George is a starter for 10!
The little prince celebrates a birthday milestone
Happiest of birthdays to Prince George, as he turns 10 this weekend.
George Alexander Louis was born on July 22, 2013 and it’s fair to say he has charmed the world, as he’s gone from bouncing baby to toddler, schoolboy and now, a quiet, confident young man. To celebrate the occasion, Kensington Palace yesterday released a new photograph, taken by Millie Pilkington.
Kerry wrote about George’s journey for The Saturday Telegraph. Here’s an extract:
As George accompanied his family to the Wimbledon men’s final last weekend, he was all business in his navy suit, blue shirt and striped tie, confidently waving and cheering the play, alongside his wing-woman Princess Charlotte, 8, making her Wimbledon debut.
Two days prior, the young prince joined his family at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Gloucestershire, where he sat in the cockpit of a C-17 Globemaster III transporter aircraft and was given the task of partially raising the ramp.
George’s growing stature and gravity is noticeable and as he reaches his big birthday, thoughts inevitably lead to what the next decade will entail. By the time George reaches the end of that, in 2033, he will be an adult, most likely at university and possibly thinking of the military, like his father and his grandfather, the King.
However, this week, it was reported George might not take the same route his father, grandfather and great-grandfather did, who all served in the forces. Royal commentators suggest that despite the Royal Family holding honorary ranks in the Armed Forces – the King is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, William is Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Coningsby and Catherine, Princess of Wales, is Colonel of the Irish Guards - it’s no longer a given George will have to follow the tradition of joining up.
According to The Mail on Sunday, a family friend revealed George could choose a different path. Royal biographer Hugo Vickers said, “This is significant because it shows that times are moving on. I’m all for people keeping up with the times providing they don’t throw tradition out of the window.
“Maybe the military won’t prove to be the best course for Prince George,” he said.
The immediate future, however, will involve a new secondary school and William and Catherine were spotted touring Eton with George, last month. William and Prince Harry both attended Eton, as Charles and Diana opted for a school local to Windsor, as opposed to Charles and Prince Philip’s alma mater, Gordonstoun in Scotland – somewhere Charles described as a “hell hole”.
Certainly, George will be spared any hardcore schooling, as William and Catherine are much more hands-on parents when it comes to supporting him and his siblings. They currently attend the nurturing co-ed Lambrook school, in Windsor.
As to what George’s future will be, royal watchers say he’ll be just as committed and passionate as his parents, but possibly a little quieter than his father. “It is highly likely that he will grow up to embody his father’s determined and committed nature,” says parenting expert, Karen Phillip. “The positive influence of his father’s guidance, coupled with the expectations associated with his future role, appears to have a significant impact on young George.”
The King and Queen Shake it up
They’re both great readers and lovers of the arts, so it was wonderful to see Shakespeare being celebrated this week. To mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio collection of Shakespeare’s plays – a copy of which is in the Royal Library at Windsor - the King and Queen hosted a reception at Windsor to celebrate the incredible contribution the playwright has made to UK culture.
They watched a performance from actors from the RSC and were joined by stars including Dame Judi Dench, Helena Bonham-Carter, David Oyelowo, Robert Lindsay, Dame Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson.
The Duchess of York opens her heart
Our thoughts are with the Duchess of York as she continues her breast cancer journey. Sarah, 63, had a mastectomy after the cancer was picked up during a mammogram and has been opening up about her diagnosis on her podcast Tea Talks.
This week, she told co-host and friend Sarah Thomson how she feels. “I really feel this is really exciting, about having this enormous friend with me, who is now my friend, to such a degree I feel like a shield, like I’ve got a shield of protection, because it feels like it’s definitely there to say we got this,” she said. She revealed she had written 500 thank you letters in one week to people who had shown her an “outpouring of kindness”. We wish her well.
Charles and the alpaca
We love an alpaca here at The Royal List – Maria has walked some and Kerry has some friendly alpacas near her house. So, we were delighted to see the King and Queen meet some of our furry four-legged friends this week, on a visit to Brecon in Wales. They were introduced to Caleb and Reg during a tour of the Theatr Brycheiniog community centre, where they planted an oak tree.
Camilla seemed to like the alpacas more than the goat, which had munched her green peacock-print silk dress. Rude.
Get swan up on them
From alpacas to swans, this week was all about wildlife. On Monday, the annual Swan Upping began, which used to be a ceremonial event and now serves the purpose of creating a census of the mute swan population living on the River Thames.
The ceremony takes place during the third week of July, when The King’s Swan Marker and the Swan Uppers in their traditional red uniforms use six boats to make a five-day journey upstream and count the cygnets. Splendid.