Prince George’s life “will be very different” from his father and grandfather’s, a royal commentator has said.
The first decade of the future King’s life has been unlike that of his predecessors and it seems the next will continue in a similar vein.
This week, it was widely reported that George, who is celebrating his birthday this weekend, may be able to opt out of joining the armed forces, breaking with centuries of tradition adhered to by both Prince William and King Charles.
However, royal commentator, professor Pauline Maclaran at the University of London, believes if the Monarchy is to modernise and appeal to younger generations, more of these changes will be implemented, therefore affecting George’s future.
The co-author of Royal Fever: The British Monarchy In Consumer Culture explained that we have already seen differences in the way George has been brought up compared to the heir and new King.
Professor Maclaran said: “I think Prince George’s life will be very different to that of Charles and William. He is being brought up in a different way as we can already see with a much more relaxed style of parenting by William and Kate with both very engaged in their children’s upbringing.”
King Charles’s childhood was spent in the care of nannies, governesses and maids — the late Queen and Prince Philip famously went on a six-month tour shortly after her Coronation, leaving Charles, who was then four, behind with his younger sister Anne.
Although Charles and Princess Diana were more hands-on, William and Prince Harry spent a great deal of time with nannies, including one called Barbara Barnes during their formative years. She was dubbed their “surrogate mother”, and reportedly taught them to walk, talk and read.
George and his siblings do have a nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, but she does not live with them in Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Estate.
The Prince and Princess of Wales strive to do as much as possible themselves whether that be the school run or bedtime routine, in order to give their children as “normal” upbringing as possible.
She continued: “In future, we can expect that [George’s] roles will reflect the modernisation of the monarchy and its changing importance to our society.
“To that end, he may not choose to serve in the military as has been the royal tradition and will perhaps seek to be involved in humanitarian work instead. The latter would certainly be preferable to being involved in any commercial venture which could be seen as compromising his royal status.
“I’m sure that there will be negative backlash from some royal traditionalists who feel the military role is important to emphasise Britain’s status in the world but the fact is the royal family needs to adapt more to modern times and appeal to a younger generation. Military roles are not likely to find favour with this demographic.”
