Prince William gives intimate insight into family life at Anmer Hall

‘The kids dance in the kitchen to Shakira’s Waka Waka… there’s lots of hip movement’: Prince William gives intimate insight into family life at Anmer Hall complete with bickering children and scenes of chaos

• The Cambridges live at Anmer Hall, given as a wedding present by the Queen 
• Prince William has given a description of his family life on Time To Walk podcast
• It was recorded in lockdown, when his family spent time at their Norfolk retreat
• He said Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis danced to Shakira’s hit Waka Waka

Prince William has provided an intimate and touching description of family life complete with bickering children and scenes of chaos in the kitchen.

Although the Cambridges live in Anmer Hall, a 19th Century Georgian country house given to them by the Queen as a wedding present in 2011, the scenes of domestic chaos will be familiar to millions who will one day be his subjects.

William recorded the Time To Walk podcast in February when Britain was in lockdown and he, the Duchess of Cambridge and their three children – Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, six, and three-year-old Prince Louis – were spending much of their time at their Norfolk retreat.

During the episode, he says: ‘What I’ve been amazed by is how much my children already have inherited my family’s love of music.

Prince William (pictured with children Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Prince Louis, 3) has provided an intimate description of his family life in the Time To Walk podcast 

‘Most mornings there’s a massive fight between Charlotte and George as to what song is played. And I have to, now, basically prioritise that one day someone does this one, and another day it’s someone else’s turn.

‘So, George gets his go, then Charlotte gets her go. Such is the clamour for the music. One of the songs that the children are loving at the moment is Shakira, Waka Waka.

‘There’s a lot of hip movements… There’s a lot of dressing up. Charlotte, particularly, is running around the kitchen in her dresses and ballet stuff and everything.

‘She goes completely crazy, with Louis following her around trying to do the same thing. It’s a really happy moment where the children just enjoy dancing, messing around, and singing.’

William may find it easier than most to get tickets to a Shakira concert if his children so wish – the Colombian pop star is a member of his Earthshot Prize Council.

‘Shakira was my number one person on the list,’ he joked during the interview about the new global prize for the environment.

‘We tried to get people who genuinely cared for the environment, but were also influences around the world and Shakira has been brilliant at highlighting the plight of the oceans.’

William is alone as he walks around the Sandringham estate during the podcast – but his children are never far from his mind.

Although the Cambridges live in Anmer Hall (pictured), a 19th Century Georgian country house given to them by the Queen, the scenes of domestic chaos will be familiar to millions

Prince William revealed Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis love dancing to Shakira’s (pictured) song Waka Waka during lockdown, while his daughter also loves dressing up

‘We’ve got hares running across the field over there, fat English partridges going over the hedge just here with a nice orange tractor up ahead,’ he says.

‘Louis is obsessed by tractors. It just feels very wild and very, very peaceful.’ Tractors have, it seems, been a source of fascination to both William’s sons.

In the 2019 ITV documentary Prince Charles: Inside The Duchy Of Cornwall, the Duke of Cambridge was seen inspecting farm machinery, including tractors, and said: ‘I should have brought George today; he would be absolutely loving this… He’s obsessed.’ 

Then, on a trip to Wales early last year, he recounted a recent trip to the countryside with his children.

‘We’ve been lambing with the children this week,’ he said. ‘Charlotte wasn’t sure at first, but George was straight in there. Louis loves the tractors.’

William’s walk ends at Anmer Hall. ‘We’re finally here… We spend as much time as we can here. It’s very special, it’s very peaceful. And we feel very, very lucky to be out in the countryside,’ he says.

‘We’ve got the sheep in the fields. We’ve got the pond here with the duck and the geese on. It’s a fantastic place to be.’

Signing off at the end of the 38-minute programme, William references his wife Kate, about whom he is known to be fiercely protective.

‘It’s been really nice to get out and have a walk,’ he says. ‘I feel like I’ve shared a lot of feelings. Feels like I’ve been on a walk with a best mate, or my wife.

‘I’ll be heading back inside now, going to see what the children have been up to before I, hopefully, put them to bed exhausted.’

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