With Ex-Prince Andrew "Banished," This Royal Is Now "In Training" to "Come Forward"—and Prince William Clearly Approves
The Princes of Wales was pleased with one royal's big debut this month.
The number of senior royals available to support King Charles—and the future King William—is slimmer than ever. Other than the Prince and Princess of Wales, there aren't any full-time working royals under the age of 60, and as family members like Princess Anne and the Duke of Gloucester eventually become unable to carry out the tasks they once did, it will turn to the next generation to pick up their share of royal engagements.
Columnist Richard Eden of the Daily Mail reflected on the problem in a new video, stating, "With the former Prince Andrew banished from royal life, and Prince Harry and Meghan across the Atlantic in America, there's increasingly space for a new member of the Royal Family to come forward."
That new "royal in training" happens to be 12-year-old Prince George. This year, George has attended two major royal events with his parents—meeting World War II veterans for a VE Day tea party in May and joining Princess Kate at the annual Festival of Remembrance on November 8.
Prince George joined mom Princess Kate and grandparents King Charles and Queen Camilla at the Festival of Remembrance on November 8.
As Eden noted, during the recent remembrance concert "we saw his mother, Catherine, gently leading the way and really showing how Prince George could handle public engagements in the future."
He continued, "It's an event of remembrance, and it's one that's very close to the hearts of the Royal Family—and also one which Prince George is very interested in."
Indeed, military history seems right up the tween's alley. While visiting World War II veterans on Armistice Day, Princess Kate shared that George enjoys making vintage model planes, and Prince William recently admitted that his son "is way better" at history than he ever was.
Prince George showed his confidence at public engagements during the Festival of Remembrance.
Reflecting on George's tea party this spring, Eden said, "At that time, it was fascinating how engaged he was. Even though he's very young, he managed to have conversations with these veterans and you could see he was taking a real interest."
During the event, George was able to hear stories from those who served in World War II. With the numbers of living WWII veterans growing smaller, it was a rare chance for the future King—who will one day serve as head of the British armed forces—to meet people who witnessed history.
"What we're seeing is Prince William and Catherine carefully introducing George into royal life," Eden said. The journalist added that Prince William "clearly has confidence in his eldest son."
George is pictured with his mother and military families at a VE Day 80th anniversary event in May.
The Prince of Wales was in Brazil for the Earthshot Prize the week before Remembrance Day, and made it back in time to attend Remembrance Sunday events. However, William was unable to attend the concert on Saturday night.
"He was more than happy to leave Catherine and George to take control," Eden added. "My suspicion is we're going to be seeing George at a lot more of these types of events. He acquitted himself very well and Catherine's clearly giving him confidence."
