With the babysitter engaged (royal nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo) and an afternoon free to explore Glasgow's Games, it's no wonder Will and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were doing backflips, or at least watching them.
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Anybody who has a toddler will know their unnatural obsession with walking up and down steps, over and over and over again, so perhaps it was better off little George was back in London and not let loose to roam the bleachers of The Hydro, an architectural wonder nestled on the banks of the River Clyde that was hosting the gymnastics competition.
Prince Harry was also in the house, slinking back in his seat with casual disinterest, until the cameras panned on the trio and they all started to look far more intrigued as gymnasts in the men's team competition bounded and bounced around down below.
It was the first day for the Royals in Glasgow as the Games entered their fifth day of competition. The author has noted almost every story about them describes what they were wearing, so here goes: Will and Harry had on crisp white shirts, Kate sported a blue coat, all three appeared to be wearing pants.
They slinked in virtually unnoticed and most people in the audience weren't aware they had even showed up. Nor had Australian gymnast Kent Pieterse, who was about to start his floor routine just as the celebrity trio were shown on the big screen.
"It's not every day you get to see the Duchess. But I was trying to stay focused at the job at hand and I thought I did pretty well. One day down, hopefully we can come in tomorrow and smash it out again," Pieterse said.
Australia's men's team of Pieterse, Sean O'Hara, Jack Richards, Naoya Tsukahara and Luke Wadsworth wasn't rated as a strong medal hope in Glasgow but produced a solid day. Coach Greg Corsiglia said the team was left to rue some slip-ups that cost them valuable points.
"We had a couple of misses towards the end which would have been a lot nicer if we'd made it. The guys started out great. I think they did a good job," he said.
With the powerful teams of England, Scotland and Canada finishing the first of the two sessions ranked one, two and three, Australia wound up fifth after being overhauled by Canada.
Australia's women's team begins its rotations on Monday night.
