In recent years, Prince George's future role within the monarchy been widely discussed. While some experts have claimed that he will never be King, many have expressed that the Prince and Princess of Wales are having 'difficult conversations' with their eldest son as his life is expected to change for him very soon. As well as suggestions that George and his younger siblings will be 'forced to separate' as their royal paths diverge, the young Prince is already preparing for his future.
But according to insiders, Prince William and Kate Middleton have had conversations with all of their children about their royal responsibilities. During a recent conversation on the Palace Confidential podcast, royal correspondent Rebecca English discussed the way in which William and Kate communicated George's future role to him. However, she added that George had some 'unusual questions' about their lives when he started school.
When asked if George, Charlotte and Louis knew that they were royals, she replied: "They do but I remember someone saying to me that George had come back – I think probably about five or six – and had just started to ask some unusual questions of his parents when he got home from school. So he was starting to become more aware of who he was. Obviously, maybe some of the other children had been saying things to him you know like, 'my mummy says' or 'my daddy says'."
English continued: "They said, 'we know we have to tackle with him – but we want to do it in a way that is appropriate for him and doesn’t overwhelm him at all.' I think obviously as he gets older he will learn more about you know, the Kings and Queens that happen to be his forbearers, but it has been quite slow and careful."
Elaborating on her point, journalist Richard Eden added that Prince Harry famously spoke about the challenges he faced during his school years in his memoir, Spare. He wrote that teachers reprimanded him for not knowing his royal history, with Eden explaining: "Harry had to admit that he was very ignorant actually - almost embarrassingly ignorant - about the Kings and Queens of England. So I think eventually [his teacher] gave him a ruler that had them all marked, but it was that sense of 'you should know this because of who you are'."
It has been reported that things will change for Prince George this year, as he turns 12 in July. Not only will he be moving on to secondary school, but he may be expected to stop travelling with Prince William for the first time, as heirs are not usually permitted to fly together.
