Royal expert explains how Kate’s steadiness gave Prince William the normal family life he craved after horrendous childhood

Prince William wiped his brow and sighed with relief as he got the baby car seat locked into place in the back of his Range Rover.

His newborn son, George, was safely strapped in with proud mother Kate sitting beside him, looking radiant in a blue and white polka-dot dress. And as William slipped behind the wheel to drive his family home, he felt the same overwhelming sense of pride that all new fathers do.

“Driving my son and wife away from hospital was really important to me,” he said later. “But I was terrified the car seat was going to fall off or the door wasn’t going to close properly.”

However, unlike other first-time parents, the Cambridges had to face the media as they emerged from the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital to introduce George to the world on 23 July 2013, a day after he was born. So William had secretly been practising fitting the baby seat, using a doll in place of their 8lb 6oz son.