Retro column: A case of ‘nanny knows best’ for Royal babies

The news of another Royal baby always throws up the same queries in the popular press for those interested.
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One question always asked is ‘will she have a nanny or heaven forbid, look after the baby herself?’!

I once had a friend who was a nanny.

The fact that she actually had such a title denoted that she was not merely a childminder, or so she liked to boast!

Nannies with prams on Rotten Row, Hyde Park, LondonNannies with prams on Rotten Row, Hyde Park, London
Nannies with prams on Rotten Row, Hyde Park, London
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She wasn’t a nanny like I am, being a grandparent, but with as a proper paid job to a professional couple.

She loved her job but was saddened when one day the little girl she looked after told her a secret.

"I love you more than I do my mummy,” she said, “But please don’t tell her.”

Not surprising when the child only saw her parents for an hour or so at bedtime.

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Nannies are usually associated with the upper classes and particularly with royalty where they seem compulsory.

Even the Cambridges hired one when they had their first child, Prince George.

Not just any old nanny but one educated at the top school for nannies – Norland College.

Being a particularly modern couple, they do seem to have more of a hands-on approach to child rearing but, like Princes William and Harry, their children would require expert guidance not only in good manners and behaviour but also the correct way to bow to the Queen.

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Most Royal nannies in the past were expected to put their lives on hold and dedicate themselves totally to a family not their own.

They were referred to as ‘Miss’ with suitors firmly discouraged.

In 1927 the nine-month-old future queen was left at home with her nanny for six months while her parents, the then Duke and Duchess of York, toured Australasia.

Alas, she didn’t know them when they returned home.

And Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip left five-year-old Charles and four-year-old Anne for six months to tour Commonwealth countries.

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‘Crawfie’ – Marion Crawford - was the much-loved Royal governess to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret and took on many of the roles of nanny from time to time.

As they grew older, she became a companion to them, only retiring when Elizabeth married in 1948.

Marion had put her own wedding on hold for some years, only marrying two months before the Royal Wedding.

However, in 1950 her book The Little Princesses caused great anger in the Royal Family and she was completely ostracised and banished from court.

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None of the family spoke to her again, even ignoring her funeral.

Little did the Royals know how their lives would be laid bare in the future in the press and on television!

Prince Charles was quoted as saying that he was closer to his nanny than to his mother whose duties meant that she missed all of his first three birthdays.

The Royal Family have been no different to many other wealthy families who have handed over the care and management of their homes and children to other people.

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Raised by nannies themselves, the mothers expected to delegate child rearing.

And they often followed the upper-class tradition of sending their children to boarding school, often as young as eight years old.

Letters came to light from the Queen Mother to her daughter Queen Elizabeth, asking her not to send Prince Charles to board at Gordonstoun school in Moray.

Her concerns were proved well founded when Charles described the school as Colditz in kilts and was desperately unhappy not only with the level of bullying he endured, but the spartan regime of cold showers, physical punishment and morning runs whatever the weather.

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As a result, when it came to his own two sons, Charles went against Royal tradition and sent them to a prep school where they came home at weekends.

In the UK there are over 200 prep schools offering boarding places to 10,000 children under the age of 13 to include as young as five or six years old.

The organisation Boarding Concern states that sending children away to boarding school can cause lifelong damage.

It was not necessarily as much fun as depicted in the books I used to devour about boarding school with tuck boxes, midnight feasts and pillow fights!

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Joe Strummer, musician with The Clash, was sent to boarding school at a very young age together with his brother as their parents were working in India. They saw them once a year.

He said: "The only place I considered home was the boarding school that our parents sent us to.”

His brother developed mental health problems and tragically committed suicide at the age of 19.

When you are a grandparent you realise that you should really have made more time for your children. You often have time to alter that with their children.

Sometimes life got in the way the first time round.

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However, I am horrified at the thought of handing over to someone else the joy of reading bedtime stories, tucking in and kissing goodnight.

What a waste of precious years!

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor

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