Prince George just turned 12, and his parents celebrated in the way they do every year: with an official photoshoot posted to Instagram!
Oh, and a cute video of George and his siblings frolicking around the countryside:
Anyway, now that George is 12 apparently there are going to be some major changes to his security. According to the Daily Mail, “his parents have been urged to take care to ensure the safety of the future king,” which means George will likely start traveling apart from Prince William and Kate Middleton.
A former royal helicopter pilot notes that Prince William stopped traveling with his parents when he was 12, saying “Interestingly, we flew all four–the Prince, the Princess, Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Prince William was 12 years old. 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.”
As for why George (and William before him) has to fly separately, apparently it’s to ensure the safety of the succession. A “friend of William and Catherine” confirmed that “William is a skilled pilot and loves flying but George must travel separately now,” while a Kensington Palace spokesman simply said: “We don’t comment on travel.”
Either way, the issue has allegedly been a source of disagreement between Prince William and his father.
Per royal author Robert Jobson, “One recent source of disagreement is William’s stubborn refusal to take his father’s advice on safeguarding the succession. Earlier this year, the King had raised concerns with his son about the wisdom of William using his helicopter to fly his entire family around the country.”
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Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm, She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.