Inside Prince William's careful plan to prepare George for his future role as King
To many royal watchers' surprise, Prince George made an unexpected appearance at a tea party to mark VE Day on Monday.
The 11-year-old prince listened attentively to the veterans who were invited to Buckingham Palace and appeared genuinely interested in their stories from the war, often asking follow-up questions.
It marked the young prince's first official function, leading royal correspondents to theorise that the Prince and Princess of Wales have carefully started to give George a 'small taste of his future duties as King'.
George is currently second in line to the throne after his grandfather King Charles and father William - who previously said he would explain his son's duties to him when the time was right.
'As far as I'm concerned, within my family unit, we are a normal family,' he told the BBC 's Nicholas Witchell in 2016 when George was merely three years old.
'There will be a time and a place to bring George up and understand how he fits in the world but right now it's just a case of showing a secure stable environment around him.'
With such a huge responsibility awaiting him, it is no surprise that William and Catherine want to prepare their son as best they can, something which they have been focussing more on in recent years, according to royal biographer Robert Lacey.
In his book Battle of Brothers, Lacey - who acted as a historical consultant for The Crown - revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales wanted to tell George about his destiny in a 'controlled moment of their choice'.
The decision to carefully break the news to George that he would one day become King came after William's own 'unhappiness at the haphazard fashion in which the whole business of his royal destiny had bussed around his head from the start'.
Although William has not revealed to the world how he broke the big news to his son, Lacey theorised it was 'sometimes around the boy's seventh birthday in the summer of 2020'.
He penned: 'It is thought that his parents went into more detail about what the little prince's life of future royal "service and duty" would particularly involve.'
It was important that George be told about his future role well before his 12th birthday, which will take place on July 22 this year, as from that point onwards, it is advised that the young prince does not travel on the same plane as his father to ensure the future of the monarchy.
No matter when the delicate conversation took place, George proved he was ready to take on his destiny at the tea party on Monday.
Sitting in a smart blue suit and tie alongside his father, the young prince spoke to 101-year-old Alfred Littlefield, who served during D-Day.
Mr Littlefield, originally from Cosham near Portsmouth, recalled how he signed up to the Army aged 20, and joined the D-Day landings, bravely swimming into the Normandy beaches under heavy shell fire.
Inquisitive George asked: 'What was it like when you were coming in?', to which Alfred replied: 'Pretty awful'.
The young prince shook hands with the respected guests in attendance as he was joined by his parents
'You know, it's very important you are here today,' the accomplished veteran told the young prince.
'It's days like this that we should use to talk about things like this, so the younger generation can have some understanding.'
Alfred later told William approvingly of his son: 'You should be very proud.'
Further down the table, William and George also chatted with Dougie Hyde, 99, who joined the Merchant Navy in 1944, aged just 18.
He started out working as a 'fireman' stoking boilers and later joined a secret operation to liberate Europe, spending months going back and forth to the beaches deploying munitions and amphibious vehicles.
Displaying an avid interest, George asked the former seaman: 'Did you ever get shot at?' and 'Did you ever see a U-boat?'
After their chat, Dougie said: 'I was very impressed with the lad's interest.
'He was very polite. Whenever I used to do talks to young kids, that's all you ever wanted, for them to listen and have a little understanding of those days. I think it's so important for us to remember.'
William doted on his son, holding him by his shoulders as he joined his parents for the tea party
Later on, the Princess of Wales was speaking to army veteran Charles Auborn, 99, from London who joined the war effort as an 18-year-old gunner.
He told Catherine how he was deployed to Egypt before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, joking how his officer's first words on his return to the UK were 'how are you boys for shorts?'.
'This is my son George I was telling you about,' she said, ushering the young prince to the table.
As Mr Auborn showed George pictures of the M4 Sherman tanks he operated during the war, the young prince asked him 'Were they hard to operate? It must have been very tough with the weather.'
Veterans gathered at Buckingham Palace to commemorate VE Day were surprised when Prince George strolled confidently into the room, followed by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The young royal, 11, was polite and listened attentively as he made an unexpected appearance at the tea party on Monday.
Dressed in a smart suit with a blue tie, William and Catherine's eldest son beamed as he posed for photos with attendees and joined in conversation with guests.
It was an unexpected appearance which the Daily Mail's Royal Editor Rebecca English said would provide 'the prince a small taste of his future duties as King'.
Dressed in a smart suit with a blue tie, George beamed as he posed for photos with attendees and joined in conversation with guests
The veteran showed Prince George and his mother a picture of the M4 Sherman tanks he operated during the war
Kate also held Mr Auborn's hand as she examined his service photograph. 'Look at you, you are a very handsome young man,' she said winsomely.
'You've got a nice looking boy there, you're going to have to keep an eye on him,' Mr Auborn replied.
'It's a massive balancing act,' a palace insider previously told People Magazine about the Prince and Princess of Wales's approach to raising George as future king.
'William and Kate are doing the right thing, protecting him so he can have as normal a childhood as possible, but he's also dipping into duties as a future monarch,' the insider added.
The source explained that George is getting 'firsthand experience of what it's like to be a royal monarch' as well as 'firsthand experience of being a normal boy.'
His careful introduction at a Buckingham Palace tea party reflects the Prince and Princess of Wales's commitment to preparing their son for his future role whilst also preserving his childhood.
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