Being the heir to the throne has its perks. But it also, undoubtedly, has its disadvantages. Prince William is very familiar with them, and now it’s time for the next generation of royals to experience them. Prince George is turning 12, and that means he is now old enough that some rules will apply to him. And some of them aren’t exactly fun.
For example, now that Prince George is 12, he is reportedly not allowed to travel with his family. According to the Daily Mail, “his parents have been urged to take care to ensure the safety of the future king,” and that means George will likely start traveling apart from Prince William and Kate Middleton.
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A former royal helicopter pilot shared that Prince William stopped traveling with his parents when he was 12. “Interestingly, we flew all four–the Prince, the Princess, Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Prince William was 12 years old,” he said. “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.”
This is reportedly to ensure the line of succession. A friend of William and Catherine told the outlet that, “William is a skilled pilot and loves flying but George must travel separately now.” Kensington Palace had no official comment on the matter, with a spokesman simply saying, “We don’t comment on travel.”
Reportedly, the helicopter issue had already caused problems between Prince William and King Charles. According to royal author Robert Jobson, “One recent source of disagreement is William’s stubborn refusal to take his father’s advice on safeguarding the succession. Earlier this year, the King had raised concerns with his son about the wisdom of William using his helicopter to fly his entire family around the country.”
The new travel arrangements are going to cause complications for everyone. “It’s going to be rather annoying for the family because they are such a tight little unit and obviously enjoy traveling together,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told The Mirror. “However, I think there will be pressure on William to stick to this rule—at least most of the time. It’s all to do with protecting the succession to the throne.”
“It is, of course, quite a graphic illustration of how George’s destiny is mapped out and of how he is different to everyone else,” Bond added. “And that must be quite hard for a 12-year-old to accept. But he has brilliant parents in Catherine and William, and I’m sure they will explain the situation as gently as possible to all three of the children. In any case, I don’t think we should think of George flying on his own. I imagine they will just divide up as a family and, as long as William and George are separate, they can make it work.”
It’s just a reminder that, as much as Prince William and Kate Middleton have tried to give Prince George as normal a childhood as possible, he is next in line to the throne after his father, and that comes with responsibilities.
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