Happy birthday Prince Georgous
As George turns 11, it's his biggest year yet
Happiest of birthdays to Prince George, who turns 11 tomorrow, July 22. Despite his recent disappointment at the Euros finals, we reckon George will be partying, as he celebrates his milestone birthday and the start of the summer holidays.
We don’t know about you, but we always get weepy at the sight of children leaving primary school and starting their next chapter and although George is at a prep school – Lambrook School in Windsor – so it’s not yet confirmed if he will go to secondary school in September, or in Year 8, it still feels like the end of one era and the start of another.
There’s no getting away from it, George is growing up and parents William and Catherine have been looking around secondary schools. Several are in the running, including Eton, where Dad and Uncle Harry went, Marlborough College, Wiltshire, where Catherine went and wild-card co-ed Oundle school, Northamptonshire, not far from their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall.
Kerry wrote about George’s future for Woman’s Weekly Royals, on sale now. She spoke to parenting specialist Kirsty Ketley, who explained William and Catherine are making sure they choose the right environment for George, unlike then-Prince Charles, who was packed off to hard-core Gordonstoun in Scotland, because his dad Prince Philip thrived at the institution and refused to listen to suggestions his arty son might be better suited closer to home at Eton.
Charles hated his time there and dubbed it ‘Colditz in kilts’. “The people in my dormitory are foul… They throw slippers all night long or hit me with pillows or rush across the room and hit me as hard as they can… I still wish I could come home,” he wrote.
“I think William and Catherine will be tackling this next stage in their parenting just how they always have done with their children; with love and care, plenty of support emotionally and by ensuring that he is at the school that is right for him, not them and the family,” Kirsty said. “I am a big fan of how they parent their children and don’t doubt they are always their first thought when making decisions, including schooling.”
Whatever “big” school they choose, by the time George leaves it, he’ll be 18, all grown up and prepared for his destiny. It’s thought George was told of his future role when he turned seven. “Sometime around the boy’s seventh birthday in the summer of 2020 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,” royal biographer Robert Lacey wrote in Battle of Brothers. What he thinks, we don’t know. “Maybe one day George will tell us the story himself,” he said.
A royally good time on a very British tour
From frisky Jersey cows, rare Guernsey goats to a long-lost friend and typical British summer weather - a torrential downpour, oh yes, Charles and Camilla’s two-day visit to the Channel Islands had it all. Even a sprained ankle. Poor Camilla was seen sporting a bandage on Tuesday, after spraining it the day before in Jersey.
Forever our Trooper Queen, she was still all smiles come rain or shine. On Monday, the royal couple kept cheery through a wet and windy King’s Parade in St Helier, while at another engagement Camilla chuckled as she was introduced to some excitable heifers. The following day Charles saw his childhood dance partner among the Guernsey well-wishers. Caroline Freeman told ITV he was a “talented dancer and very charming”. Later, the King granted a royal title on a rare golden goat breed, which was saved from extinction back in the 1920s. From now on, it answers only to Royal Golden Guernsey Goat.
And we’re not kidding with some other royal tour news of the week. Buckingham Palace announced that Charles and Camilla will visit Australia this October, and Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It's so good to see Charles clearly enjoying his walkabouts and busy schedule, despite his ongoing treatment for an unspecified cancer. With Camilla by his side, no wonder the pair can’t stop smiling.
Charlotte and Louis kitted out
If you were worried Louis was home alone last Sunday, stuffing down Haribo and running amok at Adelaide Cottage, fear not. This pic, released by William and Catherine the day after England’s Euro 2024 final defeat, put paid to any babysitting niggles.
Dashing home from Wimbledon after watching Carlos Alcaraz win the men’s single final, Charlotte wasted no time joining her younger brother by popping on her England shirt. Only to watch even more Spanish superstars secure a 2-1 victory in Berlin.
Still, the royals did their best to lessen the pain across England, captioning the pic: “England, your teamwork, grit and determination were an inspiration to all of us, young and old. Congratulations to Spain. W & C.”
The King also sent a heartfelt message to the squad, urging them to “hold their heads high”. When manager Gareth Southgate inevitably stepped down on Tuesday, after eight years in charge, William’s very personal tribute to him is hard to beat.
Camilla celebrates 77th birthday all blinged up
Everyone likes to get dressed up for their birthday, but we’re not sure Queen Camilla envisaged opening parliament. But that’s how she had to spend her 77th birthday on Wednesday, for the State Opening of Parliament. “It’s not the tip-top way she would choose to be spending her birthday,” a friend reported to the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English, “but you won’t ever hear a single word of complaint. For someone who wasn’t born into the Royal Family, she’s got an extraordinarily strong sense of duty and the temperament to cope.”
Camilla looked splendid in a Fiona Clare gown, the Robes of Estate, and wearing the historic George IV Diamond Diadem, dating back to 1820, her calm demeanour belied the stress she has been under the past year. “The public had no idea what she was going through,” English writes, adding in private, people “had never seen her so worried”. In true style, she has taken to signing her letters, “Onwards and upwards!” Happy birthday Camilla!
Buckingham Palace opens for its summer season
It’s time to step inside Buckingham Palace, because this week it flung open its doors for the 2024 Summer Opening. Since 1993 (when The Royal List’s Maria joined one of the first-ever tours), 19 magnificent State Rooms have been open to all.
Also, for the first time this year, BP (as the royals call it), offered tours of the East Wing, including a tantalising peek at that famous balcony from a vantage point usually only seen by the Royal Family. This tour is sold out (there’s always next year), but there’s plenty of tickets left for the usual State Rooms tour, open until 29 September. Buy tickets here.
Plus, check out our sister newsletter, The British Travel List, for more fantastic royal hot spots you’ll love.