June 22 marked the 10th birthday of Prince George, the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Despite being born into royalty and being second in line to the throne after his father, Prince George has been having a rather normal childhood. However, his parents make sure he is aware of the future that awaits him. So far, he has attended plenty of significant royal events, including his grandfather’s coronation where he had the role of a page boy.
The young Prince attends school and has many friends with whom he does what every child his age is doing. As it is of any child his age, his birthday celebration is a big thing for George too.
The royals are known for keeping these sorts of celebrations private.
“They’ve always been intensely secretive and private about his birthday,” royal commentator Duncan Larcombe told Fox. “They’ve never released anything… in terms of a birthday party, and what they do is shrouded in secrecy.”
“We are starting to see [George] a lot more in public these days, but they’re still very keen on keeping him private property rather than public property,” he added.
“His parents have been incredibly hands-on, and they’ve followed a very similar upbringing Kate would have had with two siblings, a close-knit family. They’re focusing very much on the value of the family. They’ve built quite a unique family unit.”
The day will come when Prince George would ascend the throne, and despite his young age, his mom and dad make sure he knows what that means and what sort of responsibilities it brings.
“One day, Prince George will ascend the throne as king. But even though his parents have given him some information about what will be expected of him as a working royal, they wanted to touch on the subject at a controlled moment of their choice,” according to royal author Robert Lacey.
The conversation regarding Prince George’s future and his role within the family started when he was around seven years of age, as per the author of Battle of Brothers.
“William has not revealed to the world how and when he broke the big news to his son. Maybe one day George will tell us the story himself”, Robert wrote in an updated version of his book, according to the Daily Mail.
“But sometime around the boy’s seventh birthday in the summer of 2020 it is thought that his parents went into more detail about what the little prince’s life of future royal ‘service and duty’ would particularly involve.”
Lacey continued: “William’s aim as a father, the prince stressed, was to give his son ‘a normal family upbringing’, enabling the monarchy ‘to stay relevant and keep up with modern times.’”
When King Charles took the reins, many perceived it as a new era for the monarchy.
Some slight changes that announced the modernization have already taken place, and now another change may become a reality, that of skipping the long-lived tradition of serving in the army. King Charles served in the British Navy and British Army before becoming monarch. Prince William graduated from Royal Air Force College Cranwell and later joined the RAF Search and Rescue Force for two years, serving as an air ambulance pilot. George, however, may not need to.
“In theory, there is nothing to stop George from pursuing a career as an astronaut, for example, if that’s what he wants, and then becoming king later. The rules are different now, he wouldn’t necessarily have to follow the old formula of going into the military and then royal life,” the source told the Mail.
For many of the royal fans, it seems like only yesterday – July 22, 2013 – when Prince William and Kate Middleton stood on the steps of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, announcing the birth of their first son. Since then, royal fans across the nation have eagerly followed the young prince’s journey as he grows into the next generation of working royals.
A while back, Princess Lilibet’s birth certificate made headlines due to an unusual detail. This time, the same issue arose with Prince George’s birth certificate, causing some confusion.
A major difference between royal birth certificates and those of the general public is the absence of a surname. The reason is simple: the royals do not have one. However, if necessary, the royal family can be known as Mountbatten-Windsor, the name of the royal house, or use their titles.
For example, William was known as Flight Lieutenant William Wales in the Royal Air Force, while Princess Beatrice of York called herself Beatrice York while studying at the university.
When George was born, he was registered as His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge. However, a tiny detail regarding his mom’s name caught the attention of many ten years after George’s birth. Under “occupation,” Kate was listed as “Princess of the United Kingdom” and her title was that of a “Duchess” at the time.
“This led many to question at the time if she really was a princess, given her title was duchess,” The Mirror reported. “But from the day she married William, she technically did become a princess—but not in her own right. In fact, she is still Princess William of Wales; however, back then, her title of Duchess of Cambridge took precedence, while now her Princess of Wales style does.”
William’s occupation, who worked as a helicopter pilot for the RAF, was filed as “Prince of the United Kingdom.”
Deputy registrar Alison Cathcart, who was present when George’s birth certificate was signed, said, “It was of course a great pleasure to work with Kensington Palace in arranging the signing of the birth certificate for Prince George. This cements an association with Westminster city council and royal births in the borough that goes back decades.”
She added, “We registered the birth of the Queen and Prince Charles and Princes William and Harry so it’s great to see that tradition continue. We can now add Prince George to that collection and again congratulate the Duke and Duchess on the birth of their son.”
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