Independent: No one buys Prince William’s chaotic school-run stories at this point

Prince William’s radio interview last Friday continues to make news, and not in a good way. Two of the biggest headlines so far: William had no idea his wife of 15 years speaks conversational Italian (or rather, that Kate knows a few words in Italian); and that William’s eldest son Prince George is already boarding at Lambrook. The boarding issue is especially notable given that William and Princess Kate are constantly using the “school run” as an excuse for why they can’t do anything. Within the same radio interview, William even tried to tell Normal-Bill stories about the chaos of the school run, like he’s even awake at that hour. Well, a columnist for the Independent isn’t buying William’s school-run lies.

Prince William and Kate are often seen doing the morning drop-offs to ensure their children – Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight – have as normal a childhood as possible. But in what can only be described as a full-on Amandaland moment, our future king took to the airwaves, describing on Heart Radio’s breakfast show that his mornings are often total chaos on the way to deliver their kids to the £10,669 a term Lambrook School, near Ascot, with Prince Louis messing the car up with his sticky snacks.

“Yes, there’s a lot of jam sandwiches taken in the car, usually. Louis is very kind. He’ll leave jam fingerprints throughout the car, which is really helpful,” William reported to the nation. “It depends if there is a guitar lesson going on in the morning, a music lesson… you’ve got to get the guitar in the car,” William continued, casually dropping his ability to multitask.

“‘No, we’re not taking the guitar and we need to take the bag for school’. ‘Are we boarding, are we not?’ ‘Are we seeing friends?’ ‘No we’re not’.”

His children also bicker in the car, apparently, with him admitting while giving them a shout-out on air: “Charlotte and Louis, as George was boarding last night… if you’re listening to this, please make sure you are on time,” he said. “Make sure you’re not fighting over who’s listening to what this morning.”

It all sounds like a very bog standard morning in the day in the life of a parent – and I love the fact William is such a hands-on dad, but are we really going to be taken in by this? I think not.

The rest of us are hopping on buses, trains, or driving in clapped-out cars, as in my case, with the wing mirror broken as somebody drove into it last week and I’ve stuck it back on with Sellotape. Most of us don’t have a valet to clean sticky finger marks from our leather seats and I’d posit most family cars are unsalvageable from all the slime and Nutella pancakes, with breadsticks wedged in between the seatbelt sockets so deep, it’s now impossible to remove them.

We also aren’t followed to school by police protection officers or have helicopters at the ready if we’re returning from a half-term break in the countryside and need to make a quick dash to the school gate, or, for that matter, fuss about remembering who’s boarding where that week. Because, guess what, nobody is. While our kids play out on the street, or take a trip to Alton Towers, the Wales’s brood get to hang out on Buckingham Palace’s balcony for a RAF flypast.

We don’t have permanent nannies on top of oodles of other staff at the click of our fingers to organise the mornings like clockwork, should we ever need a break, or are working. Now that would take the pressure off.

The demands of child rearing in a cost of living epidemic, where childcare is out of reach for many average households, is hard – and the minor details of sticky finger marks on a car seat, are the least of our worries.

[From The Independent]

I personally think that various British columnists are trying to draw attention to the holes in Prince William and Kate’s stories by highlighting less controversial parts. Like, of course anyone with sense knows that Prince Sleep-It-Off cannot even roll out of bed before noon. Of course he’s lying about a chaotic school run which he does not participate in or facilitate. Of course he’s just trying to play-act his nonsensical idea of normal family life. That’s not actually the point! The point is that some or all of their kids are probably already boarding, and William and Kate have been using the “school run” as an excuse to do f–k all for years. That is the real criticism: that there’s no actual excuse for William and Kate’s laziness at this point.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

18 Responses to “Independent: No one buys Prince William’s chaotic school-run stories at this point”

  1. Blujfly says:

    It’s also literally a 10 minute drive. Why is Louis eating so many jam sandwiches in the meantime?

    • MY3CENTS says:

      Because that’s what Willy probably saw in some commercial or other as to what “normal working class family mornings ” look like .

    • KA says:

      Easy solve for the jam sandwich problem. Don’t eat in the car. My car is super old and junky, and we still don’t let our kids eat in the car but for rare times where it is necessary. Certainly not during the daily school run. Plus, if we do eat in the car, it would not be something sticky!

    • Me at home says:

      Right? I thought Kate and William personally served hearty breakfasts with eggs, bacon, kippers, and fresh fruit. So why does anyone need a jam sandwich for a 10-minute car ride to school?

      And poor Louis.

    • Becks1 says:

      100% its something william saw in a commercial or sitcom or something and so is using that to demonstrate how normal they are.

  2. Dee(2) says:

    I don’t understand why the press have to only focus on the ” non-controversial” parts. The Wales’ laziness and half-assed attempts to copy others is clear and obvious at this point. They are private to a ridiculous fault, so the purported “access” shouldn’t be sufficient to continue the tongue bathe them. Just call them out.

    They are deceitful, they do not work, they pale in comparison to people that are literally decades older than them currently, and are shameful in comparison to the previous two generations in their roles.

