Prince William reveals strict parenting rule he and Kate Middleton enforce on kids

Prince William has revealed the rule he has for his three children that he and Princess Kate are “very strict” about.

The Prince of Wales has made a rare TV appearance, featuring on The Reluctant Traveller, giving host Eugene Levy an inside look at Windsor Castle and a glimpse into his life as the future King.

During a candid chat about parenting, William revealed the one item that his three children - Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, - are not allowed to have: mobile phones. The future King shared that he and Kate are passionate about their kids staying offline, and that they are “very strict” about enforcing their rule.

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While enjoying a walk through the grounds of Windsor Castle, Canadian actor and comedian Eugene Levy quizzed William on his day-to-day life and routines as a father of three young children.

He asked: “Do you all sit down at the dinner table together?” to which William responded: “Yep absolutely, yep definitely. So, we sit and chat, it’s really important.” The Prince of Wales then admitted: “None of our children have any phones, which we’re very strict about.”

William’s admission perplexed Levy, who then queried: “That is really interesting. So, if your kids don’t have phones to play with. What do they play with? What do they love doing?”

He then spoke proudly of his children’s hobbies, revealing: “So, Louis loves the trampoline, so he’s obsessed with trampolining and actually Charlotte does a lot as well. As far as I can tell they just end up jumping up and down on the trampoline, beating each other up, most of the time. Apparently, there is an art to it.

“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. George loves his football and his hockey.”

Prince William also spoke candidly about his children elsewhere in the interview, as Eugene Levy asked the Prince: “What do you do when you’re home, William?” to which he answered: “Sleep!”

He elaborated: “When you’ve got 3 small children, sleep was an important part of my life recently and now luckily, they’re at a certain age where unless they’re ill they do sleep pretty well. So that’s a bit of relief, but when you’ve got three small children growing up and they’re waking up at all sorts in the night. It is quite exhausting as every parent will tell you.”

William also spoke about how Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis in 2024 affected their children, admitting it had been a hard year for the whole family, but that they were "constantly learning and adapting".

"Everyone has their own coping mechanisms for these sorts of things, and children are constantly learning and adapting. We try to make sure we give them the security and the safety that they need," he explained as he opened up on his family.

"We’re a very open family, so we talk about things that bother us, and things that trouble us, but you never quite know the knock-on effects that it can have. It’s just important to be there for each other and to kind of reassure the children that everything is okay."

Despite all the tough times of the past year, William admitted he is determined to overcome it - and heaped praise on his family.

He said: "You know life is sent to test us as well and it definitely can be challenging at times, and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are. You know, I’m so proud of my wife and my father, for how they’ve handled all of last year. My children have managed brilliantly as well."