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The Princess of Wales has ‘put her foot down’ to stop her children having to take part in a centuries-old ‘blooding’ tradition, a new royal book claims.
In Yes, Ma’am – The Secret Life of Royal Servants, which is out this month, author Tom Quinn revealed that Kate Middleton had insisted that her three kids not take part in an ancient practice.
The ritual sees young royals going shooting – then having their faces ‘smeared with the blood of his or her first kill’ (either a stag or a fox).
But Catherine, who is known to have complicated feelings towards blood sports, was adamant that Princes George, 11, and Louis, nine – as well as Princess Charlotte, six – avoid enduring the gory convention.
In an extract obtained by FEMAIL, he recounted: ‘Charles’s daughter in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, has put her foot down and insisted there will be no blooding for her children.’
The King himself had gone through the rite as a child, as did his two sons, Princes William and Harry.
In his bombshell book, Spare, the Duke of Sussex entailed his experience at the age of 15, after killing a stag on the grounds of Balmoral.
Harry described how his stalking guide, Sandy, then bled the animal from its neck and cut into its stomach with a knife – before the royal’s head was pushed into the carcass.
The Princess of Wales ‘put her foot down’ to stop her children having to take part in a centuries-old ‘blooding’ tradition for young royals (pictured)
‘He placed a hand gently behind my neck, and… pushed my head inside the carcass,’ Harry detailed.
‘I tried to pull away, but Sandy pushed me deeper. I was shocked by his insane strength. And by the infernal smell. My breakfast jumped up from my stomach.
‘After a minute I couldn’t smell anything, because I couldn’t breathe. My nose and mouth were full of blood, guts and a deep, upsetting warmth.’
After the book was released, the prince faced rebuke from animal charity PETA for his graphic descriptions of the ancient killing ritual.
Harry described the tradition in his book as a ‘show of respect for the slain’ and ‘an act of communion by the slayer’.
‘Also, a way to mark the crossing from boyhood into…not manhood. No, not that. But something close,’ he added.
But Catherine, who is known to have complicated feelings towards blood sports, was adamant her three children, George, 11, Louis, nine and Charlotte, six, avoid enduring the gory tradition
In his bombshell book, Spare, Prince Harry detailed his experience being blooded at the age of 15 after stalking and killing a stag on the grounds of Balmoral
While Kate has taken most royal traditions in her stride, the Princess is known to feel less inclined towards blood sports.
In a 2023 book previously authored by Tom Quinn, titled Gilded Youth, he described how even William had been veering away from the tradition of blood sports in recent years.
‘William is struggling with the traditional pastimes of the royal family as they become ever more unpopular with the public,’ he wrote.
‘William loves shooting—a love he shares with his father—but he is also conscious that the tide is now moving against what many people now refer to as blood sports (the royals prefer to refer to them as field sports). But are they suitable for George, Charlotte and Louis?’
Writing in 2023, Quinn predicted that the Waleses would avoid putting their children through the gory ritual.
While William was ‘keen’ to get the youngsters into shooting, he said ‘few expect’ Kate to ‘allow’ her children to take part in the blooding tradition.
As early as 1914, humanitarian and animal rights campaigner Henry Salt said there should be no more ‘loathsome’ rituals in bloodsports.
The topic has been hotly debated in the media. A photo of Susannah Constantine’s daughter stoked outrage in 2014 when she shared an image of the 10-year-old smeared with blood from a duck she had shot.
Writing in 2023, Quinn predicted that the Waleses’ children may not take part in the ritual
It comes as other extracts from the book revealed Prince Harry’s former servant had dubbed him ‘probably the most muddled of all the royals of his generation’ – and said those working for him would compare him to a famous Blackadder character.
‘I remember once in his private apartments I’d muddled something – some of his papers on his desk or something,’ they revealed.
‘He was immediately angry and it was out of proportion to the problem, or at least I thought it was.’
The source added that other staff had ‘experienced similar incidents’ – and even used to quip about the royal’s temperament.
‘We thought it was a bit rich complaining about me being muddled given that Harry was probably the most muddled of all the royals of his generation,’ they continued.
‘The joke used to be that Harry was very much like the Prince Regent in the Blackadder television series.
‘People used to say that without a servant, Harry would take two weeks to put his own trousers on.’
The character in the famous British comedy, played by Hugh Laurie, was notoriously hapless and out of touch.
In one episode, it takes him a whole week just to put on a pair of trousers by himself, and even then he ends up with them on his head.
Despite that, the book also says ‘several of Harry’s former staff insist that his vulnerability gave him sensitivity and charm’ – but, ‘like his brother William and his father Charles, he was prone to flashes of irritation’.
FEMAIL has reached out to the Sussexes for comment.
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