Prince William and Kate Middleton’s strict parenting rule becoming ‘tense issue’ with eldest son George, 12

Prince William and Kate Middleton aren’t giving their children cellphones — and it’s become quite a “tense issue” with their eldest son, Prince George.

The Prince of Wales admitted it’s “really hard” to protect his kids from the harms of social media and the internet while speaking with Brazilian TV host Luciano Huck during his recent trip for the Earthshot Prize awards.

“And to be honest, it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming a little bit of a like tense issue,” he confessed.

“But I think he understands why,” William said of George, 12.

“We communicate why we don’t think it’s right. And again, I think it’s the internet access I have a problem with. I think children can access too much stuff they don’t need to see online, and so having a phone and text message, the old sort of ‘brick phone’ as they call them, I think that’s fine.”

There may be some light at the end of the tunnel for the pre-teen, as William teased that when George “moves on to secondary school, then maybe he might have a phone that has no internet access.” 

During the interview, William, 43, also gave a glimpse into his home life with Middleton and their children: George, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.

He joked that he is a “taxi driver” for their three kids as he carts them around to playdates, sports events, and even does school runs.

“Oh, yeah,” William responded when asked if he often drops them at school. “School runs most days. I mean, Catherine and I share it. She probably does the bulk of them.”

The heir to the British throne also opened up about the “challenge” of telling their little ones about Middleton’s cancer diagnosis.

“I think it is very individual and sort of moment-dependent as to how you deal with those problems,” William said.

The philanthropist shared that he and his wife, also 43, “chose to communicate a lot more” with their kids — a decision he questioned was the right one.

“That has its good things and its bad things,” the prince explained. “Sometimes you feel you’re oversharing with the children [things] you probably shouldn’t.”

However, he clarified, “Most of the time, hiding stuff from them doesn’t work. … There [are] a lot more questions when there [are] no answers.”

“There’s no manual for being a parent,” William continued. “You’ve just got to go with it — a bit of instinct.”

Middleton went public with her cancer diagnosis in March 2024, two months after she was hospitalized for abdominal surgery and took a step back from her royal duties.

In September 2024, the Princess of Wales finished her “incredibly tough” cancer treatment.

Earlier this year, she announced that she is in remission and “remain[s] focused on recovery” while adjusting to her “new normal.”