With young Prince George’s future ‘set in concrete’, the Prince and Princess of Wales are doing everything to ensure the future King has a normal upbringing
Prince George has appeared at more royal engagements in preparation for his eventual role as King(Image: AP)
With Prince George heading to secondary school later this year, his royal future is creeping up on him, as he has started to join his parents on more royal engagements to prepare for his eventual role as King.
Prince William and Princess Kate are working tirelessly behind the scenes to prepare their eldest son to one day ascend the throne, but they are also determined to provide all their children with a stable and relatively normal upbringing. And according to former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond, the Prince and Princess of Wales are tackling their parenting duties in a different way to William’s mother, the late Princess Diana.
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William and Kate are preparing Prince George for his future role as King (Image: Visionhaus via Getty Images)
Jennie told the Mirror that raising any child is a challenge of its own, despite the added pressure of royal status. She said: “It’s hard enough bringing up kids to be happy, safe and confident even in normal life. We can only imagine what it must be like to bring up a child who is going to hold such a unique and massively public role in life.”
The royal expert recalled a conversation with the late Princess Diana and her concerns about the immense pressure on William as the future King, and how the Prince and Princess of Wales are approaching George’s future in a different way.
“It makes me think back to my conversations with Diana, Princess of Wales, who was also troubled by the weight of responsibility, both on her and her eldest son,” Jennie said. “I remember her telling me how the prospect of being King weighed heavily on young William’s shoulders. But she was immensely proud of him and told me she thought the country was lucky to have William.
Jennie Bond believes Kate is “doing a fantastic job” of keep George’s life normal(Image: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace)
“It’s probably slightly easier for Catherine and William, in the secure and happy marriage they have, to prepare George for what lies ahead. And William must know exactly how he might be feeling.”
Jennie believes that William and Kate have a very different task when it comes to raising their children as opposed to normal everyday parents, as they have to prepare George for his inevitable future as King, where there are few options to forge your own path.
The royal expert also pointed out that for George, following in the footsteps of his uncle Prince Harry is off the cards. Harry notoriously quit his royal duties and relocated to the US, which is not an option for the future King.
The Wales family at Kate’s annual Together at Christmas concert(Image: Getty Images)
“But imagine how different it really is,” she said. “You can’t sit down and talk about what he might like to do as a career or whether he might, for example, one day like to live in another country. George’s options are extremely limited and the eventual road ahead is set in concrete.”
While young Prince George is surely aware of his inevitable future as King, his mother Princess Kate is doing all in her power to keep her kid’s lives as ordinary as possible, especially during the formative years of their childhoods.
As Jennie said: “I think Catherine is doing a fantastic job in keeping her children’s lives as normal as possible for as long as she can. And that is invaluable in their development. It’s a fine balance, but I think she and William have succeeded in giving all three children a very good measure of privacy whilst satisfying the media and public demands for them to be seen in public.”
As for George, Charlotte and Louis, the young royals are slowly being introduced to more of their royal roles, with the former royal correspondent believing that they already seem to be growing accustomed to being in the spotlight.
“They need to get used to the experience of being on show and on duty, because that is likely to be how it is for the rest of their lives,” Jennie said. “And, so far, the children don’t seem phased by meeting the crowds – in fact, I thought they all looked particularly at ease at Sandringham on Christmas Day.”
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