8 Facts About Royal Children Proving That the Throne Is More Than Just Privileges

From the outside, the lives of kings seem easy and carefree. But princes and princesses from 28 kingdoms follow age-old traditions from the very first days of life. Their days are packed with things to do and they're always on a tight schedule. However, there are a lot of interesting things on the long list of rules and requirements. In this article, we will tell you what kindergarten the future Queen of Spain was sent to, what car Paul McCartney presented to Prince George, and why the heir of the Swedish throne is presented with Russulas.

We at Bright Side decided to tell you how the lives of monarchs are different from the lives of the common people.

1. The birth of a blue blood baby

In Great Britain, the Queen is always the first to be informed when an heir is born. Prince William has told the good news to his grandmother for the third time already on the phone with an encrypted number. As it turned out, the grandchild and the great-grandchild couldn't call Elizabeth II "Grandmother" in the very beginning. William wasn't able to say "Granny" in his childhood, so she responded to "Gary," and George completely avoids difficult letters and calls his grandmother "Gan-Gan."

The Duke of Cambridge is quite old-fashioned and he always picks his wife up from the maternity ward himself. Babies are usually delivered by a team of doctors that must sign a non-disclosure agreement. And even though Kate was seriously considering giving birth at home, their second son was born at St Mary's Hospital. Before 1948, kings and queens were not allowed to see the newborn babies and today, Prince William can be with his wife to give her his support during labor.

The birth of an heir to the throne is also celebrated in a special way and their godparents are not regular people, either. The Bhutan King Jigme ordered to plant 108,000 trees in February 2016 when his wife Jetsun gave birth to a son.

The godparents of the young Prince Simeon, the son of the King of Bulgaria who was named after his grandfather, are the King of Morocco Mohammed VI and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark.

2. How the royal heirs get their names

Princes and princesses usually have 3-4 names and instead of a last name, they have the name of a county. So, the first son of Prince William is George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, and in Sweden, the little princess is Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Östergötland. And the Prince of Monaco and his wife named one of their twins Jacques Honoré Rainier Grimaldi.

In Great Britain, after an heir is born, there is always a crowd near the hospital where people place bets on the name of the baby and reporters patiently wait for the royal family to appear.

The name of the third great-grandson of the Queen was announced 2 days after he was born. This time, the most likely names were Arthur and James, but Prince William once said that he would have liked to name his son Jack. The end result was Louis, which means "famous in battle" or "famous warrior."

3. Gifts to princes and princesses

Relatives can really go all out when it comes to presents. The Princess of Spain received the title of the Lady of Order of the Golden Fleece on her 10th birthday. Carol Middleton presented to her grandson a zebra with riding equipment, and his grandfather, Prince Charles, presented him a mobile home that cost £18,000, as well as an Aston Martin. Well, Prince George's car collection is already full: he has a Volkswagen GTI from his father, a Range Rover from the Beckhams, a Jaguar from Aunt Pippa, a Bugatti from Beyonce and Jay-Z, 3 Rolls-Royce cars from Hellen Mirren, Elton John, and Paul McCartney, and a car from Justin Bieber and the ex-president of the US, George Bush.

Of course, royal children receive most of the gifts on their birthdays. The Bulgarian heir blew a tiny candle on a giant cake at the age of one, and Princess Charlotte was congratulated by 64 countries: she got a blanket from Australia made of the wool of the Tasmanian merino, a set of silk statues from China, and a 1937-poster of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that cost $200,000.

The citizens also congratulate the monarchs. The people from Monaco bought a beautiful Cartier brooch and a watch for the twins, and the retired people from the Chelsea Royal Hospital presented a toy to the son of Prince William. The government of Östergötlands, where the duchess Estel is the future Queen of Sweden, presented her special pendant-symbol of the region — swans, Rússula mushroom, and pike.

4. How royal children are dressed

The Royal family of Spain is the epitome of elegance. Princesses Sofia and Leonor often appear in public wearing similar dresses, suits, and coats. Next to them are their parents, King Philipp VI and Queen Letizia, who also always look perfect. By the way, when the weather is warm, the family prefers light clothes, such as shorts and sundresses.

Prince George is supposed to wear shorts before the age of 8, but overall, his clothes look a lot like his father's: sweaters, checkered shirts, and double-breasted coats. The styles of Princess Charlotte and her mother are also very similar.

Knowing that many parents will try to buy the clothes that her children wear, Kate often chooses the clothes that most British people can afford. But that's not always the case when it comes to how royal children dress. The grandchild of the Emperor of Japan, Prince Hisahito of Akishino, often has to wear special traditional costumes for ceremonies and initiations.

5. What games and toys they prefer

In royal families, most parents agree that sports, games, and riding bicycles are more useful for their children than hours spent with gadgets. For example, the 3 princesses of the Netherlands — Amaila, Alexia, and Ariane, all love walking and playing on the beach with their dog. And the Belgian Royal family love to ski.

