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As families across Britain prepare for the beginning of a new school year, the Prince and Princess of Wales are also getting ready for an important change in their children’s education.
Prince George, 13, is set to begin his first term at Eton College, while his younger siblings, 11-year-old Princess Charlotte and eight-year-old Prince Louis, will return to Lambrook School in Berkshire.
William and Catherine’s three children are known for their love of sport and outdoor activities. The Wales family have frequently spoken about enjoying an active lifestyle together, including hiking, running and taking part in various team sports.
Their summer appears to have offered plenty of opportunities to enjoy those interests. The family recently spent time at Balmoral Castle in Scotland with King Charles and also enjoyed a particularly sporty visit to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Earlier in the summer, they were also seen attending Wimbledon before heading off for their traditional seasonal break.
Licensed marriage and family therapist Brian Lutz, from Blume Behavioural Health, believes the Wales children’s active summers could play an important role in preparing them for later life by helping them develop a variety of valuable skills.
Speaking to HELLO!, he highlighted the different lessons that George, Charlotte and Louis can gain from their sporting and outdoor interests, saying: “What stands out about the activities the Wales children have picked up is the range of what each one teaches.”
Netball
It emerged in August that Princess Charlotte is a member of an extracurricular netball team that competes at a high level against teams from across England.
The young royal appears to have inherited her mother’s enthusiasm for sport. Princess Catherine was also a keen athlete during her school years and served as captain of the hockey team while studying at Marlborough College.
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Catherine, 44, has her own history with the sport, having played for an under-11 netball team while attending St Andrew’s School in 1992.
According to Brian, Charlotte’s involvement in netball offers benefits that extend well beyond keeping physically active, helping her develop important abilities that could prove valuable later in life.
He explained: “You’re accountable to eight other people, you have to read the room quickly, and you learn that your mistake doesn’t end the game.”
Rоck climbing
Charlotte’s brothers have also been embracing adventurous activities, with George and Louis recently developing an interest in rock climbing. Their enthusiasm was on display in Prince George’s 13th birthday video in July, which showed them scrambling across rocks on a beach.
The young royals reportedly tried the activity during an Easter holiday in Cornwall, and Brian believes climbing can offer children much more than simply an exciting physical challenge.
It is also an activity likely to have Catherine’s approval. Earlier this summer, the Princess of Wales impressively completed the Three Peaks challenge, climbing the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales.
Brian explains that climbing can help youngsters develop “mild problem-solving” skills while learning to manage their emotions under pressure.
“You’re on the wall, you feel fear, you make a decision anyway,” he says. “That’s emotional regulation in a body, not a conversation.”
However, Brian stressed that parents should not feel they need to recreate the same experiences for their own children.
He explained: “For parents reading this, the takeaway isn’t that they need a climbing wall.”
Instead, he believes the key is allowing children to pursue activities they genuinely enjoy and where they can see themselves getting better over time. As he put it: “It’s that the activity should be something the child chose and can improve at. Enjoyment plus visible progress is what makes it stick into adulthood.”
Gymnastics
William and Catherine shared further details about Charlotte’s sporting interests while attending the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.
During conversations with athletes, Prince William revealed that his daughter “loves ballet and gymnastics.” Catherine added that Charlotte particularly enjoys “the floor,” while noting that she also “likes her dancing.”
Brian believes gymnastics can provide another valuable set of lessons for children, particularly when it comes to perseverance. He concluded: “Gymnastics builds tolerance for repetition and failure, since the skill only arrives after dozens of unsuccessful attempts.”
Running
According to Prince William, Charlotte is also a keen runner, an interest that Brian considers perhaps the “rarest” of her sporting strengths.
The Princess’s enthusiasm for athletics came to light after William met British Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle last year, where the pair spoke about Charlotte’s interest in running.
Keely later revealed more about her conversation with William, telling The Telegraph: “The Prince told me his daughter is doing the 400 metres at the minute and the hurdles and that she did watch me in Paris.”
Brian believes running can offer Charlotte something particularly valuable because it is an activity she can use independently to regulate how she feels.
“Running gives a child something rarer, which is a mood-management tool they control themselves, independent of any coach, team, or parent,” he explains.
He also believes the time George, Charlotte and Louis spend outdoors during their school holidays can benefit them “psychologically” and help equip them for the challenges they may encounter as they grow older.
The expert concluded: “Summers outdoors matter developmentally because unstructured time in physical space is where kids practise boredom, risk assessment, and negotiation with peers without an adult managing it.”
“Children who don’t get that arrive in adolescence with fewer ways to settle their own nervous systems, and they tend to reach for screens.”
“Physical mastery is one of the few things a child can genuinely own, and for children whose lives are heavily observed and organised by others, that ownership does a lot of quiet psychological work.”
