Breast is best?

Not for royalty – or at least not until the 20th century. Breastfeeding was taboo, and was seen as repulsive, inconvenient and downright dangerous. Upper class women appointed other upper class women (though not as upper class as themselves, obviously) as wet nurses to feed the baby.

They weren’t allowed garlic, spices or alcohol in case these affected the flavour of their milk. What an exciting diet that would have been. In the 18th century, babies were suckled on a range of pointy objects like horns and pickled cow nipples, which sounds a bit painful and not very appetising. They were given cow or goat milk rather than human milk or, alternatively, honey and sugar water for the first month; then thin oatmeal porridge or flour or cereal mixed into a hot broth. Thank goodness powdered milk came along in the 19th century.

Attitudes had changed by the 20th century, so the Queen, Princess Diana and Kate are all believed to have breastfed their babies. However, as every exhausted mother knows, just because you breastfeed your first child doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll breastfeed your subsequent ones. Five a day Darren McGrady, a former royal chef known as, er, ‘The Royal Chef’ has reportedly said that Princes William and Harry were fed fruit and vegetable purees. OK, so all babies are fed fruit and veg purees – but this was no ordinary supermarket baby food. The nanny would select a ‘daily menu’ and send it over to the kitchens, often consisting of apples and pears from the Queen’s Sandringham estate, steamed, mashed and sieved twice to remove the lumps. As the babies got older, one chef in the palace kitchen would puree chicken, lamb or beef; and another would do the same with cooked vegetables such as peas, carrots and cauliflower – and then the two would be mixed together. The new royal baby is likely to be fed on organic produce championed by Prince Charles.

As another former royal chef, Carolyn Robb, has pointed out, much of it may come from the gardens and orchards of the royal estates – for instance, lamb from Highgrove and milk from the cows kept there. Although Kate, who’s fond of eating healthily, would have some input into the baby’s diet, the nanny would have the upper hand. Kate is less formal and more hands-on than previous royal mums, so she may in fact have fewer chefs and nannies and rely more on her mother Carole Middleton’s advice. Whatever the new baby eats, they’ll be introduced to a wide range of flavours at an early age in order to prepare them for a lifetime of travelling and eating adventurously around the world.

source: metro.co.uk

Baby vocabulary. Can you match the words and their Hungarian meaning?

Key

1. d. 2. a. 3. g. 4. b. 5. c. 6. j. 7. e. 8. i. 9. f. 10. h.

Turns out it’s more than just dressing the part. Being a princess means representing an entire country, and it’s a full-time, all-consuming job.

I know, I know…but she’s still a princess! She does, however, have to follow these ten surprisingly strict requirements.

1. Learn as Many Languages as Possible

Modern-day princesses have to know as many languages as possible, so that when they visit diplomats from foreign countries, they can have at least most of the conversation in their native tongue.

“Où sont les toilettes?” (Where are the toilets? in French) for example, would always be good to know.

2. Stay Impeccably Groomed

This might be a deal-breaker for me, as my look could best be described as, “I wasn’t planning on leaving the house.”

Princess Kate goes to the salon at least three times a week for a blowout on top of haircuts and stylings. She’s never caught in a bad moment, and she’s an ideal example of a perfectly primped princess.

So much for running errands in your gym clothes after an intense workout.

3. Give Up Your Voting Rights

At least in England, that is. While there is no official law, the people of England consider it unconstitutional for the royal family to participate in elections, as they are supposed to represent the entire country.

Once you become a princess, there’s no more voting if you want to remain in the country’s good graces.

4. Give Up Your Wild Side

A princess is usually pretty proper, but if she had any semblance of a wild side before, she’s going to have to kiss that goodbye when she marries into the royal family.

There aren’t to be any scandals, no matter how small, coming from her or her family. And you know how “fun” can lead to “scandals,” you guys.

5. Prepare For a Life of Formalities

Nicknames aren’t allowed in the royal palace, Queeny.

And you better get used to being called “Her Royal Highness, the Princess ____ of ____.”

Actually, I could get used to hearing that, as usually I hear “Her Royal Pain in the A*#.”

6. Live By the Queen’s Household Rules

The queen dictates a lot of the little things that go on in the day-to-day lives of the royal family.

For example, everyone has to stop eating as soon as the queen is finished with her dinner, even if they’ve hardly touched it.

Sigh…I guess you better make sure you eat fast if you want to become a princess and still finish your food.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

7. Go To the Best Schools and Events

To become a princess, you have to meet a prince. The likeliest places to do that are at the most prestigious institutions of higher education or at very high-end balls, galas, or charity events — apparently not down at the local pub with a pint.

So anyone expecting to be a princess had better get herself accepted to the best schools and on the lists for those events.

It also looks much better, and it is better, for a princess to be well-educated, as she holds such a place of high importance in society.

8. Give Up Any Other Career Path

Even if you went to the fanciest schools in the world to get the degree of your dreams, your dream to be a princess better call to you even stronger (despite that whole, “not eating after the Queen is done” thing).

Princess Kate has a degree in art history, but she’s a full-time princess (and wife and mother) now.

9. Skip Running For Office

A princess should never run for political office for similar reasons to the ban on voting. She’s a representation of the whole country already, and running for a political office with a certain party would create a divide.

10. Find Causes You Care About

A major part of being a princess is doing a lot of charity work, and being a caring figure for the country.

Most princesses find one or two causes that they truly care about and work toward making improvements in those areas.

source: twentytwowords.com

Princess ‘Who is Who?’ Which princess belongs to which country?

Key: 

1. c.

2. e.

3. d.

4. a.

5. b.