Prince George entering his terrible teens reminds me of my mistakes as a parent

July 24, 2026 — 9:45am

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In the reasonably thick file of Shit Things I Have Done, a podium finish goes to my parenting of our eldest when he started primary school. There, he was a representation of my mothering skills and thus had to be excellent.

The pressure. Not on me. I was sitting pretty, organising extracurriculars. But poor Jack, there he was at advanced maths and reading with the grade fives and scraping away at the violin to satisfy my need for reflected glory.

Everyone was exhausted and my red herrings meant Jack took longer to find Rubik’s Cube as his thing.

Which brings me to Prince George, who just turned 13 and will soon head off to board at Eton. Big milestones. My own failures can serve as a road map for William and Kate and any parent with a newly minted teenager.

The Waleses look to already be doing a grand job. George seems amiable and not visibly frustrated by wearing a suit whenever he leaves home. For these purposes, though, let’s leave aside royal........

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