Queen Elizabeth broke royal breastfeeding rule that Princess Margaret found ‘distasteful’

Royal family attend Prince Charles' christening in 1948

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The Queen reportedly paved the way for Princess Diana and Kate Middleton when it came to caring for their young children. Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed is one of the first and biggest decisions a new mum has to make. Luckily, Kate Middleton had some amazing parental figures to look up to for guidance.

This includes the Queen, who is said to have been a big influence in how Kate fed her three children, Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, six, and Prince Louis, three.

Traditionally, royal mothers did not breastfeed their babies.

But all that changed when the Queen welcomed her own children, as royal historian Amy Licence told The Guardian.

He explained: “Royal breastfeeding mothers are a relatively new phenomenon.

“Historically, most royal mothers did not always believe that breast was best.

“In fact, in some cases, it was considered at best an inconvenience, at worst, downright harmful.”

This meant that the majority of royal babies were handed over to a wet nurse.

This was a woman who breastfed another woman’s child.

But why did royals avoid breastfeeding?

Licence explained that: “Royal women were often little more than symbolic figures, delivering child after child to secure a dynasty.

“This was particularly important in times of high infant and child mortality when the production of second, third and fourth sons was crucial.”

This explains why the Queen was quite a trailblazer when it came to parenting.

Instead of abiding by this ancient precedent, she opted to breastfeed all four of her children herself.

The Queen chose to ignore the historic royal rule, which sparked a new trend in royal motherhood.

Though many modern mothers choose to breastfeed their children for several months, the monarch was forced to stop nursing her firstborn, Prince Charles, after contracting measles.

Despite the chance of passing on the virus to your baby through breastfeeding being minimal, the Queen may have been too unwell to continue feeding her two-month-old son at the time.

It is reported that the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret was not such a fan of the royal’s decision to nurse her babies – she found it “distasteful”.

Yet both Princess Diana and the Duchess of Cambridge have followed in the footsteps of the monarch, proudly opting to breastfeed their own children.

Princess Diana insisted on nursing William and Harry herself.

Similarly, during a royal tour of South Africa, Meghan Markle also shared she breastfed her son Archie.

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