There is one strict rule in the family of the British Royal family — no tablets.

Prince William and Kate, who are very well-educated, trust regular toys and games more. They let their children play with toys that develop their imagination and logical thinking: cars, dolls, cubes, and stuffed animals. And as it turned out, the children of the British Royal family are not allowed to play Monopoly – Prince Andrew shared this when he was once presented with the board game.

By the way, there have always been a lot of "classic" toys in the royal family, but they were kept in the collection of Elizabeth II. However, after her grandson was born, the grandmother decided to let him play with this "treasure" — her personal dolls, the car of Prince Charles, and the baby carriage of Princess Margaret. Before, nobody was allowed to touch them.

Many royal children have a habit that is familiar to all parents around the world: they have a favorite toy that they always keep with them. Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway chose a soft lion with a crown and the elder daughter of the King of Spain carried a pink duck with her at all times.

6. A new way of upbringing the kings

Babysitter Maria Teresa Borrallo helps the Cambridge family. She accompanies them on trips and receptions where it's necessary to have someone who can look after the children. In spite of tradition, Kate's parents often communicate with the grandchildren. And William sometimes lets his children follow the advice of his mother, Princess Diana: "Be as naughty as you want... just don't get caught".

Recently, George started school and Charlotte started going to a kindergarten near the Kensington Palace where, aside from games and everything else, she also has poetry and pottery classes. She also has a little kitchen in the big kitchen where her mom loves to cook. When the children throw food at each other, they are reminded that they have to help the cleaning staff. And if they are being naughty, Kate sings songs and makes faces. The kids realize how silly they look and laugh.

Charlene, the Princess of Monaco and a former Olympic swimmer for South Africa, tried to be with her twins after they were born. Only very rarely did she trust the babysitters to stay with the children alone. Later, the royal family took the children to a school where they communicated with other kids and where teachers helped them discover their creative and intellectual talents.

Royal families spend a lot of time together which plays a huge role in strenghening their relationships. Children read, go to exhibitions and theaters, and have etiquette classes, but they can also have fun at home. They are taught to respect the work of other people, and that's why they sort their toys, make their beds themselves, and they help with chores. The Swedish Princess Estel helps her mother and father bake cakes for Christmas.

Adult children require special attention. Every one of the 4 heirs of the King of Belgium went to a Jesuit college to study. And the Princesses of Spain study the Catal, Galician, Basque, English, and Chinese languages. Their schedules also include music, dancing, and etiquette lessons.

In Norway, royalty follows strict rules from a very young age. That's why at the age of 6, Princess Ingrid gave her first public speech, and at the age of 12, she was entrusted with the declaration of the opening of the Youth Winter Olympic Games in 2016.

7. The future heirs in different countries

The right of succession is an important topic. So, Prince Jaques is the heir to the throne in Monaco, even though Princess Gabriella was born earlier. And the heirs in Denmark take the fourth and the fifth places. Prince Vincent's position is higher than that of his sisters only because he was born 26 minutes earlier.

In Japan, girls can't be heirs, which is why among the grandchildren of Emperor Akihito, the youngest one is the heir — 12-year-old Prince Hisahito. In Spain, Queens are loved. The young Leonor, Princess of Asturias, started her path in the kindergarten of the Spanish Royal Guard. Norway's Princess Ingrid is the heir to the throne after her grandfather and her father, and the Princess of Belgium, Elizabeth, can't fly on the same plane as her father because she is the heir to the throne.

The Prince of Jordan, Hashem bin Abdullah, is not only the first heir but he was also born on the same day as his father and they blow out candles on their cakes together every year. Prince George is the third on the list of heirs and after the changes that were made in the law of succession in 2013, boys no longer have an advantage over girls, so Princess Charlotte is now higher on the list of heirs than her brother.

By the way, the grandson of the English Queen has recently said that he was interested in the police. He even asked for a police car for Christmas. Of course, we shouldn't worry that Prince George will prefer being a policeman over being a king, but we can definitely hope that he will support the police in the future.

8. Royal duties from a very young age

Princes and princesses also have roles in their country and international affairs. Even if the future King of Monaco, Jacques, wanted to play, he had to accompany his mother on a trip to another country. The prince of Morocco, Moulay Hassan, has been visiting official meetings with his father since he was 10 years old, but he never lets other people hiss objections toward him.

And George with Charlotte got lucky – thanks to their young parents, they handled their first difficulties well during their first visits to Poland, Germany, and Canada.

Because Kate always has words of comfort when the children are scared of flying, and their dad can always find time for a family vacation, it looks like they managed to find the perfect balance between the protocol and one of the most important rules of the royal family: family comes first.

Which details from the lives of young princes and princesses did you find the most interesting? Tell us in the comment section below!