The royals may have a higher social status than many of us, but they're also regular humans in many ways. The royal family has weaknesses among its members, and some of them aren't afraid to reveal those struggles to the world. We're never really going to hear from Queen Elizabeth what her own weaknesses are (she's of the "keep calm and carry on" generation of Brits), but people — like Kate Middleton and Prince William — have been honest about some of their shortcomings.
It's helpful to know that even our beloved royals struggle with things like cooking, spending, staying patient, and more. Some of these weaknesses are more serious than others. It's not a crime to not be able to draw, but it can definitely hinder the royal family for a member to be overspending — or too focused on negativity and such — and it's not just the adults who have their shortcomings. The little Cambridge kids take after their royal family members when it comes to some of their cute quirks. Maybe they'll grow out of them, or maybe they'll grow up to be like their parents with plenty of admitted weaknesses themselves just like we all have.
In the meantime, here are 15 reported weaknesses in the royal family that have surfaced … whether they liked it or not.
Royals, they're just like us!
Prince William Can't Draw
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recently did a video conference with some students in Pakistan and played a fun game of "guess the drawing." The Cambridges were pretty good at guessing what the students had created, but William said he was just glad he wasn't the one doing the drawing. "Catherine is very good. I'm really bad," the prince said of his sketching skills. Kate joked that Will just doesn't practice enough, and until he does, it'll remain a weakness of his.
Kate Middleton Can't Cook
Kate may be the better artist of the Cambridge couple, but what she has in drawing skills, she reportedly lacks in cooking skills. According to Vogue, a few years ago the duchess joked about her food prep at a charity event. "William has to put up with my cooking most of the time," she said. William joked, "It's the reason I'm so skinny." But even if she's not the best chef around, Vogue noted that the duo doesn't employ a private cook, and instead, does all the food prep themselves. That's dedication, and maybe (over time) Kate will improve!
William's a Sloppy Eater
But for what Kate lacks in the kitchen, at least she's not a messy eater like her husband. William is reportedly quite sloppy when it comes to dinnertime. When the royal couple visited a military base in 2018, Prince William joked that the soldiers need to "keep the pizza off the sofas," to which Kate responded, "You're a nightmare with that!"
Considering that most of the royal furniture is centuries old, William should really be more cautious with his messy eating.
Harry & Meghan Are Reportedly Big Spenders
The Royals at War book claims that Prince Harry picked up some extravagant spending habits once he started dating Meghan Markle. All of a sudden, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex started spending on things like aromatherapy, acupuncture, massages, and expensive maternity outfits. Their spendy ways reportedly helped lead to the fracture in William and Harry's relationship.
Queen Elizabeth & Kate Middleton Both Get Motion Sick
They may be royal, but they're still human, and sometimes, that means suffering from commoner traits like motion sickness. Reportedly, both Queen Elizabeth and Kate Middleton struggle with feeling ill while traveling, especially during the ceremonial carriage rides they're often required to take. No wonder they often look so uncomfortable during these processions.
Prince Louis Can't Social Distance
The Duchess of Cambridge admitted that her youngest child is really struggling with keeping his distance from others during this strange time. "Louis doesn't understand social distancing," Kate said. "He goes out wanting to cuddle anything. Especially babies younger than him." Prince Louis is still a toddler, so he'll probably grow out of this particular weakness, but we thought it was funny to mention — because it just goes to show what a sweet young prince he is. He just wants to greet people always, even when it's not the best idea right now.
Kate & Will Struggled With Swaddling
They're probably old pros now that they have three kids, but prior to Prince George's birth, both William and Kate had a hard time getting the hang of swaddling. "We were like 'What do we do? In a swaddle? How's this supposed to work?!'" Kate said of figuring out how to bring George home from the hospital. Kate admitted she and Will had even practiced swaddling on a baby doll before George's birth. We love the dedication.
Meghan Has a Soft Spot for All Dogs
This isn't so much of a weakness as just an example of Meghan Markle's kind-hearted nature, but she gets absolutely so sucked in to meeting every dog she can. During her royal tour of Australia, she got distracted petting a dog during an official reception. "Everyone knows [dogs are] my Achilles' heel!" she joked.
Prince Harry Reportedly Wasn't the Best Student
Prince Harry's former art teacher at Eton College once called him a "weak student." Indeed, the royal did struggle throughout his years in education, with Princess Diana even infamously writing in a letter, "The boys are well and enjoying boarding school a lot, although Harry is constantly in trouble!"
Princess Charlotte Has a Naughty Streak
Like her Uncle Harry, Princess Charlotte has a bit of a naughty side when it comes to dealing with the paparazzi. She's been caught sticking her tongue out at reporters on more than one occasion, just like Harry did when he was a child. Luckily her parents have a sense of humor themselves, and they don't seem to mind that Charlotte is a bit of a wild child at times.
William Has a Sweet Tooth
We know that Prince William likes to eat his pizza on the couch, but he doesn't just have a taste for savory foods. He's apparently quite the chocoholic, just like his grandmother, the Queen. Kate revealed his weakness for candy during an Easter Zoom video. "There will be a lot of chocolate being eaten here, don’t worry!” William said via video chat. Kate joked about her husband, "You keep eating it!"
Hopefully, he saved a little for the Cambridge kids' Easter baskets.
Meghan Markle Flouted Protocol
One of the Duchess of Sussex's biggest weaknesses during her time as a working royal is that she couldn't stop breaking protocol. Perhaps it didn't actually matter much within the monarchy if she was obeying decades-old rules, but every misstep became a news story, which only increased animosity between the Sussexes and the press. Good thing Meghan can now do and wear whatever she wants as she's no longer representing Queen.
Harry Tends to Focus on the Negative
Royal biographer Angela Levin said in August that she thinks one of Prince Harry's biggest weak points is that he focuses too much on negativity. "Harry has changed enormously since I met him … he has become a bit of a shadow of himself," Angela said, adding that she thinks the Sussexes both "ignore all of the wonderful things they have had, the prerogatives, and chances to meet great people and do charity work they want to do. It seems to me they have focused entirely on the negative."
Prince George Can't Wait to Open Presents
Prince George may be the eldest sibling, but he's got some learning to do still. His biggest weakness so far seems to be that he can't wait before opening gifts. During Christmastime, he reportedly sneaks around to find his gifts ahead of time and opens them early — a habit he apparently learned from his dad.
William Has a Short Fuse
Wondering where George gets his impatience from? Seemingly his father, who has admitted that he loses his own patience quickly — and homeschooling his kids just escalated that. "My patience is a lot shorter than I thought it was and my wife has super patience," William recently said when talking about distance learning. "We're a great tag team where I come in and talk to the children and do stuff and then hand over to Catherine when everything is going wrong."
Kate must have the patience of a saint.
