Standing shoulder to shoulder with his mother at RAF Coningsby to mark Armed Forces Day last month, Prince George cut a somewhat different figure to royal duties past. Dressed in a navy suit – and appearing close to his mother’s 5ft 9 inch stature – the boy who will one day become King looked readier than ever to take on the role.
As he approaches his 13th birthday on 22 July, George’s royal future is beginning to take shape – one that will be inspired by, yet wholly different from, that of his father. That likely begins with the celebrations themselves. Princess Diana commissioned a cake shaped like a pair of breasts for Prince William’s 13th birthday, which he was met with – along with supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell – on his return home from school.
Instead of outré pranks and a childhood played out in the spotlight, the Waleses have sought to raise George outside of the public glare, his appearances limited to a smattering of official events, such as the Trooping of the Colour and King Charles’s coronation and sports outings like Wimbledon and Aston Villa matches (his father’s beloved team).
In the past, people have been quick to describe the royal family as “dysfunctional,” says royal historian Hugo Vickers. “What William and Catherine [The Princess of Wales] are doing with those three children is to make them the least dysfunctional possible. They’ve got the balance just right.”
