Kate Middleton's parenting has been put under the spotlight after the world watched the British Royal Family celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. People saw Prince Louis, her 4-year-old child with Prince William, seemingly having a tantrum in public.
As the royals watched the Jubilee Pageant, Louis was caught on camera sticking out his tongue and making faces at his mother, who was trying to distract him. At one point, the toddler covered his mother's mouth when Kate attempted to talk to her son.
The video of Louis' behavior has gone viral on Twitter with some royal fans saying that the 4-year-old acted "like a little brat." Some judged the family for failing to teach Louis some manners while others said that the boy likely behaved this way because he sees his nanny more than his parents.
There were some people who also questioned Kate for not being able to control her child when her advocacy is children and early childhood.
— Boom The Brazen Hussy (@TheDuchessBoom) June 5, 2022
However, there were netizens who said that Louis behaved exactly like a 4-year-old kid who easily lost interest and grew tired of the event. Some of the parents said that this is how their toddlers behave in public and they were glad to know that the royals deal with the same parenting issues just like them.
"Kids don't give a crap if you're the richest man in the world or royalty, they're still going to throw tantrums," one commenter said on Reddit.
"Not that I'm future queen or anything but my kids have embarrassed me in various ways in a public setting. It happens," another parent chimed in.
Debate Rages with Kate Vs. Meghan Comparison
Royal watchers also compared the Duchess of Cambridge to her sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry's wife.
American broadcast journalist Soledad O'Brien reshared Louis' viral video and said that Meghan and her son, Archie, 3 years old, would have gotten bad press and racist headlines if they were the ones who went viral. Adeshola Mos-Shogbamimu, a British-Nigerian political commentator, said the same thing and added that the royal press would have labeled Archie with some form of behavioral disorder if he displayed his tantrums in public.
But royal fans blasted the supporters of Meghan as the ones who kept resharing the videos of Louis to draw some conclusions about Kate's parenting style, per The Mercury News. They accused the fans of the Sussex royals of rehashing the alleged conflict between Kate and Meghan.
Family Expert Sound Off
Kaitlin Soulé, who is a California-based therapist, told the New York Post that the young prince's public tantrums are "completely normal and developmentally appropriate." Soulé further said that Louis is at an age where he is pushing boundaries while still learning how what's around his world.
The family expert added that Louis has likely gotten a lot of shushing from his parents and nanny. More than anything, Louis' antics in public showed the world that the royals are relatable when they are usually seen as out of touch and out of reach due to their status.
Incidentally, Louis' father was also thought of as a bratty kid in his toddler years. According to the book "The Palace Papers" by author Tina Brown, Queen Elizabeth raised some concerns about William needing a stricter nanny to subdue his uncontrollable energy. Princess Diana, William's mother, apparently nicknamed her eldest son the "holy terror."
