NEED TO KNOW
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Prince William echoed that none of his three children have phones, admitting it’s becoming a “tense issue”
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The Prince of Wales also revealed when his eldest son, Prince George, 12, may get a cell phone — with restrictions
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“We communicate why we don’t think it’s right,” William said of the decision
Prince William previously revealed that his three children don’t have cell phones — and now, he’s admitting that the matter is becoming a bit of a “tense issue.”
After sharing that Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, don’t have phones during a chat with Eugene Levy for an episode of the Apple TV series The Reluctant Traveler, the subject came up again during William’s recent trip to Brazil for the Earthshot Prize awards.
Speaking with TV host Luciano Huck, the royal heir admitted it’s “really hard” to protect his children from the harms of social media and the digital world.
“Our children don’t have phones. I think when George moves on to secondary school, then maybe he might have a phone that has no internet access,” William said, referring to his eldest son moving to a new school next year.
“And to be honest, it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming a little bit of a like tense issue,” the prince added.
“But I think he understands why,” Prince William continued. “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.”
Sharing more about life at home with Kate Middleton and their children, Prince William joked that he was a “taxi driver,” bringing George, Charlotte and Louis to their playdates, sports games and even school drop-offs and pick-ups.
“Do you take them to school?” Huck asked.
“Oh, yeah,” William responded. “School run most days. I mean, Catherine and I share it. She probably does the bulk of them.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales, who are now settling into their new home at Forest Lodge in Windsor after their recent move, have also made it a point to give Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis as normal a childhood as possible despite their royal roles.
“Those children look pretty happy with life,” a palace insider previously told PEOPLE. “A lot of it is the stabilizing normality Kate brings — and that’s how she grew up. William absolutely loves it.”
“Coming from a different background, she appreciates the importance of having family time,” added a source close to the royal household. “She wasn’t brought up in that aristocratic setting where you see the children for a short time each day.”
DANIEL LEAL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Prince Louis and Kate Middleton in May 2023
Over the weekend, Prince George made his royal debut at a staple on the family’s calendar: the Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall. George joined his mother at the event while Prince William was traveling back to the U.K. from Brazil.
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JACK TAYLOR/POOL/AFP via Getty
Prince George, Kate Middleton and King Charles at the Festival of Remembrance on Nov. 8, 2025
A palace insider previously told PEOPLE that Prince William and Princess Kate are being cautious when it comes to involving their eldest son with royal events as he grows into his role as future heir and eventually, monarch.
“It’s a slow game, and it gets him used to it on the couple’s terms rather than anybody else’s,” the insider said.
Read the original article on People
