Prince George is deprived of a smartphone – but is he too young?

Every parent faces the question of when to give their child a phone. Even the Prince of Wales isn’t exempt, as he calls it “a bit of a tense issue” after deciding Prince George isn’t allowed one.

During a talk with broadcaster Luciano Huck in Brazil, he spoke out about how he and Kate discuss challenges they face as a family with their children.

In a video shared by Mr Huck today, Prince William spoke candidly about the decision not to let Prince George, Princess Charlotte, or Prince Louis have mobile phones yet.

Prince William said: ‘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.

‘And to be honest, it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming a little bit of a like tense issue.

‘But I think he understands why, 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.’

Royal commentator Dickie Arbiter told Metro: ‘The Princess of Wales has made her feelings known time and time again that she is against it.

‘She’s stated that smartphones create an evangelical disconnection and that she and Prince William have a house rule of not allowing their children to have them.

‘It prevents families from talking to each other. You look at families today, and kids sit down at the table looking at their smartphones.

‘She [Princess of Wales] wants people to talk to each other and not depend on smartphones all their lives.’

Royal historian Marlene Koenig questioned why Prince George needs a phone, noting that Lambrook School bans mobile phones on campus.

Marlene told Metro: ‘The Prince and Princess are aware of the dangers of social media.  It makes good parental sense to limit social media, video games, etc from a young child. 

‘Prince George has a personal protection officer (PPO), who carries a phone, so in an emergency, the PPO or the school would make the appropriate phone calls. 

‘William has discussed this in several recent interviews, including with Eugene Levy … and he has also mentioned that a “brick” phone might be more appropriate.’

Prince William also talked about how he shares the school run with the Princess of Wales, and he tries to attend sports days, matches and garden play time with his children when he can.

He also joked with the broadcaster that he is a ‘taxi driver’.

The Prince of Wales and his family have faced many challenges recently, especially with both his wife and father dealing with cancer diagnoses.

He said: ‘Every family has its own difficulties and its own challenges and I think it’s very individual and sort of moment-dependent as to how you deal with those problems.

‘We choose to communicate a lot more with our children. Now that has good things and bad things. Sometimes you feel you’re oversharing with the children. You probably shouldn’t, but most of the time, hiding stuff from them doesn’t work.

‘There’s no answers, but it’s always a balancing act to me that every parent knows that it’s kind of: ‘How much do I say? What do I say? When do I say?’

‘And you know, there’s no manual for being a parent. You’ve just got to go with a bit of instinct.’

This talk with the broadcaster comes after Rio’s city council president, Carlo Caiado, announced that the Prince will be made an honorary citizen of Rio De Janeiro – a title known as carioca.

Mr Caiado believes Prince William deserves to become an honorary carioca.

He said in a translated statement: ‘His recent visit to our city was remarkable and already missed by many. He deserves all the recognition.’

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