As Prince George carries out his most significant royal engagement to date, the future of the monarchy is clear for all to see
By Natalie Oliveri|
In just two months, Prince George will turn 12.
For a boy who has spent his entire childhood in the spotlight from the moment he was introduced to the world on the steps of the Lindo Wing, this birthday will be a turning point for the young prince as it will be his last before he enters the teenage years.
That moment, for anyone, is a huge time of change.
But Prince George has already had a life vastly different from nearly every other child on the planet, thanks to his unique position as future King of England.
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With a destiny already laid out for him in so many ways, by nature of his birth, Prince George will never have to ponder the question of 'what will you be when you grow up?' that so many of us are asked over the years leading to adulthood.
His future is that of King: Monarch of the UK as well as each of the Commonwealth Realms, including Australia.
And this week, Prince George took a major step towards his eventual role as monarch by taking part in his most significant official royal engagement to date.
While there were no L-Plates in sight, it was clear this was a key lesson for Prince George as he walks a path well trodden by his grandfather, King Charles, and his father the Prince of Wales.
For the world watching on, it was a glimpse of a King in training. But George's inclusion in the morning tea at Buckingham Palace on Monday took everyone by surprise.
Earlier in the day, Prince George accompanied his parents Prince William and Catherine, and younger siblings Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, to watch a military parade outside Buckingham Palace marking the beginning of VE Day commemorations.
The Wales family then joined King Charles and Queen Camilla on the palace balcony to watch a flypast of wartime Royal Air Force aircraft and the Red Arrows as the UK celebrated 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe.
Afterwards the King and Queen, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Kent attended a morning tea inside the palace for veterans and their families.
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Prince George was brought along to the tea party by his parents, with his father heard telling one of the veterans that the 11-year-old was "very keen" to hear more about their wartime experiences.
"You know, it's very important you are here today," Alfred Littlefield, a 101-year-old D-Day veteran, told George.
"It's days like this that we should use to talk about things like this, so the younger generation can have some understanding. There aren't many of us left."
Turning to Prince William, Littlefield added, "You should be very proud."
His mother, Kate, later introduced him to 99-year-old Charles Auborn, a gunner in the 90th City of London Regiment, saying: "This is my son George, I was telling you about."
George was shown photos of the M4 Sherman tanks Auborn operated during the war with the prince asking: "Were they hard to operate? It must have been very tough with the weather."
Another veteran, Dougie Hyde, said afterwards that George – who had asked him if he had ever been shot at or saw a U-boat – was "very polite and listened with interest".
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George's inclusion at the tea party was a significant learning moment for the prince, not only as eventual King but as future Head of the Armed Forces.
Like his grandfather and father, George will likely have a future in the Armed Forces. Last year it was revealed that he had already begun flying lessons.
He was observed by his parents taking off White Waltham Airfield near Maidenhead, Berks, inside a single-engine Piper PA-28 with dual controls, in September.
Prince Philip, Prince William and Prince Harry all flew military aircraft during their careers in the Armed Forces while King Charles spent four months training in the RAF before joining the Navy.
The tea party at Buckingham Palace was by no means Prince George's first official engagement, but it was the first where he had been heard speaking to members of the public and interacting with them as the more senior royals were doing.
It is likely we will see more of Prince George at equally important events moving forward, though his parents are trying to give him a normal childhood as possible under the circumstances.
Since his birth, Prince George has been on the cover of magazines and the subject of millions of online and television news items as he slowly learns the ins and outs of being a royal.
As second-in-line to the throne, behind Prince William, George has for many years been given a first-hand experience of what it is like to be a working royal, from attending Christmas Day at Sandringham to his mother's Christmas carols concerts at Westminster Abbey.
His first official public engagement came at just nine months old, during Prince William and Kate's visit to Australia and New Zealand in April, 2014.
Prince George played with 10 other babies during a Plunket Play Group event at Government House in Wellington with his parents watching closely on.
Fast-forward to May, 2023, when Prince George took on his most prominent role yet aged just nine – as a page boy during the coronation of his grandfather.
Prince William was also introduced to the public from early on, accompanying his parents to Australia and New Zealand in March, 1983. William was just nine-months-old.
William, too, had grown up in front of the world's media but his first major public engagement came in 1991 when he joined then-Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, for a visit to Cardiff in Wales.
The eight-year-old dutifully shook hands with members of the public and accepted cards and flowers during a public meet and greet, before attending a service at Llandaff Cathedral.
William then joined his mother at a ceremony at St. David's Hall where Diana and her son signed the guest book.
Years later, Prince William and Kate would take Prince George and Princess Charlotte to Wales during the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, 2022.
In what would be the late Queen's last appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee, the monarch stood side by side her grandson with Charles and William nearby. Many saw it as a show of the House of Windsor's future.
Just three months later, the family inherited the 'Wales' titles upon the death of Elizabeth II.
Since his grandfather's accession to King, Prince George has found himself in the global spotlight more than ever.
Next month, he'll once again take a prominent position on the palace balcony when he joins the King at Trooping the Colour, the monarch's official birthday celebrations.
And later in the year, Prince George is expected to change schools. He's currently a student at Lambrook School, along with his sister and brother, but the age limit for those enrolled is 13.
The new school year begins in September and Kensington Palace has not yet revealed where Prince George will go when he turns 13, even though a decision has likely already been made.
Prince George has a monumental time ahead and the world will be watching with keen interest every step of the way.
His inclusion at this week's VE Day events proves more than ever where the royal family's focus is: on those who will lead the monarchy in the coming years.
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