While the public loves to catch a glimpse of Prince William and Princess Catherine’s children – George, Louis and Charlotte – it seems the couple are determined to keep them out of the spotlight as much as possible.
Royal insider, Robert Hardman, who is due to publish a book on the royals imminently, has revealed that Prince George likely won’t begin formal royal duties until he is “well into his twenties”.
He adds that his father, Prince William “is determined” to offer George even more autonomy than he was granted as a youngster.
While the little ones have attended their fair share of public events – the Queen’s jubilees, the Trooping of the Colour and their grandmother’s funeral – they do not undertake their own royal engagements or patronages.
They might attend an event with their mother or father on occasion, as Prince William himself did with his mother Diana, aged eight, but for the most part they are kept away from the bustle of public life.
Prince William was able to avoid being dragged into royal service in his youth, although he did attend his mother’s funeral and pose on Christmas Day with the family each year in Sandringham. He entered military service in his early 20s, but it was really only once he married Kate Middleton that we began to see the pair take on a bigger role in the firm.
“Prince William had a significant degree of autonomy in his university education, his engagement with the armed forces, and his introduction to regular duties. He is determined that Prince George should have a similar if not greater involvement in the way he develops his own royal role,” Hardman writes.
Apparently, both Catherine and William sat down with their eldest child, George, who was to be a page at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, to ensure it was something he felt comfortable with.
“It turns out he was keen,” a source told Hardman.
Insiders have also praised Kate for holding onto her own childhood, which although privileged was relatively normal and quiet. It’s said that she is keen to imbue the freedom and joy of her own upbringing with her children.
