“England’s Royal Children: Duty & Rebellion”: George, Charlotte, Louis and the “Middleton Method”

Marion Crawford, Barbara Barnes and Maria Borrallo – important nannies of the British princes

A particularly touching scene is one that shows the then three-year-old Prince Charles at a train station. Together with his grandmother, Queen Mum (1900-2002), and many officials, the little boy greets his parents, Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and Prince Philip (1921-2021), after a journey lasting several weeks. The pictures show a three-year-old who obviously doesn’t really know what to do and is wandering around the adults lost. His mother greets him with a handshake.

In total, five adults looked after little Charles, not including his parents. Elizabeth herself and her sister, Princess Margaret (1930-2002), also grew up with a nanny – Marion Crawford (1909-1988), who published a book with internal information after her engagement. A private tutor taught Elizabeth and Margaret in the castle and the two girls could only play with each other. In the first years of their childhood, the later succession to the throne was not foreseeable, because it was actually their father’s brother who ascended to the throne.

Diana also had a nanny for her sons

The film also addresses the fact that Princess Diana (1961-1997) had her sons William and Harry (39) looked after by nannies, as befits her status. Diana was apparently so jealous of the close relationship between the nanny Barbara Barnes and her two sons that the collaboration ended when William was four years old. “The nanny wasn’t even allowed to say goodbye,” the film says.

Apart from that, little William also had to attend official press events every year. There is also a touching scene in the film: After the boy cries in front of the assembled press on a skiing holiday because his parents and brother have already skied down the slope and he doesn’t really know how he can keep up, a major British tabloid newspaper headlines: “Will’s the wimp”.

How normal are George, Charlotte and Louis growing up?

“I think it’s impossible for the youngest generation of royals to grow up normally,” says a journalist in the film, and goes on to explain: “They have one foot in the present and the other in the past. It’s like traveling through time.” And yet the parents of George, Charlotte and Louis are apparently doing everything they can to ensure that the three can at least grow up as normally as possible.

William and his wife, Princess Kate (42), live with their children on the edge of the royal park of Windsor Castle in Adelaide Cottage, which has four bedrooms and no staff in the house. The three attend the same school, live at home – William was at boarding school from the age of eight – and have lots of play dates with their school friends.

But this family also has a nanny: Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo. “William and Kate actually didn’t want a nanny. They wanted to take care of themselves, but Queen Elizabeth told them: you do need help. And of course she was right,” explains royal expert Katie Nicholl. Borrallo, who was born in Spain, trained at the Norland College and has been working for William and Kate since 2014. She is part of the family, but does not live in the cottage.

Kate is responsible for the much closer parent-child relationship among the youngest generation of royals. She has introduced a new style of dealing with her royal children. The British call it “the Middleton method and mean a middle-class family life,” the film explains.

Fourth film in the ZDFroyal series: Monaco’s Princely Children

Following “England’s Royal Children: Duty and Rebellion”, ZDF will show the fourth film in this year’s ZDFroyal series after “Princess Kate and the Drama of the Windsors” (July 16) and “Denmark’s Royal Children: Departure and Legacy” (July 23): “Monaco’s Princely Children: Splendor and Drama” (August 6, 9 p.m.).

Among other things, Prince Albert II (66) talks about “normal family life” in the Monegasque royal family. “I am a very proud father. Our children are still very young and I want them to grow up as normally as possible. Just like my parents did with me and my sisters. Our family life was as normal as it could be,” says Albert, adding: “spending as much time together as possible and having privacy, going on trips.”

But Albert also admits that it was easier back then “to escape the media. Today, everyone has a cell phone and can take pictures or films and post them on social media. That makes it more difficult for our children.”

Albert is the son of Prince Rainier III of Monaco (1923-2005) and Princess Grace Patricia (1929-1982). He has been married to Princess Charlene of Monaco (46) since 2011. The couple has twins, Crown Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella (9).

The four films can also be seen in the media library.

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