Leave suit-wearing Prince George alone – it’s the best parenting trick in the book
As Prince George twins his suit with his father, Anna Tyzak, mother of four boys, applauds this sartorial choice and says far from it making him unhappy, he probably loves it as much as his parents do
So often does Prince George wear a suit these days that it’s hard to imagine the 10-year-old in jeans and trainers. This weekend he wore a dapper navy suit and red tie as he joined his father, Prince William, to watch Wales take on Argentina at the Stade de Marseille in France. He seemed happy and relaxed, yet his formal attire sparked sympathy from those who feel the future king should be allowed to dress like a child. As ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly implored: “He’s like a wee cut-down man. Dear love him. Put him in a tracksuit for the rugby.”
Every time George gets suited and booted it’s the same: at Wimbledon this year the historian Dr Tessa Dunlop asked, “What’s wrong with a T-shirt?” and at the England v Germany Euros match at Wembley in 2021 fans asked why he wasn’t wearing an England shirt and face paint.
Yet Wills and Kate aren’t dressing George up for a laugh; they know exactly what they’re doing – if you want your child to behave like a grown-up, you have to dress them like one.
I discovered this myself in the changing room of John Lewis on Oxford Street this summer, as my three older sons (11, nine and seven) tried on suits for my brother’s wedding. One minute they were huffing and puffing about going to the toy section, next they were lined up in front of the mirror in navy linen suits looking like butter wouldn’t melt. I was amazed at how grown up they looked and, more importantly, so were they. They felt like men, and at the wedding a few weeks later, they behaved like them as ushers to their uncle.
The Waleses have always used the formal dressing parenting trick, even though their own parents didn’t use it when they were young. Catherine, like any normal Eighties child, grew up in jeans and sweatshirts; William, meanwhile, was allowed by his mother, Princess Diana, to wear jumpers and T-shirts with cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse on them in public, but her sons were still familiar with suits and ties from an early age.
No, there have been no Paw Patrol jumpers for him and his siblings – a plain-coloured polo top from Mango is as casual as it gets – although he has been photographed in camo, the height of fashion for every child aged five to seven, and he does own a football shirt (he was photographed in it for his sixth birthday). These are exceptions, though: his baby pictures show a cherubic boy in smocked rompers, piped shirts and dungarees and fair isle sweaters; a smart and dignified look with fabrics that feel stiffer or thicker than normal T-shirts and jeans, suggesting it’s time to raise your game. You’d only bother with it if you have staff as the shirts need ironing (and bleaching when tomato spaghetti is involved) and cashmere jumpers must be meticulously handwashed but it inspires good behaviour. My youngest boy, who aged two and only just out of nappies was surely too young for a suit at the wedding (crawling around in one is never a good look), rose to the occasion in his blue culottes and striped La Coqueta shirt, proving that formal attire makes children behave more formally.
Many of the Princess’s favourite children’s clothing labels are from Europe where the young royals are even more traditionally dressed. La Coqueta and Irulea are from Spain, Tartine et Chocolat is from France and Polarn O Pyret is Swedish. Prince Oscar of Sweden, son of crown Princess Victoria, toddled around in beige culottes and braces and now aged seven is often seen out in a suit and tie. Prince Christian of Denmark, eldest son of crown Prince Frederik and crown Princess Mary of Denmark, meanwhile, grew up in ties and blazers and marked the occasion of his 18th birthday this week by sporting a three-piece suit, no less. He further upped the ante that evening by slipping into an even more formal tailcoat, sash and bow tie for his birthday party.
Prince Christian clearly quite fancies himself in a suit and I’d hazard that it’s the same for Prince George. He probably considered the smocked rompers and dungarees with their itchy fabrics and fiddly buttons a bit square yet suits are a low-faff high-impact choice – the only decision he has to make is which tie.
Sure, they can be a bit warm, as a red-faced George discovered in 35-degree heat at Wimbledon last year, complaining to his father that he was a bit hot, but then so too are the synthetic football shirts and tracksuits that his fans so desperately want him to wear.
It all began as an attempt to look like “his hero” Prince William, yet as George confirmed last year when he sported a suit to Wimbledon and his father opted for a blazer and shades, he has now officially outdressed him.
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