It’s that time of the year again: parents around the UK are preparing for their children’s return to school. And the Prince and Princess of Wales will be among them.
Prince George, 13, will be heading to Eton College for the first time, while Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, will be returning to Lambrook School in Berkshire.
Prince William and Kate’s children are known to be very sporty; the Waleses have often opened up about their time outdoors together, from hiking to running and team sports.
It means that the Waleses will likely have enjoyed a wonderful summer in the sun, including a recent stay at Balmoral Castle in Scotland with grandad King Charles and a very sporty trip to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. They also attended Wimbledon tennis tournament before their summer retreat.
© Getty ImagesBrian Lutz, a licensed marriage and family therapist from Blume Behavioural Health, tells HELLO! how these summers outside will be preparing George, Charlotte, and Louis for the future by offering them crucial skills.
He says: “What stands out about the activities the Wales children have picked up is the range of what each one teaches.”
Netball
It was revealed in August that Princess Charlotte plays in an out-of-school netball team that competes at a high level across England.
It means that the young royal is following in the footsteps of her mother, Princess Kate, through her love of sport, as she once captained the school hockey team at Marlborough College.
© WireImageKate, 44, also played in an under-11s netball team at St Andrew’s School in 1992.
Brian says that netball will give Charlotte crucial skills for the future, aside from just exercise.
He said: “You’re accountable to eight other people, you have to read the room quickly, and you learn that your mistake doesn’t end the game.”
Rock climbing
Charlotte’s older brothers, meanwhile, have recently got into rock climbing, and were seen clambering over rocks on a beach for Prince George’s 13th birthday video in July.
The royal daredevils were on a holiday to Cornwall over the Easter break – but their newfound activity is far more significant than initially meets the eye.
Rock climbing is also likely to be Princess of Wales-approved, as she impressively completed the Three Peaks challenge – climbing the tallest peaks in England, Scotland, and Wales – earlier this summer.
Brian says climbing is beneficial for teaching children “mild problem-solving” at a young age.
“You’re on the wall, you feel fear, you make a decision anyway,” he says. “That’s emotional regulation in a body, not a conversation.”
However, he clarified: “For parents reading this, the takeaway isn’t that they need a climbing wall.
“It’s that the activity should be something the child chose and can improve at. Enjoyment plus visible progress is what makes it stick into adulthood.”
Gymnastics
Prince William and Kate also gave several insights about Princess Charlotte’s favourite hobbies as they attended the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.
Speaking with athletes at the event, her father, Prince William, said she “loves ballet and gymnastics.” Kate also revealed that Charlotte’s favourite part was “the floor”, adding that she also “likes her dancing.”
Brian concluded: “Gymnastics builds tolerance for repetition and failure, since the skill only arrives after dozens of unsuccessful attempts.”
Running
Charlotte is also a big runner, according to Prince William – and this is her “rarest” sporting skill of all.
The Prince of Wales met British Olympian Keely Hodgkinson during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle last year – who revealed Charlotte’s love of athletics.
Keely later told The Telegraph: “The Prince told me his daughter is doing the 400 metres at the minute and the hurdles and that she did watch me in Paris.”
“Running gives a child something rarer, which is a mood-management tool they control themselves, independent of any coach, team, or parent,” says Brian.
He also said that these school holidays outdoors will benefit them “psychologically”, helping them to prepare for the future.
The expert concluded: “Summers outdoors matter developmentally because unstructured time in physical space is where kids practise boredom, risk assessment, and negotiation with peers without an adult managing it.
“Children who don’t get that arrive in adolescence with fewer ways to settle their own nervous systems, and they tend to reach for screens.
“Physical mastery is one of the few things a child can genuinely own, and for children whose lives are heavily observed and organised by others, that ownership does a lot of quiet psychological work.”
