Prince William under 'pressure' over being parted from son George by royal rule

Edinburgh Live

21 hours ago

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As Prince George's 12th birthday approaches, Prince William faces the challenge of upholding a long-standing Royal protocol that will prevent him from travelling with his eldest son. Once George turns 12 on July 22, a traditional rule kicks in requiring that he must travel separately from his father for official engagements to safeguard the Royal succession in case of an accident.
According to the centuries-old custom, those over 12 years old who are in the line of succession must not travel together, particularly by air, to ensure continuity of the monarchy. Although there's a common belief that the rule encompasses all forms of transport, Royal commentator Jennie Bond suggests it predominantly pertains to flights for heirs to the crown.
Jennie Bond, ex-BBC Royal correspondent, mentioned to the Mirror: "This is a rule which I think applies only to flying, not to other methods of transport. Nevertheless, it's going to be rather annoying for the family because they are such a tight little unit and obviously enjoy travelling together."
Despite the tradition, Prince William might sometimes opt to dismiss this rule as part of his ongoing modernisation of Royal practices.
Royal commentator Katie Nicholl suggests that Prince William may face pressure to adhere to a Royal rule aimed at safeguarding the line of succession. "However, I think there will be pressure on William to stick to this rule – at least most of the time. It's all to do with protecting the succession to the throne.", reports the Mirror.
Nicholl further explained that such a stringent protocol could leave a significant imprint on Prince George, whose path to sovereignty has been laid out since birth. She said: "It is of course quite a graphic illustration of how George's destiny is mapped out and of how he is different to everyone else. And that must be quite hard for a 12-year-old to accept."
She highlighted the positive influence of the young prince's parents, saying, "But he has brilliant parents in Catherine and William, and I'm sure they will explain the situation as gently as possible to all three of the children. In any case, I don't think we should think of George flying on his own. I imagine they will just divide up as a family and as long as William and George are separate, they can make it work."
Moreover, Nicholl acknowledged that with Prince William's current approach to modernising Royal traditions, he might choose to dispense with this historical precedent. She explained: "William is very much his own man and it may be that he feels this tradition is unnecessary – especially as some statistics suggest flying is safer than driving. So we shall have to wait and see whether he sticks to the way things have been done in the past."