Prince George turns 12: New protocol means he can no longer fly with his father Prince William
Royal protocol dictates the young prince will not be allowed to fly on the same aircraft as his father, Prince William, without permission from King Charles III.
George is the eldest child of Prince William, who is heir to the throne, and Princess Catherine.
Traditionally, direct heirs to the British throne have not been able to travel together in case of an emergency or an accident that could wipe out the entire royal line.
William and Catherine have two more children, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, but the rule only applies to the first two direct heirs to the throne — William and George.
The Prince of Wales was the same age when he stopped flying alongside his father, then the Prince of Wales and now King Charles, to protect the monarchy's line of succession.
King Charles' former pilot Graham Laurie said he initially flew Charles, Diana, William and Harry all together but that changed once William turned 12.
'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,' he told Right Royal Podcast.
If the Prince and Princess did want to fly with all three children they would have to request permission from King Charles.
Speaking on Sunrise on Tuesday, Royal editor Rob Jobson revealed George had previously flown in a helicopter with his dad and the rest of the family.
'But the late Queen and Charles confronted William about it,' Jobson added.
'That is probably going to have to stop.'
It is uncertain what William and Catherine will do, but they have always worked to give their children a normal upbringing while still preparing them as best as possible for their future royal roles.
While George is still too young to attend official royal briefings, he is being mentored by his father.
'I think he has had a lot of experience that others didn't have.,' Jobson said.
'He was at the coronation as a page boy to his grandfather. He has seen the sadness of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth, his great-grandmother.
'All of these things he has been witness to.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
British navy's largest vessel docks in Darwin, as port's defence capability tested
The British navy's largest vessel has docked at Darwin's naval base in the first visit of its kind in almost 30 years, in what the British High Commission says is a demonstration of its "commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific". Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is leading a "strike force", made up of vessels from 12 countries, in an eight-month deployment sailing from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. On Wednesday, the ship docked at Darwin's naval base HMAS Coonawarra after two weeks of operations associated with Exercise Talisman Sabre. Lieutenant Emily Woolcott was responsible for driving the ship into Darwin waters, which she said was a complex process for the 280-metre long and 70-metre wide ship. "This morning [Wednesday] we've had to fly on the pilot via [helicopter], get them off safely and then make sure we have the right speed to get in," Lieutenant Woolcott said. Lieutenant Commander Neil Pitt, the officer-in-charge of the ship's flight deck, said the deployment had been "full on", with crews working 24 hours a day with multiple NATO and allied forces. "We've had the Italians with us as we came back through the Mediterranean, the Americans recently, Australians embarking with rotary wing [and] New Zealanders," he said. The British High Commission said in a statement in June the Prince of Wales' visit "reinforced [the UK's] long-term strategic commitment to the Indo-Pacific region". HMS Prince Wales crew members will be on shore leave in Darwin until next week, before the vessel departs for Japan. The Canadian frigate HMSC Ville De Quebec is one of the vessels being led by the Prince of Wales, and was this week involved in testing missile rearmament at the Port of Darwin. The ship was disarmed of its operational Harpoon missiles at the port, and rearmed with practice missiles, on Monday as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre. The rearming of foreign warships in northern Australia first occurred in Darwin and Broome in September 2024, in what the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) said in a statement was "proof of concept" Australia could support foreign militaries from northern bases. "It doesn't matter which of our allies requires a rearmament, Australia needs to be able to prove that it can do that through its own supply chains" Commander of HMAS Coonawarra, Captain David Shirvington, said this week. "Most of our munitions storage facilities are located in the south of Australia, and so to be able to get them up here and transfer them onto our military assets creates time and space for us to project forces from the north of Australia." In May, the ABC revealed that at least four ports around Australia, including the Port of Darwin, were expected to subject to an expansion of existing US contracts for arms handling by subcontractors. Former naval officer Jennifer Parker, an expert associate at the National Security College, said the establishment of rearming facilities at the Port of Darwin was an "unsung" development in the defence of northern Australia. "Prior to 2024, for ships to rearm missiles they would either need to go down to Eden, which is well down on the southern NSW coast, or HMAS Stirling [in Western Australia]." The Prince of Wales' Captain Will Blackett said operations conducted during Exercise Talisman Sabre, such as the rearming and testing of missiles, were a demonstration of collective force. "One of the major points of all this is you never want to use it for real, so you spend a lot of time showing people what you can do, and then making friends and influencing people to be on your side," he said.
