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Kirsten McStay & Paige Holland

Queen decided to break breastfeeding tradition and paved way for Princess Diana and Kate Middleton

After giving birth, new mum's make the decision on whether they want to breastfeed or formula feed their newborns.

And whilst it's not always an option for some, it can be quite a big decision to make if you have the choice.

When Kate Middleton became a mum, she had some amazing parental figures around her, including the Queen, who is said to have been a big influence in how Kate fed her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

According to tradition, royal mothers didn't breastfeed their babies, but all that changed when the Queen welcomed her own children, as royal historian Amy Licence told The Guardian.

"Royal breastfeeding mothers are a relatively new phenomenon," Licence explained.

"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 (a woman who breastfeeds another's child).

As for why royals avoided breastfeeding, Licence explained that: "Royal women were often little more than symbolic figures, delivering child after child to secure a dynasty.

Kate is said to have breastfed her children George, Charlotte and Louis (KENSINGTON PALACE/AFP via Getty)

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

"Breastfeeding offers a degree of contraceptive protection, so with their babies being fed by others, Queens were free to resume their duties and begin the process of conceiving the next heir."

The Queen's daughter-in-law Princess Diana also decided to breastfeed as well, and later the Duchess of Cambridge.

"Princess Diana insisted on nursing William and Harry herself", Licence revealed, adding that both Kate and Prince William frequently mentioned they were keen to take a "hands-on" approach with their little ones.

The Queen also had a big influence on Prince Louis' official name.

William and Kate's youngest child was born on April 23, 2018, and the proud new parents named him Louis Arthur Charles.

Like his older siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, Louis doesn't have a surname and is formally known as His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge.

But his HRH title was far from certain thanks to a longstanding rule put in place by King George V, reports the Express.

In 1917, he set out guidance on which royals were allowed to have titles. It was decided then that only those closest to the top of the line of succession would be automatically granted titles.

King George V decided that only the sovereign's children would automatically become a Prince or Princess, as well as any grandchildren born through the male line.

But great-grandchildren were not included.

So the Queen stepped in and overturned this for Prince George, and for all of William and Kate's children.

If the Monarch didn't make the change, it's likely that Louis would have been Master Louis Cambridge or Master Louis Windsor instead.

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