In her new etiquette book, Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece reveals why eating together as a family is essential and mobile phones at the dinner table are a no-no
I first became a mother in 1996. My husband Pavlos and I were starting our life together and I was so excited to have a child. I?d read all the books on pregnancy, but no one really prepares you for how to raise children with emotional intelligence; it?s something all parents have to learn to do the best they can as they go along.
Straight away, I felt that surge of responsibility ? I knew I wanted to set the right examples and instil the right values, so I looked back to my own childhood for inspiration.
My hardworking father, Robert Miller, though busy building a business, insisted each morning that we sit down together as a family at breakfast. At the breakfast table, our hands washed and hair brushed, we were taught so much: how to sit up straight or how to cultivate conversations on current affairs. We?d listen to stories about our family, my grandparents, and my parents? childhoods. It?s so important to pause, and it?s where we learn how to hold a knife and fork, how to say please and thank you. That?s why I named my book Manners Begin at Breakfast.
I always believed that sitting at the table is where real family bonding time happens. When my children were little and we lived in London, I made sure that each day began with breakfast as a family, just as my father did. Even now that we?ve moved back to New Yo...