The Strict Rule Prince George Will Have To Follow When He Travels
When British royals travel, they have to follow odd rules. For instance, they must pack a black outfit, so wherever they are, they're prepared if someone dies unexpectedly. That was put in place after the late Queen Elizabeth II's father, King George VI, died. She flew back into the U.K. from Kenya without proper attire and had to wait for someone to bring a black dress to her landed plane.
Another rule is that certain royals can't fly together. On the "A Right Royal Podcast" from Hello!, Graham Laurie discussed who doesn't fly with whom in the British royal family. Laurie used to be King Charles III's pilot, and he shared the inside scoop: at some point, William, Prince of Wales, could not fly with his parents or brother anymore.
"Interestingly, we flew all four — the Prince, the Princess, Prince William, and Prince Harry — up until Prince William was 12 years old," Laurie said. "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." The reason for the rule is to keep the line of succession to the British throne intact should a crash occur. It would make sense if the same rule applies when Prince George of Wales turns 12 in July 2025.
George's parents may have told him he's a future king in 2020
Since flying is safer than it used to be, it was reported that the rule of heirs not flying together isn't as strict as it was historically. It also is reportedly not a concrete rule. After Prince George of Wales flew with both of his parents in 2014, a spokesperson for the royal family said, "While there is no official rule on this, it is something that the Queen has the final say on" (via The Sun). William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their children continued flying together after that trip, but that may not last much longer.
Traveling apart from his parents when he is older is one of the ways George is being prepared to be king. However, it's unclear when exactly he learned he was royal. Robert Lacey, author and historian, claims George's parents explained his future to him in 2020 when he turned 7.
That could be true because in 2020, an insider told Closer Weekly, "William and Kate have already talked to George and Charlotte about their future roles, but in a child-like way so that they understand without feeling overwhelmed. George knows there's something special about him and that one day he'll be the future King of England."
Did George always sense his future?
A source once explained how William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, purposefully kept Prince George in the dark about his royal status. They said George became aware of his royal future sometime before he turned 10 years old. That insider told Fabulous, "William and Kate wanted to protect the children as much as possible, particularly from the concept of them being royal and everything that entails." They continued on to say that growing up, George only knew Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III as his great-grandmother and grandfather, not as their true titles.
"They did not tell him until relatively recently that he will, one day, be King," the source continued. "It was a delicate balance to protect his childhood and innocence." They also remarked that it was a difficult conversation to have since it involved discussing the future deaths of Charles and William.
On the other hand, the kid's fashion designer Amaia Arrieta (whose designs are worn by the royal children) felt that George somehow always knew since he was at some events without his siblings. "I think they must have had that conversation very early on," Arrieta told People.