Last week, on his birthday, Prince William and his family charmed the public by releasing a number of new photographs. The pictures were taken by Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.
She said: “The most joyful thing about these photos is the way it looks very much as though George, Charlotte and Louis might have been given total control over the creation of the poses, using their dad as their prop to either cuddle up to or to envelop in a playful bundle in a wrestle on the grass.
“William has often looked like a rather formal, thoughtful and cautious royal who manages to produce PDAs that rarely involve more than the most tentative touch, but here he has allowed himself to be completely overwhelmed by his three small children as they envelop him in playful, romping cuddles.
“His smile suggests he is bashfully proud and pleased at the spontaneous and uninhibited-looking rough and tumble.”
The image also gives royal fans a glimpse at how the family might operate behind the scenes, more like a normal laid back family than some might expect.
Judi said: “The kids look delighted to have got their dad on the ground to wrestle with and cuddle at will and the way they go about it with gusto suggests this is a glimpse of normal fun family life for them rather than a one-off treat for the camera.
Judi James said: “The real revelation here comes from Charles’s body language.”
She noted the generational different between how Charles related to his son versus the way he relates to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
“Despite the fact that it would surely be almost unthinkable for him to cuddle and tease his own father Philip in this way even now, and despite his apparent dislike of PDAs, Charles not only grins to suggest he enjoys being under the protection of his son and even adopt the more childlike pose with him, he also tilts his head in towards him to endorse the PDA and its sentiments,” Judi said.
The royal line of succession – who outranks who?
The line of succession to the British throne dictates the order in which each member of the Royal Family would ascend to the throne.
It is also seen as a ranking of importance with the head of the line, the Queen, taking the place of ruler.
Older children come before younger children. Traditionally boys came before girls, but this law was changed on 26 March 2015 before the birth of Prince William’s first child.
Incredibly, Catholics are still excluded from the line of succession, as are children born outside of wedlock.
The royals, who usually stick to a strict protocol when appearing in public, often arrive at events in ascending order of importance, with the most important royal arriving last.
Prince Charles, 71, is currently second-in-line to the British throne, followed by Prince William, 37, his oldest son.
Then comes Prince William’s children, George, six, Charlotte, four, and Louis, one, and they are followed by Prince Harry, 35. Prince Harry is succeeded by his son Archie Harrison, born in May 2019.