Queen Elizabeth and King Charles Gave Prince William and Kate Permission to Focus on Family Over Royal Duty

"Royal families over the generations haven’t had the chance to get those foundations right, but they have," a friend of Kate and William tells PEOPLE

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are being raised differently than other royal children — and Prince William and Kate Middleton's hands-on approach to parenting was given the blessing of Queen Elizabeth and King Charles.

In this week's cover story, a close source tells PEOPLE that the Prince and Princess of Wales "consciously set out to achieve a
sense of normality" for their three children. The couple was expressly given permission by Queen Elizabeth and then-Prince Charles to focus on family above royal duties when George, 9, Charlotte, 8, and Louis, 5, were young.

"Royal families over the generations haven’t had the chance to get those foundations right, but they have,” says a friend.

RELATED: How Prince George's Upbringing Differs from Queen Elizabeth and King Charles' Childhoods (Exclusive)

While Queen Elizabeth and King Charles were largely raised by governesses as their parents focused on their royal roles, Prince William and Kate lived a fairly ordinary life as new parents to Prince George. They lived in a former farmhouse on the coast of Anglesey in North Wales, where William worked as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot. The prince drove himself to the base at RAF Valley, stopping for candy and a newspaper at convenience stores on the way while Kate looked after their son. In March 2015, as Prince William began work as a pilot at the air ambulance service in Cambridge, the family took up country life in Anmer Hall, where they continue to spend much of their holidays.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis do join the royal family on outings such as Trooping the Colour, and they all attended their grandfather King Charles' coronation on May 6. But despite the children's royal roles — especially George, who is second in the line of succession behind his father and will become king one day — Kate, who grew up outside of the royal fold, ensures that her kids' childhoods are as normal as possible.

"Coming from a different background, she appreciates the
importance of having family time," says 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."

Princess Kate and Prince William, both 41, regularly drive the children to school and make sure at least one of them are home most evenings for their return. And the family is not afraid to get a little messy, whether they're cooking pizza or playing outside. The Princess of Wales said in an interview on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020 that she is happiest when "I'm with my family outside in the countryside, and we're all filthy dirty."

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And Prince William is a big fan of his wife's "normality."

"Those children look pretty happy with life," a palace insider tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. "A lot of it is the stabilizing normality Kate brings — and that's how she grew up. William absolutely loves it."

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