George Faced Royal Protocol On His Fifth Birthday
Prince George just celebrated his fifth birthday. He got tons of good wishes from the Royal family and from Royal fans. However, there comes a certain price with getting older in the family, and that is that with age he will find himself subjected to more Royal rules.
We all know that William and Kate opt for their children to have as normal as the life they can.
The Duke of Cambridge has previously said in an interview: “There’ll be a time and a place to bring George up and understand how he fits in – in the world. We are very normal.”
But his compliance with the traditions and rules of Royal life could already be making themselves known.
There is a rule for royal boys in which they are expected to wear shorts until the age of eight, so its no surprise that we have seen the Prince in trousers only once.
This rule dates back to the 16th century- according to the Victoria and Albert Museum – boys only graduate to long trousers around the age of eight, signifying their growing up.
The only instance in which we saw the Prince wearing long trousers was earlier this year, at this uncle Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.
Every other photograph of the young prince is with him in shorts.
While the Prince surely got tons of gifts for his birthday, he won’t be able to keep them all.
According to official royal guidelines, “gifts offered by private individuals living in the UK not personally known to the member of the Royal Family should be refused where there are concerns about the propriety of motives of the donor or the gift itself”.
Due to this rule, the Duke and Duchess had to return millions of pounds worth of wedding gifts earlier this year.
Prince George has already been to more places in his half a decade than some people go in their entire life. But there are certain protocols that will start affecting his as he grows older.
There is an old rule that two direct heirs to the throne are not allowed to travel together at any one time- this rule dates back to a time when air travel was a lot less safe.
William and Kate aren’t exactly strict followers of the rule and have been traveling together in hopes of keeping the family together and being more cost-efficient. William did the same when he was a young child.
But it is thought George may be obliged to fly separately once he turns 12.
Living in the era of smartphones, you would think Prince George would be swept by the selfie craze, however, the Royal also frown upon such behavior.
Signing autographs have long been banned for Royals amid fears the signature could be forged and used maliciously, however, in recent years, the same rules have been extended to selfies.
But, in 2010, Prince Charles broke the rules when visiting victims of Cornish floods and was told by a couple a signature for their young son “would make his day”.
Charles then shocked his bodyguards when he asked one of them to find a piece of paper for him to sign.