Queen Elizabeth II had just returned from a six-month trip abroad. Her kids had been aboard the royal yacht for days, eagerly awaiting her return. Did she have presents? Would she tell them wonderful stories? Would she smother them with kisses? As she stepped aboard, Prince Charles, the future King, ran to her. Always a stickler for protocol, however, the queen politely greeted a group of dignitaries first. “No, not you, dear,” she chided him, finishing her business before embracing her family.
Even some sixty-five years after the fact, even if you have an important job, even if you’re an avid rule follower, even if you don’t like Charles, it still breaks your heart. Especially when we know that she knew better, having moved her weekly meeting with the prime minister to be there for her babies at dinnertime.
But now, after that much time apart, those were her first words to her six- year-old son? What had changed? Couldn’t she see the awful symbolism? Literally putting work before family? After having already put them on pause for six months? Your kids must come first. Not just in the very first months or years but always. You must say to them, “Yes, you, dear,” and never ever the opposite.