NO matter where you stand on Harry and Meghan’s allegations about the Royal Family, it was hard for most of us to sympathise with Harry bemoaning the fact that he had been financially “cut off” by his family.
Yes, I know that Harry has had to take into account the cost of private security since he left Britain.
But any 36-year-old man talking with baffled bemusement about the fact that his family has cut him off financially is hard for most of us to relate to. But when that person was left an estimated inheritance of £10million by his late mother, it’s impossible.
I realise that life is very different when you grow up in the Royal Family. As Harry said, he was born into a certain life that requires a certain lifestyle and, of course, a certain financial wherewithal.
But now that he has flown the coop, why on earth should Prince Charles (who footed the not inconsiderable bill for Meghan’s wardrobe in 2018) pay the bills of a grown man with kids of his own?
His comment raised the very interesting question of what age kids should start to stand on their own two feet — and how we, as parents, should encourage kids to do so.
With my own children, I have always taken the line that you never value money until you make your own. I have always encouraged them to be independent, and that is something that only really ever comes when you have your own money.
This is very much based on my own experience of growing up. Independence was the one thing I craved in my own life, having spent years in a boarding school, where you are told what to eat, what to wear, what time to get up, go to bed and so on.
I wanted desperately to make my own choices about what I did and when I did it, but knew instinctively that is something that only comes when you have your own money.
I got a summer job in a hairdresser’s at 16, which really gave me the taste for making my own cash. That is why I left school at 18 and got a job, because although part of my desire for independence meant wanting to work for myself, I also knew that, before you work for yourself, you almost always work for someone else.
PLAYBOY LIFESTYLE
Sure, that is my experience. And my kids are living their own lives.
But they do not see me as a source of ready cash and I would feel that I had failed if they did.
My daughter is very financially independent — and self-made. And my son is studying so has a very limited budget for the necessities of life, like food and rent. If he wants more money he has to go out and earn it for himself.
Of course, I support my kids. They will always have a roof over their heads and food in the fridge, but I am not funding a playboy lifestyle.
What incentive would kids have if we gave them every penny they wanted? Where would they get their drive and ambition from?
The importance of valuing and earning money is one of the most vital lessons young people can learn. It starts with pocket money in return for chores. And I always encouraged my kids to get jobs as teens.
There is an argument that Harry’s need for security and the fact that he was born into the Royal Family means that he should expect more money from his family. But he chose to leave and went to live in the US.
If he was that worried he could have stayed in the system and be afforded all the security he thinks he needs. The phrase have your cake and eat it springs to mind.
It should be all of our aims as parents to try to help kids stand on their own two feet, to realise their own ambitions and follow their own dreams.
There is no perfect age to start doing that, but Harry is 36, and if my kids still wanted to live off me at that age, let’s just say, I would be disappointed.
JANE IS NATURAL, BEAUTIFUL AND SO CLASSY
I LOVED the photos of Jane Seymour having a laugh with her grandchildren on the beach in Hawaii last week while wearing an incredible blue plunging swimsuit.
It is hard to believe Jane is 70, not least because she has four new projects in the works – two TV series and two films.
What a great reminder she provides that life is what you make it . . . although clearly it doesn’t hurt to stay in shape. Jane recently revealed she weighs now what she did at the age of 17 – but is “never” on a diet and has wisely steered clear of cosmetic enhancements because an actress’s face “needs to move”.
She looks natural, beautiful and so classy. And for 70? Wow. Just . . . wow.
I guess Jane can give thanks for having very good genes.
