The life of a prince: How the royals raise a family

The duke and duchess of Cambridge have a new baby boy, George Alexander Louis. The child will be known as Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge and is third in line to the throne. What will his upbringing be like? While that story has yet to unfold, let’s take a look at what we already know and how his father and uncle were raised for some insight into how this little one may grow up.

We keep hearing the term “modern monarchy’’ when referring to Prince William and his wife Catherine. During the baby’s debut outside St. Mary’s hospital on July 23, Prince William placed his son’s car seat in the car and drove his family home himself. The message seemed clear: Prince William will be a hands-on dad. This hasn’t been the norm when it comes to royal child rearing. More on that later.

However, Prince William and Prince Harry were raised more “normal’’ than any royals before them. This has largely been credited to their mother, Princess Diana.

They were given long names

We aren’t suprised that baby George Alexander Louis has three names. That’s because his father and uncle each have four.

You know them as Prince William and Prince Harry. But their full names are Prince William Arthur Philip Louis and Prince Henry Charles Albert David. Some of those names are family names (Philip and Louis honor Charles’s father and great uncle), according to the book “Diana and Jackie: Maidens, Mothers, Myths’’ by Jay Mulvaney. Interesting tidbit from the book: Princess Diana actually wanted to name William Oliver but her husband refused because he had his heart set on Arthur. They compromised.

This photo, taken in 1984, shows the young princess with her sons.

They had a royal nanny

Prince William and Prince Harry had royal nannies Barbara Barnes (left, holding the hand of Prince William in 1984) and Olga Powell. But it has been reported that Prince William and Catherine do not want a royal nanny. This is a big change from how royals have been reared in the past.

“Nannies, governesses, and tutors, not parents, traditionally have raised the children of the British aristocracy,’’ reports People.com, adding that Queen Victoria seldom saw her small children for more than an hour a day, and when she did, they were groomed and on their best behavior.

Barnes was nanny to the boys for five years and Powell was with the family for 15 years.

Going to kindergarten made headlines

When you are a royal child, your first day of kindergarten is most likely going to make the news. Case in point, this photo of Prince Harry’s first day of school.

In this photo, Princess Diana led Prince Harry, 3, by the hand to his first day at the school in Notting Hill, west London, on Sept. 16, 1987. Prince Charles held Prince William’s hand.

Their great grandmother’s birthday is cause for a parade

While most kids head over to grandma’s for cake and ice cream, growing up royal for the princes meant spending your great grandmother’s birthday in an open coach — at a parade in her honor. Soldiers, horses, and musicians take part in Trooping the Color, an annual ceremony marking the queen’s official birthday.

In this photo, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, rode in an open coach with her great-grandson, Prince William, and his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, during the Queen Mother’s 87th birthday anniversary parade in London on June 13, 1987.

They hung out with kings and queens

From a very young age, the princes were hangin’ with kings and queens.

Check out this photo of Prince William and Prince Harry with King Juan Carlos of Spain, right, and his wife, Queen Sofia of Greece, left, surrounded in Palma de Mallorca by crown prince Felipe of Spain (left, second row), and their parents Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

And, when they weren’t hanging out with kinds and queens, they were playing with toys fit for a king or queen. Prince William had a $40,000 miniature Jaguar and the boys had ponies named Trigger and Smokey, reports People.com.

Their family staged pretend playdates

Growing up royal means sometimes faking playdates so the papparazzi leave you alone on your real ones.

According to People.com, in 1988 the boys “were on display at a preplanned ‘photo opportunity’ staged by Queen Elizabeth at her Sandringham estate in Norfolk for the benefit of a phalanx of photographers. The queen’s hope was that the press, sated, would then depart her 20,000-acre spread, leaving the family to enjoy its holiday privacy. ’’

This photo shows the playdate. Prince William, left, 5, and Prince Harry, right, 3, are climbing on a vintage fire engine. In the driver’s seat is the 10-year-old son of Princess Anne, Peter Phillips.

Did it work? Nope, said People: “Her Majesty’s ploy failed, and she was roundly criticized for pandering to the press and for her naïveté in thinking she could rid herself of the paparazzi.’’

They adored their mother’s hugs

No matter who your mum is, there’s no replacing a mother’s hug.

“I hug my children to death,’’ Princess Diana once said, according to author Jay Mulvaney in “Diana and Jackie: Maidens, Mothers, Myths.’’ “I get into bed with them at night, hug them, and say, ‘Who loves you the most in the whole world?’ and they always say, ‘Mummy.’’’

They goofed around

Kids, no matter who they are, love to goof around.

In this photo, Britain’s Prince Harry stuck out his tongue for the cameras on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London on June 11, 1988. The boys were required to appear on the palace balcony after the annual Trooping of the Color ceremony, a ceremony marking the queen’s official birthday. Princess Diana held Harry, as a smiling Prince William sat in front, and Lady Gabriella Windsor was on the left.

Their dad broke tradition

The prince of Wales became the first royal father to be present at the birth of his child, according to author Jay Mulvaney in the book “Diana and Jackie: Maidens, Mothers, Myths.’’

Not bad for a guy who “never, not even as a baby, did he have his mother entirely to himself for any length of time,’’ according to a People.com article, which also reported: “His mother saw him regularly for half an hour after breakfast, looked in on him briefly at lunchtime, and spent another half hour with him at the end of the day before he went to bed.’’ Like his dad, Prince William was also present at the birth of his child.

In this photo, the prince of Wales and his son, Prince Harry, 10, ride their horses at the Beaufort Hunt at Knockdown, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

Their family biked in business clothes

Do royal parents ever dress down? When cameras are on you 24-7, there must be constant pressure to look good. Even young Harry is wearing a collared shirt on this family bike ride.

