According to royal analysts, 2025 will be a very busy year for young Prince George.
As part of a long-standing royal prohibition intended to prepare the future King for the throne, the 11-year-old’s life will change irrevocably in seven months when he is removed from both his parents and siblings.
For those in need of a reminder, George – the eldest of the Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three children – is set to celebrate his 12th birthday in July of this year. The 22nd, to be precise.
And whilst he isn’t expected to sky-rocket to the top of the monarchy anytime soon, like future Kings before him, he’ll spend a vast proportion of his life preparing for the role.
George is currently second in line to the throne, behind his father William, 42, and grandfather, the current King Charles III, 76.
As was the case with his great grandmother, however – the late Queen Elizabeth II – royal family members can never be too sure when they’ll need to step up to the plate.
In the past, he had been forced to take over the role without warning following the shocking abdication of his brother, Edward VIII.
Official preparations for Prince George will be crucial since, as this illustrates, we have no way of predicting when a Prince or Princess will actually become King or Queen.
These are reportedly scheduled to begin in July 2025, when George will turn 12 and be prohibited from traveling with his parents or siblings.
Royal regulations prohibit the two members in succession from being together in the worst-case situation, such an aircraft cr.a.sh, because Prince William is the heir apparent.
For example, until he was twelve, Prince William always traveled with his family, which included his late mother, father, and brother.
“We flew all four: the Prince, the Princess, Prince William, and Prince Harry, until Prince William was twelve years old,” Graham Laurie, the former pilot for King Charles, told OK! magazine.
“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.”
But since the king has the last say over travel plans, King Charles or Prince William might alter them whenever they’d like.
Actually, William broke with convention once before in 2014 when he and his wife, Kate, were given special permission to travel with their three kids together on an Australian tour. This was done to make flying easier rather than splitting them all.
“They needed to ask the Queen for permission, but she said yes,” the royal press office told BBC’s Newsround at the time.
