Royal expert says Princess of Wales insisted her children not be put through royal ritual involving bloodying their faces in freshly hunted game
Inbal Hananel|05:50Add a comment
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After recovering from cancer, Princess Kate is gradually resuming her royal duties while preparing for her future role alongside her husband, Crown Prince William. As she steps back into the public eye, a new biography sheds light on a long-standing royal tradition she has firmly rejected for her children.
A forthcoming book, Yes, Ma’am – The Secret Life of Royal Servants by royal expert Tom Quinn, reveals that the Princess of Wales has banned the controversial “blooding” ritual for her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The tradition, practiced for generations within the royal family, involves young royals smearing the blood of their first hunting kill—typically a deer or fox—on their faces.
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“Charles’ daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, has put her foot down and insisted there will be no blooding for her children,” Quinn wrote.
King Charles and his sons, Princes William and Harry, underwent the ritual as teenagers. In his autobiography Spare, Prince Harry detailed his unsettling experience at age 15, recalling how his hunting guide forced his head into a deer carcass.
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“He placed a hand gently behind my neck and pushed my head inside the carcass,” Harry wrote. “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.”
While Kate has adhered to many royal customs—including traditional post-birth photo ops—insiders have long noted her quiet opposition to certain traditions, particularly royal hunting practices.
William, an avid shooter like his father, has also grown more hesitant about the family’s hunting legacy—not for personal moral reasons, but due to shifting public opinion.
“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,” Quinn previously stated in 2023.
Exposing the Big Game 