During Prince William and then-Kate Middleton’s courtship, she made an effort to “fit in” with William’s lifestyle, including hunting. The Middletons tried to do the same. It didn’t stick – Kate never goes on “shooting weekends” and I doubt she’s picked up a gun in years. There also doesn’t seem to be any effort to introduce the Wales kids into royal blood sports. I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s remarkable to see King Charles completely eschew the kind of “royal training” that royal grandparents have done for their grandchildren for generations. He was practically raised by his grandmother and his “uncle” Lord Mountbatten, and he was raised to enjoy hunting, shooting, fishing, deerstalking. He did all of that well into his 40s and 50s. Charles shows zero interest in molding his grandkids in the same way his surrogate father and mother figures raised him. Which means that it’s just William, Kate and Carole, trying to indoctrinate the Wales kids into their weird quasi-royal life. It also means that Kate gets to dictate much more about her kids’ upbringing than perhaps any consort before. Well, apparently, Kate has given a firm “no” to the “blooding” ritual.

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 – and 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: “[He] placed a hand gently behind my neck, and… pushed my head inside the carcass. 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.’

[From The Daily Mail]

That part of Spare was one of the sickening parts which convinced me that the whole royal family was a huge f–king cult. I actually get the idea of smearing an animal’s blood on your face – it’s gross, but it makes some kind of sense. But what Harry described was not THAT. Anyway, I would imagine Kate has said no to “blooding,” just as she’s probably kept the kids away from hunting and guns.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Kensington Palace.