Back in 2013 when Prince William and Kate Middleton became parents for the first time [1], the new dad made an all-too-common car seat mistake [2] — keeping Prince George warm in his seat with a swaddle blanket under the straps. Now, with the newest royal baby already going home less than 12 hours after the Duchess gave birth [3], the seasoned dad has proven he's learned from his past mistakes, as photos show the new little prince [4] snug in his car seat with a knit blanket both his siblings have been photographed in [5] on top of the straps.
The reason a blanket or puffy coat shouldn't be worn underneath the car seat strap [6] is simple — the item creates space between the straps and the child, causing them to not be tight enough to keep the baby safe in case of an accident. Allana Pinkerton, a certified child passenger safety technician and Diono global [7] safety advocate, told POPSUGAR that if you want to keep your child warm in their seat, to put a blanket over them after securing the straps correctly. But even then, you have to be mindful of loose blankets around young babies [8].
Allana tells parents to keep loose blankets away from their baby's face just as they would when putting them down to sleep in their crib, and encourages them to "tuck the blanket in on the sides" of baby's body to "swaddle" them in their seat — just like William and Kate have done with their newborn son.
Check out the photos of each royal baby in their car seats leaving the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital [10] below, and spot the correct increased safety measures taken with Charlotte and the new, unnamed prince.
Prince George
Bringing home the first royal baby, William made a few car seat safety errors. Not only is the swaddle blanket underneath the straps of George's infant carrier, it's wrapped pretty loose and could have potentially been brought up over his mouth and nose by his flailing hands.
Princess Charlotte
William definitely increased safety measures when it came to bringing home Princess Charlotte in her carrier, as the blanket she was brought home in is propped atop the car seat's straps. However, "propped" is the key word — to maximize safety, the blanket could have been tucked in on the sides to ensure it wouldn't have the room to potentially move to cover her little nose and mouth.
Royal Baby Number Three
Royal baby number three passes the car seat test with flying colors. Not only is he snug in his blanket above the tightened straps, but the sides of the blanket are tucked so that it can't become loose and go over his precious face.