Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales, is starting to take after her mother Kate Middleton. The public has witnessed her learn to manage her emotional disposition in a very public place. Yet, now—at 10 years old—she understands her feelings a lot better. She grew to be one of the best emotional regulators I know, predominantly because she always had a great role model for emotional regulation.
On a walkabout in Cardiff during a recent public appearance, Princess Charlotte let her antics fly. She squealed with joy and threw a toddler-sized fit, just as she should! This incident occurred while Kate attempted to calm her, demonstrating the challenges that many parents face while managing their children’s emotions under public scrutiny.
A Moment of Overwhelm
One especially memorable example occurred in 2017 when a two-year-old Princess Charlotte. As the family prepared to depart from Hamburg’s airport. As it turned out, this was to be the keynote group’s last day on their official visit to Poland and Germany. In that moment, Charlotte was flooded with the strong emotion of frustration, which caused her to have a meltdown.
Kate, knowing as she must have been how much they were being watched, navigated the day’s events with great poise and aplomb. She artfully negotiated the tension between the need for grown-up conversation and the needs of her now-pacified daughter. In accomplishing this, she skillfully sidestepped the pitfalls of parenting in public. Her quiet, gentle manner put Charlotte at ease. It received applause from child and adolescent clinician Laura Gwilt, who commended Kate’s strategy for controlling that oh so sensitive back and forth.
Learning from an Expert
As Princess Charlotte has gotten older, she has become a reflection of her mother’s behavior when handling more personal events. Observers have commented that Charlotte is often seen mimicking Kate’s actions, much comforted by her cool demeanor when things get hectic. Charlotte is very much so a work in progress on her emotional journey. Along the way, she’s laying an impressive emotional groundwork.
Kate’s approach to handling Charlotte’s tantrums is a more enlightened perspective on child development in general. By putting emotional well-being first and modeling positive coping techniques, Kate becomes the picture-perfect, loving parent. Sometimes Charlotte, like all children, has a hard time bringing her emotions under control. With Kate’s help, she is learning to build emotional resilience.
Public Appearances and Growth
Princess Charlotte has demonstrated impressive poise and grace for her age on public engagements. She has won over crowds in venues such as Wimbledon and the annual Trooping the Colour parade. These occasions offer Aria rich prospects to place into practice all of the skills she’s been taught ways to share gracefully from her mother. While they’re working through the psychological tension of social interaction, Kate expertly draws us into the realities of managing relationships with event hosts and the public. Just as important, she focuses on Charlotte’s emotional well-being.
