that spending time together without any devices was paramount. The Waleses ensure they prioritise family mealtimes where they can sit down and catch up on their days. “We sit and chat, it’s really important. None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about,” he says.

Asked what they do instead, William says seven-year-old Louis is “obsessed with trampolining”. And the young royals are just like any other kids, squabbling like ordinary siblings. The Prince of Wales joked that Louis and his big sister Charlotte, 10, “end up jumping up and down on the trampoline, beating each other up, most of the time. Apparently, there is an art to it.”

Elaborating on his children’s hobbies, William said: “Charlotte does her netball as well and her ballet and so keeping them busy with sports and being outdoors is really important. They’re trying to learn musical instruments. I’m not sure how successful we’re being with that.”As for George, 12, their eldest “loves his football and his hockey” like most young boys.

Family comes first

Prince William also touched upon how watching his parents King Charles and Princess Diana’s split back in 1992 has shaped his whole ethos as a father. He revealed: “For me, the most important thing in my life is family, and everything is about the future and about if you don’t start the children off now with a happy, healthy, stable home, I feel you’re setting them up for a bit of a hard time and a fall.

“You have to have that warmth, that feeling of safety, security, love. That all has to be there, and that was certainly part of my childhood. My parents got divorced at eight, so that lasted a short period of time. But you take that and you learn from it and you try and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes as your parents. I think we all try and do that and I just want to do what’s best for my children, but I know that the drama and the stress when you’re small really affects you when you’re older.”

Do royals use mobile phones?

Almost all the senior members of the British royal family are thought to use mobile phones, but are rarely pictured using them. However, several royals have been caught sneaking a peek at their screens in the past. Famously, Princess Kate was seen looking at a mobile during the 2021 Wimbledon tournament, while Prince William was spotted smiling at the screen of a white iPhone during the Invictus Games in London back in 2014.

William has made his thoughts about the omnipresence of technology in our modern lives clear, however. During a visit to OnSide Youth Zone in Hammersmith and Fulham, London earlier this year, the Prince of Wales got candid with a youngster who confessed to relentlessly scrolling. “The grown-ups are guilty of it too. We have got to be better at it, our phones, too. We spend ages on our phones,” he said.

Former royal aide Jason Knauf recently revealed he royal couple’s fears about their children growing up in the digital age. During an appearance on 60 Minutes Australia, Jason explained: “[William’s] childhood in front of the media was quite difficult at times. And then he knew that he was going to be raising his kids to deal with social media and mobile phones and all of that stuff.”