There’s no question that growing up in the public eye is a potentially scarring experience for any child. But for royal offspring at the pointy end of the succession line, it’s a necessary evil that requires delicate and savvy management.

This week Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis start a new school and to mark the day the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge released a set of photographs.

They are part of a gentleman’s handshake the couple has forged with the British media that they hope will also be respected around the world.

Rather than put George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and Louis, 4, through the anguish of facing photographers on this formative day in their young lives, the couple issued the shots of the family attending a settling-in afternoon for new pupils at the school the day before the siblings’ first day along with video footage.

Media – and public — appetite sated, the royal children can now be left in peace. At least that’s the plan.

To date the Duchess of Cambridge has been the architect of the photographic portfolio of their children’s lives, releasing images (many taken herself) around birthdays and notable moments. And so far, the pact has held pretty firm.

The royal rota of official newspaper correspondents and photographers would never step out of line and sneak unauthorised shots; their quid pro quo relationship with the palace is too crucial. And the paparazzi have lost their market with media outlets refusing to purchase long lens images of the children.

The wild west

While you may think — quite sensibly — that three privileged children on the first day at their latest private school (which was by the way chosen for its proximity to their latest new home within the royal Windsor Estate), is hardly breaking news, just watch those front pages and social media platforms light up!

“Prince William didn’t want them to suffer as he had as a kid,” says The Sun’s veteran royal photographer Arthur Edwards, who remembers the days when William and Harry would face a barrage of photographers, the shutters clattering like gunshots, wherever they went.

“It was like the wild west back then,” he admits. “I look at the pictures still. They were never smiling or happy, they were really miserable about it.”

Edwards says the current system works well for all involved and long may it reign.

But while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have certainly worked hard to protect the third, fourth and fifth in line to the throne from the public demands that have been part of their lives since birth, as a second post-Elizabethan era comes into sight, the children’s role in the monarchy’s future is becoming ever more crucial.

‘William’s main job’

If all goes to plan Prince George will be king one day and he will need back-up from his two siblings. Of course, any one of the trio could choose to follow in Uncle Harry’s footsteps and leave royal life, but if the House of Windsor is to survive the Cambridge children are surely key.

It’s a lot to take on board for the carefree siblings whose destiny is already mapped out, and probably explains why William and Catherine have allowed us to see much more of their children in the past 12 months. The training has started.

“William’s main job now is with George, just as Charles trained him,” notes Edwards who adds that William is “all about duty”.

The urgency of shoring up the monarchy’s future has likely been sharpened by Prince Harry and Meghan’s departure from royal life, which has had an impact way beyond just them.

With Harry and his family out, the workload increases for those left behind and when Prince William takes his place as king, he will certainly need his children’s help.

In the meantime, the Sussexes continued bombshell revelations — with more expected from upcoming episodes of Meghan’s Archetypes podcast, a potential Netflix fly-on-the wall TV show and Harry’s memoir — are not helping.

Prince William seems to be battening down the hatches and focusing on the day job. What else can he do?

Certainly, the difference between the brothers’ attitudes to the family Firm has never been more stark and for William at least there are lessons to learn that impact on his offspring.

A Windsor and a Spencer

Author and former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown spent years researching the monarchy, including the maturing of William and Harry, for her recently released book The Palace Papers which pulls back the curtain on the turmoil inside the House of Windsor.

“I came to conclude that William’s become a Windsor and Harry has become more a Spencer,” says Brown. “The Spencers are hot-headed, impetuous, explosive. The Spencers are hard to handle as people, and Harry’s very like his mother temperamentally. He has her recklessness.

“William is a very judicious, calm, wise young man. Diana actually used to call him ‘my wise old man’.”

That calmness is now prevailing as William tries to guide his children into public life. They played notable roles during the pandemic helping to deliver care packages in the community and joining their parents in displays of support for the NHS and key workers.

They honoured their great-grandmother the Queen during events for the Platinum Jubilee, not just attending the parties in the royal box, but George and Charlotte also joined their parents for their first official walkabout on a visit to Wales.

We have seen Prince George with his father at the football and Princess Charlotte in a pre-recorded video with William cheering on the Lionesses in advance of their Euro ’22 final win and with both parents in the stands at the Commonwealth Games.

As for Prince Louis, he is already a social media sensation thanks to his exuberant Jubilee behaviour.

The Cambridge children are proving to be a hit with the public and they seem to be enjoying these early introductions to the life of service ahead. More than that, they are becoming the monarchy’s secret weapon.