Prince George's unexpected Palace appearance offers glimpse of a King in training
He is a future King and future Head of the Armed Forces. He is also 11 years old.
On VE Day, under the guiding hand of his parents, Prince George took his next step towards his future life of duty with a carefully-crafted appearance designed for him to listen and learn.
The Prince took part in his most significant official royal engagement to date, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of war in Europe, proving himself to be a curious student and an able host at a tea party for Second World War veterans.
No stranger to the public eye, having been on the front pages of newspapers and leading television bulletins around the world since his birth, Prince George nevertheless took a notable step in honour of the remaining few serving men and women who remember how their war ended in 1945.
'You know, it's very important you are here today,' Alfred Littlefield, a 101-year-old D-Day veteran, told him. 'It's days like this that we should use to talk about things like this, so the younger generation can have some understanding. There aren't many of us left.'
Turning to Prince William, Mr Littlefield added: 'You should be very proud.'
Prince George's appearance at the Buckingham Palace event was not expected.
The King, the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Duke of Kent were on the list to be there, along with the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, and a contingent of Second World War veterans looked after by the Royal British Legion.
After Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis joined the Royal family to watch the military procession in front of the Palace, it was expected that the children would retire for the day. But Prince George, his father said, was 'very keen' to hear more.
'What was it like when you were coming in?', he asked Mr Littlefield, who swam onto a beach during the Normandy landings under heavy shelling.
'Pretty awful,' came the reply.
The Princess of Wales introduced him to 99-year-old Charles Auborn, a gunner in the 90th City of London Regiment, saying: 'This is my son George, I was telling you about.'
Mr Auborn showed him photographs of the M4 Sherman tanks he operated during the war, with George asking: 'Were they hard to operate? It must have been very tough with the weather.'
Dougie Hyde, 99, who joined the Merchant Navy in 1944 aged 18, said afterwards that the Prince – who had asked him if he had ever been shot at or saw a U-boat – was 'very polite and listened with interest'.
Laughing, the Princess told one veteran that her son – who likely has a future in the Armed Forces – would 'have to practice his shooting like you'.
The event was a small but significant step for the schoolboy Prince, with rare words in front of the cameras and an even rarer appearance outside the full family unit.
While the public is used to seeing the young Princes and Princess together at family events – Sandringham, carol concerts and the occasional special engagement – this was the first sign of the first-born Wales at centre stage.
Chaperoned closely by his parents, and heard to ask 'Papa' questions throughout the day, the Prince seemed to take it in his stride.
Not since the late Queen Elizabeth II was alive have three generations of the Royal family worked together at such an event – the King, his heir, and his heir's heir. It underlined the Royal family's commitment to the Armed Forces, and the thread of continuity they can provide.
With the late Queen and Prince Philip gone, the family's first-person experience of Second World War service has faded. Their descendants are now determined to keep the nation's memories alive.
Prince William, who has fiercely guarded his children's right to privacy and normality, gave the best insight into why this, above all others, was the moment for Prince George to join him.
It was 'very important', he told veterans, for his son and all of the 'next generation' to hear their stories.
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