In exactly one week, a durable royal practice will put into action, which will see 11-year-old Prince George withdrawn from his parents and younger siblings.
Apparently, the tradition will only be applied to the eldest of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children, as he is the heir presumptive after his father, who will one day take on the role of King.
More recently, the public has seen more and more of the youngster. He participated in the Euros final with his dad last June, where he watched England tragically missed out on the trophy to Spain, months before attending his mother’s annual carol concert.
Alongside his family, George also came out on Buckingham Palace’s balcony for the Trooping the Colour in May and joined William in meeting with a group of World War II veterans.
Just this week, he joined sister Charlotte, ten, and parents in the royal box at Wimbledon, where he affirmed Italy’s Jannik Sinner steal victory from reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Men’s Singles Final.
And whilst we hope neither current King, Charles III, nor William will kick the bucket anytime soon and still have long reigns ahead of them, royal officials can never be too positive when the young Prince George have to step up to the position.
After all, his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne aged just 25 following the premature passing of her father George VI in 1952.
He, himself, was forced to become King suddenly, too, when his brother Edward VIII resigned to marry American actress Wallis Simpson in 1936.
As such, several practices will soon out into play in the coming weeks – when George turns 12 on 22 July – which are aimed at helping him prepare for the role in case he’s forced to take it on earlier than predicted.
One of these traditions will prevent George from travelling from either his parents or his younger siblings, as two members in succession must be kept apart in case of worst case scenarios, like plane crashes.
In these separated circumstances, at least one heir to the throne will be protected at all times to keep the monarchy stable.
Such was also the case for 43-year-old William who, when he turned 12, was no longer allowed from flying with his father, nor his younger brother, Prince Harry.
Speaking previously to OK! Magazine, King Charles’s former pilot, Graham Laurie shared about the practice: “We flew all four: the Prince, the Princess, Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Prince William was 12 years old.
“After that, he had to have a separate aircraft and we could only fly all four together when they were young with the written permission of Her Majesty.
“When William became 12, he would fly normally in a 125 from Northolt and we would fly the 146 out with the other three on.”
Such was also the case for the late Queen’s cousin, Prince William of Gloucester, in 1972.
Whilst this tradition is somewhat uncorroborated, apparently, it’s up to the reigning monarch on whether it can be broken.
So, if William and George did want to go on flying together, they’d have to ask King Charles for permission.
