What to Know
For years, Kate Middleton and Prince William‘s youngest child, 7-year-old Prince Louis, has been known for being the most mischievous of the royal children. But is that the truth, or is that just what the British media wants us to believe?
After the latest reports about Louis and his behavior, royal watchers are questioning if he’s being pushed into being the bad sibling among Prince George and Princess Charlotte, even at his young age, and it’s already drawing comparisons to the way his uncle Prince Harry was treated as William’s younger brother.
Prince Louis’ “pouty” face recently made headlines.
On Tuesday, The Daily Mail published a story with a headline that reads “Pouting Prince Louis joins George and Charlotte as the young Royals arrive with their parents for Buckingham Palace Christmas lunch.”
The article featured paparazzi photos of Louis sitting in the car with his family on the way to have lunch with King Charles in honor of the holiday, and in the moment that the pictures were snapped, he wasn’t quite as smiley as his older brother and sister… but as far as we can tell, that’s his only crime.
Now, royal watchers are calling out the Daily Mail for the report.
A blogger named J.P. Caonabo published a rebuttal to the Daily Mail‘s piece, calling the way the outlet wrote about Louis a “bloody disgrace.”
“Framing a 7‑year‑old child’s momentary facial expression as newsworthy is clearly exploitative,” J.P. wrote. “Children cannot consent to their images being commodified, yet here the Mail has turned a fleeting look into a spectacle designed to generate clicks and advertising revenue.”
He continued, “The Mail, of course, has been busy turning Louis into entertainment fodder for years, packaging every ordinary childhood moment as clickbait. Each headline reduces him to caricature. ‘Cheeky,’ ‘stealing the show,’ ‘prince of hugs.’ Language that commodifies his development and behaviour for profit. But just because the paper has been getting away with unethical behaviour for years, doesn’t mean we should stop calling it out.”
Is Louis too young to be pushed into this kind of narrative?
While discussing the situation on a royals-focused subreddit, fellow royal watchers agree that this has all gone too far.
“He’s not even 10 and already they are pushing him into being the ‘bad’ one like Harry,” one commenter wrote. “Poor boy. I hope George will be a better brother than William is, for Louis’s sake.”
Another chimed in, “It’s no wonder Harry wanted to get his family away from all that. American media is pretty bad. British media is absolutely insane.”
It’s pretty clear to everyone who has ever met a 7-year-old child before that Louis’ behavior is pretty typical for his age — and it’s refreshing to see, considering that his “cheekier” moments in public mean that despite his royal status, his parents have still made sure he feels comfortable being himself. Let the kid live!
