Prince William and Princess Kate have “strengthened their family” by ignoring one major royal tradition

The Prince and Princess of Wales attends Wimbledon
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Wales family has been front and centre this summer, with the Princess of Wales returning to public duty for the first time since her cancer diagnosis.

The 42-year-old mother of three announced the news of her diagnosis in March this year, stepping back from her royal role to focus on her recovery privately. So too did her family, with Prince William scaling back his duties to care for his wife, and Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis taking a break from the spotlight.

The family of five's return this summer has been celebrated, and while Princess Kate has stressed that she is "not out of the woods yet", she is said to be making good progress, and is expected to be seen in public life more and more.

This week, it was the Wales family's bond that made headlines, with royal experts praising William and Kate for their modern parenting style, prioritising giving "their children as normal an upbringing as possible."

Royal expert Jennie Bond opened up about the Wales family's dedication to normality this week, telling OK! magazine that it has actually "strengthened the family".

Bond particularly referenced the Wales couple's choice to send all three of their children to the same school, with George, Charlotte and Louis all attending Lambrook School, in Berkshire - something that actually goes against royal tradition.

"The fact that all three are at school together must strengthen their family unit, and their parents act like other parents in doing the school run as often as possible," Bond explained.

She continued: "They can't change their destiny, but they don't have to confront it just yet except on special occasions. So I think William and Catherine have got the balance just right. The children obviously know they were born royal, but they don't have to be in the public eye very often - there will be time enough for that."

It is not known when the Princess of Wales will return to royal duties permanently, but the mother of three did release a personal health statement earlier this year to thank the public for their support.

We will continue to update this story.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.