Here, Prince Charles and Princess Diana biked with the boys in June 1989 on the island of Tresco, one of the Scilly Isles. The royal family was vacationing in the islands, located off the southwest tip of Britain.

They learned loyalty and dedication

“We are all human, and inevitably mistakes are made. But in the end there is a great sense of loyalty and dedication among the family, and it rubs off on me. Ever since I was very small, it’s something that’s been very much impressed on me, in a good way,’’ said Prince William on his 21st birthday, according to the book “William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls’’ by Katie Nicholl.

This 1989 photo shows the prince and princess of Wales, on holiday on the Scilly Isles, with their sons Harry, left, and William, right.

They were hounded by papparazzi

Prince Harry, seen here hiding his face as he left Kensington Palace in 1987, shied away from photographers as a child, according to author Katie Nicholl in the book “William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls.’’

But when you are a prince, every stage of your life is chronicled in the media. There’s no getting around it. However, William relished the attention, wrote Nicholl.

Prince William mastered his wave

“William relished the attention and played up to the ‘tographers,’ as he called them. With a wave he had already mastered, the prince smiled broadly before boldly marching through the front door,’’ writes Katie Nicholl in the book “William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls.’’

In this 1991 photo, Britain’s Prince William shakes hands with admirers during a stop at St. James Cathedral in Toronto.

They attended official ceremonies

There are many offical ceremonies to attend when you are a royal child.

In this photo, Prince Charles, Prince William, Princess Diana, and Prince Harry attended the Heads of State ceremony in Hyde Park to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on May 7, 1995.

They were happy to see mom

Diana, princess of Wales, was reunited with William and Harry as she arrived aboard the HMS Brittania in Toronto Harbor.

Their mom made concentrated efforts toward normalcy

Princess Diana was known for trying to bring normalcy to her sons’ lives of privilege. For example, People.com reports that one Christmas, “Princess Diana stood with her two sons for 15 minutes at Selfridges, a London department store, waiting to visit with Santa. As Alison Morris, a fellow shopper and mother, put it, ‘It was obvious she wanted her sons to be treated like other children.’ Do you think Catherine will follow suit, and stand in line to put her son on Santa’s lap?

Princess Diana also taught her sons the value of money at an early age. While none of the royal family generally carried cash, Diana gave the boys pocket money and once told her oldest son that he wouldn’t be able to get two sweets at the store because he only had enough money for one, writes Katie Nicholl in the book “William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls.’’

In this 1991 photo, Diana enjoys a boat ride with her kids in Niagara Falls. They were age 7 and 9.

Yes, they went to Disney World — and McDonald’s

Princess Diana, who desperately wanted her children to experience life as other kids did, was known for taking her children to places like Disney World and even McDonald’s (with security in tow, of course).

“It was important for Diana to take her children shopping and do normal things with them,’’ said Dickie Arbiter, who handled their media relations, in the book “William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls’’ by Katie Nicholl. “Their favorite day out would include a visit to Smiths, followed by a trip to the Odeon cinema, which was just down the road. If they were really lucky, Diana would take them to McDonald’s as well.’’

In this photo, Princess Diana is at MGM Studios at Walk Disney World in Florida in August 1993. She spent a few private vacation days there with her sons.

They had holiday traditions

Here, the boys are with their mother, Princess Diana, on Christmas Eve. They were at Sandringham for the traditional Christmas Eve present-opening with the royal family.

They needed protocol training

“In addition to raising her sons as persons, Diana was also charged with raising them as princes. The necessary training in protocol, history, and the role of a constitutional monarch infringes on the sort of carefree childhood most mothers would choose for their children,’’ writes author Jay Mulvaney in the book “Diana and Jackie: Maidens, Mothers, Myths.’’

In this photo, Charles and Diana escorted William and Harry onto the royal stand as Victory over Japan Day commemorations got underway at Buckingham Palace in London on Aug. 19, 1995.

They attended prestigious schools

Britain’s Prince William, seated, with his parents and brother Prince Harry surrounding him, signed the traditional entrance book at Eton College, west of London, for his first day at the school on Sept. 6, 1995. Prince William was the first future king of Britain to attend the venerable institution that for more than 500 years has educated the sons of Britain’s elite.

William flourished at the ivy-covered Eton, wrote Christopher Anderson in the book “The Day Diana Died.’’ Sure, he had a 19-member security detail and portable transmitter, but he still did regular things like play rugby and video games, wear Gap clothes, and listen to mainstream music like Oasis, wrote Anderson.

They went on ‘winter holiday’

Charles and his two sons left their plane at the Zurich airport and headed to to Klosters, Switzerland, for a winter holiday.

They sat through family portraits

When Prince William made his confirmation at St. Georges Chapel , this official family portrait was taken in the white drawing room at Windsor Castle.

Pictured ( front row, from left) are Harry, Diana, William, Charles, Queen Elizabeth and (back row) King Constatine of Greece, Lady Susan Hussey, Princess Alexandra, the Duchess of Westminster, and Lord Romsey.

They enjoyed nature

Charles and his sons William, 15 and Harry, 12, took an early morning walk along the banks of the River Dee on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland.

They enjoyed winter sports

Check out the princes with their dad on the slopes above the alpine skiing resort of Klosters in Switzerland on the first full day of their skiing holiday in January 1996.

They played polo

William, right, talked to his father, Charles, and brother, Harry, at Cowarth Park Polo Club in Sunninghill, England, in June 2003.