A royal expert has urged the Prince and Princess of Wales to let their eldest son develop more of a public persona while he is still young, as he prepares for his future role as King
A royal expert has urged the Prince and Princess of Wales to let their eldest son and heir to the throne Prince George “have a presence” so that the “public can fall in love with him” while he’s still young.
Prince George, 12, has been shielded from public attention during his childhood years, only being seen at major royal events such as Trooping the Colour, the Easter Sunday service, and the Christmas Day walkabout at Sandringham alongside his parents. Despite his occasional public appearances over the years, one royal commentator believes the young royal should not be “kept under lock and key”.
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William and Kate have long discussed their desire to keep their children’s early years as normal as possible and only include them in limited royal appearances. However, royal commentator Katie Nicholl argues that it’s essential for the British public to “fall in love” with George whilst he’s still young.
She said: “William doesn’t want George to have the same level of exposure he and Prince Harry had as kids, so it has to be done very carefully. William has the sense to know that the public needs to fall in love with George as a youngster. He has to have a presence, and he can’t be kept under lock and key and only introduced when he’s 18.”
While George has largely been kept clear of major royal duties, he recently accompanied his mother Princess Kate at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall to honour the war dead, when Prince William was unable to make the event.
After the young royal’s surprise appearance at the event, royal commentator Richard Eden said that we could be seeing a lot more of Prince George as he reaches adolescence.
He told the Daily Mail : “What we are seeing now is a new royal in training, Prince George. At the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, we saw his mother, Catherine, gently leading the way and really showing how Prince George could handle public engagements in the future.
“It’s an event of remembrance, and it’s one which is very close to the hearts of the Royal Family, also one which Prince George is very interested in.”
He continued: “We saw him earlier this year, meeting veterans at Buckingham Palace when there was a tea party to celebrate the 70th anniversary of VE Day. Even though he is very young, he managed to have conversations with these veterans, and you could see he was taking a real interest.”
The royal expert added that Kate and William are “carefully introducing” their son, who is second in line to the throne, into royal life, saying that we will continue to see George “at a lot more of these types of events”.
Katie Nicholl agreed, as she said the Prince and Princess of Wales are preparing their eldest son to take on more royal responsibilities as he grows up, before he one day ascends the throne.
She said: “The aides I’ve spoken to and those who know him best say he is absolutely prepared. Of course, it’s not a moment he wants to think about. He loves his father and wants him to be around for a long time, but when the time comes, he will be ready.”