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Sky News AU
‘A real honour': Princess Beatrice takes over Prince Philip's role as patron of Chartered College of Teaching
Princess Beatrice will become the new royal patron of the Chartered College of Teaching, the royal family member has confirmed. The royal patronage was previously held by Beatrice's late grandfather Prince Philip. In a statement, the Princess of York revealed her excitement to take on the position amid speculation she could become a full time working royal. 'To me, the power that teachers have on shaping lives and transforming futures makes it one of the most commendable and highly regarded professions,' Beatrice said. 'I'm a passionate believer in the vital role that teachers play every day and know firsthand the impact that great teaching can leave on a child and their family.' Beatrice also paid tribute to her late grandfather, who passed away in April 2021 at age 99. 'It's a real honour to take up the role as Patron of the Chartered College of Teaching, a role previously held by my grandfather,' she said. 'I'm really excited to support the College's mission to champion excellence in teaching and to celebrate the impact of this incredible profession.' Beatrice, who is currently ninth in line to the British throne, has a number of other royal patronages including Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, the York Musical Society, the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre, and the British Skin Foundation. She also maintains a grace-and-favour apartment inside St James's Palace which is funded by her uncle Charles and is assigned security for select engagements. Nevertheless, the Princess of York is not a full time working royal and has an outside career working in partnerships for a tech firm. The new gig comes months after reports Beatrice 'impressed King Charles and Prince William" after stepping up to support the monarchy in 2024. Beatrice, 36, and her sister Princess Eugenie are the daughters of the King's brother Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York. The York sisters are the only blood-born Princesses of their generation and carry the titles Her Royal Highnesses.
7NEWS
4 days ago
- 7NEWS
Air India crash: Victims' grieving families sent the wrong bodies in distressing repatriation blunders
Grieving families of British Air India crash victims have been dealt a distressing new blow after a series of repatriation blunders saw them sent the wrong bodies, not those of their loved ones. The family of one victim had to call off their funeral after being told the coffin they were given had the remains of someone else, according to the Daily Mail UK. Another family was given 'co-mingled' remnants of more than one person in their casket so a process of separating the remains had to be undertaken before the funeral went ahead. The fiasco has added to the pain of families trying to farewell loved ones who were on board the doomed flight which took off from India's Ahmedabad Airport on its way to London before crashing about 30 seconds after take-off and killing 242 passengers and crew in on June 12. The repatriation mistakes were uncovered during a verification process by Inner West London coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox who tried to match the remains of the repatriated Britons' with DNA samples provided by the families. It is understood the remains of at least 12 of the 52 British victims have so far been repatriated and there are fears more errors could be uncovered. A number of other crash victims were cremated or buried in India. Aviation lawyer James Healy-Pratt who represents some of the British families said he was trying to track what led to the repatriation process being so badly botched. 'I've been sitting down in the homes of these lovely British families over the last month, and the first thing they want is their loved ones back,' he told the Mail. 'But some of them have got the wrong remains and they are clearly distraught over this. It has been going on for a couple of weeks (and) I think these families deserve an explanation.' While one family had been able to hold a funeral, another, which he calls Family X had not. 'Family X have no-one to bury because it was the wrong person in their casket. And if isn't their relative, the question is, who is it in that coffin? Presumably it's another passenger and their relatives have been given the wrong remains. 'The coroner also has a problem because she has an unidentified person in her jurisdiction.' The process of identification for the crash victims has not been smooth, with one relative previously raising a 'lack of transparency and oversight in the identification and handling of remains'. Sniffer dogs, high tech search equipment and local volunteers combed the plane wreckage after the fiery crash, with the bodies of many victims so badly burnt or maimed they had to be identified by DNA samples or dental records. Indian authorities claimed DNA tests had confirmed the identities of all 260 fatalities on June 28. It is understood an inquiry is underway into the misidentifications and the issue is expected to be raised when UK Prime Minister during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the Britain next week. A government spokesperson told the Daily Mail that formal identification of bodies was a matter for the Indian authorities. 'We understand that this is an extremely distressing time for the families, and our thoughts remain with them.'