    I think this is why they haven’t announced where George is going to school. Because inevitably if you admit that Charlotte is already boarding, and George would presumably be bored and had eaten, what are you doing all day Catherine? What are you doing all day William? Why do we see you once a week?

  3. Chaine says:

    What on earth are Will and Kate going to do when those kids go away to college and they’re not there to be used as a convenient excuse anymore

    • Tn democrat says:

      Keener will claim she is caring for her elderly parents, then grandkids combined with a scatttering of cAaNcer gave me a permanent excuse to do f@#$ all. Willy will claim he is working behind the scenes while raiding/laundering Duchy funds/assets. As a couple they will randomly post insane weird @#$% on Instagram periodically to compete with Meghan/Harry (only in their minds) and “prove” they are still a couple. It is truly chilling to watch Willy in real time treat Louis like comic relief/the spare. The man is just such an obtuse, entitled tool. Parts of the press seem to be turning on the Wails though and are pointing out their bs even while wrapping criticism in flattery. 😃

  4. seaflower says:

    I see Louis is already getting the “one who messes up” tag.

  5. Brassy Rebel says:

    The tabloid columnists are really coming for William this week. First it was his plan to sell off Duchy land to build more housing. Now it’s the school run. This seems like “Let’s Box William’s Ears week”. It’s nice while it lasts.

  6. Lady Digby says:

    The school run excuse is really insulting to any parent, grandparents, carer who does the school run as a slither of the daily grind of work life. I mean, come on man, this is ridiculous to say feebly that the school run is your greatest achievement as a parent!? But given the nail episode I have to ask myself apart from going to the toilet what else does this entitled rich man do for himself? Maybe it is a big deal for him because everything that normal folk don’t blink at he thinks is a real novelty? Apparently Queen M came across staff ironing shirts and pointed at the iron because she’d never seen one before? How coddled are these people?

    • Miranda says:

      I remember Julian Fellowes telling a story, I think in his commentary for Gosford Park, about some duke or marquess who had to attend a weekend country house party without his valet. The morning after the first night, he was wondering aloud to another guest, baffled that his toothbrush “didn’t work”, failing to produce any froth when he brushed. He didn’t realize that he needed to apply toothpaste, because his valet had always done that for him.

      I have no idea if that story was apocryphal or exaggerated, but it definitely seems to capture the mindset of many British aristocrats and royals.

  7. Nicki says:

    I would suggest Bill didn’t know Cathy speaks conversational Italian because she doesn’t. ‘Hello’ and ‘where’s the bathroom’ don’t count.

  8. QuiteContrary says:

    Thank goodness someone in the British media finally is willing to write what we’ve realized here for years: The heir is full of hot air.

    This school run narrative truly is so insulting to the many parents who are taking their kids to school while frantically trying to make it to their actual jobs on time, while worrying about grocery bills, child care payments, housing payments. There is nothing relatable about W&K. Nothing.

  9. Miranda says:

    Could Charlotte and Louis actually be boarding already as well? At 11 and 8?! Even doing so at 13 seems too young to me! How early can kids start boarding in the UK, in general?

    I have British friends who attended boarding schools, but only for sixth form, when I think students are typically 16 or 17? And I know a few Australians who grew up in the outback, so boarding school was their best option to further their education after a certain grade level. I guess I just find the whole idea of it interesting, because it’s not a choice I can imagine most American parents making unless they had to (though I attended an all-girls school, and many would probably say the same about that, so…).

  10. jferber says:

    He’s very snarky about Louis, that he is very “kind” and “helpful” by leaving jam fingerprints in the back seat of the car. That’s not the way you’d talk about your kid and, honestly, that non-existent journey every morning seems extremely chaotic and nerve-wracking IF he or Kate really did it. They do not. Maybe that’s a story he heard once from Nanny Maria, about the jam. And yes, the way he talks about it makes it seems like a ten minute drive with 3 kids is more difficult than any working man or woman’s day, dropping off the kids to school AND working an 8 hour job. They have been lying for years about that school run. And if it were really that difficult, no man or woman in England would be capable of doing the school run AND a full-time job. Yet William’s life is much more difficult than yours, whoever you are. What a load of shit from these freeloaders.

  11. Jais says:

    What’s Amandaland? Anyways, I mean yeah, not shocking that some are not buying William’s schtick.

Commenting Guidelines

Read the article before commenting.

We aim to be a friendly, welcoming site where people can discuss entertainment stories and current events in a lighthearted, safe environment without fear of harassment, excessive negativity, or bullying. Different opinions, backgrounds, ages, and nationalities are welcome here - hatred and bigotry are not. If you make racist or bigoted remarks, comment under multiple names, or wish death on anyone you will be banned. There are no second chances if you violate one of these basic rules.

By commenting you agree to our comment policy and our privacy policy

Do not engage with trolls, contrarians or rude people. Comment "troll" and we will see it.

Please e-mail the moderators at cbcomments at gmail.com to delete a comment if it's offensive or spam. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please email us to get it retrieved.

You can sign up to get an image next to your name at Gravatar.com Thank you!

Leave a comment after you have read the article

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment