Princess Kate has a 'secret code' when George, Charlotte and Louis are misbehaving

Like all mums, Princess Kate has to deal with both the joys and the challenges of having three young children.

But unlike all mums, the Princess of Wales often has to do her parenting on a large-scale public stage, so she needs some effective yet discreet strategies to make sure her children aren't "misbehaving" too much during an official royal function. And according to one royal author, Kate luckily has a great trick up her sleeve — and it involves one simple, fairly benign phrase.

"When Prince Louis misbehaved at the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee for example, by sticking his tongue out at this mother, Kate's reaction was praised by a team of expert commentators," Tom Quinn wrote in his book Gilded Youth, An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family (via Heart).

"She apparently used a secret code to calm the children, as she does on occasions — she simply says 'let's take a break.' But as a former staffer explained, the children know these few words carry far more weight than we might imagine."

While George and Charlotte have usually been very calm and smiley in public, Louis has been a bit more animated on occasion. As Tom mentioned, the Queen's Jubilee was a prime example: the then-four-year-old stole royal fans' hearts when he spent his time making funny faces, and even placing his hand on his mum's mouth so she would stop talking.

Kate and her husband Prince William are known to be incredibly hands-on parents. They do have help from nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, but they also do their best to be involved in every aspect of their children's lives, such as school drop-off and pick-up.

Royal expert Jennie Bond has previously explained that Kate and William's down-to-earth parenting style has been inspired in part by Kate's own upbringing as a Middleton, while other experts have argued the couple's parenting style is reminiscent of Princess Diana's.