How Prince William & Kate Middleton Responded To A BBC Host Poking Fun At Charlotte

Prince William and Kate Middleton's three kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, have been in the spotlight since they were born. While the royal couple has tried to protect them from the public life the Prince and Princess of Wales are obliged to lead, they understand that they can't shield their kids from the media entirely. This was proven all too true on Charlotte's first day of school in 2019, which was observed by several photographers, and even reached British airwaves, thanks to radio host Greg James at BBC Radio 1. James spotted 4-year-old Charlotte greeting her teacher in a very royal way — by shaking hands — and quickly pointed this out during his breakfast show, wondering aloud at the strange greeting. 

In a subsequent show, he revealed that Princess Catherine and William were actually listening to the broadcast that morning, and they heard everything he said. "I saw the photo during the show and said, 'Who the hell shakes hands with their teacher on the first day?'" James recalled, per The Mirror. He had the (mis)fortune of meeting the Waleses not long after. "They said: 'We were listening on the morning of little Charlotte's first day, and we want to talk to you about the handshaking thing,'" James shared, admitting that he instantly assumed he was in royally hot water. But, apparently, they weren't mad at all. 

"I'm sure it's all absolutely fine," he shrugged, without disclosing how the conversation ended. As royal author Robert Jobson told Hello! magazine in August 2026, "The reality is that they're still very protective of them." But the couple also understands that they can't shield them forever. The expert pointed out, "The children are the future royal family, so William and Kate accept that they need to be seen in public sometimes." 

While Prince Harry is usually the one making headlines for suing publications for invading his family's privacy, his brother isn't above doing so when he deems it necessary. Prince William and Kate Middleton are trying their best to keep their kids grounded amid royal life, including not having photos of them holidaying privately as a family being published on the front page. Princess Catherine's relationship with the British media has mostly been amicable, but the same cannot be said of the French press. In October 2025, the royal couple triumphed in a court case against Paris Match magazine, which published long-lens photographs of William and Kate holidaying with their three kids in the Alps in April.

In a statement to People, the royal couple's spokesperson deemed the pictures "grossly intrusive." William and Catherine's win in court set a necessary precedent, they argued, with their spokesperson cautioning the media that there's more where that came from. The Waleses are determined to raise their kids "without undue scrutiny and interference," they stated, adding, "They will not hesitate to take such action as is necessary to enforce those boundaries." William and Kate make their kids follow strict rules, including a total ban on cellphones. The prince confirmed it to Eugene Levy on "The Reluctant Traveler," in 2025. 

"We sit and chat, it's really important. None of our children have any phones, which we're very strict about," William explained (via SheKnows). An insider clarified to Life & Style magazine that the young royals are granted 30 minutes of social media time each day, but they don't have their own accounts, and their parents closely monitor what they look at.