Prince George has just seven days until he’s forced to separate from his father, Prince William.
Prince George’s 12th birthday is fast approaching, and his father, Prince William, is likely feeling the pressure of maintaining a centuries-old royal rule that will see him separated from his eldest son for one important reason.
The young heir will turn 12 on July 22nd.
As William and Kate Middleton‘s oldest son, George will have to travel separately from his dad when undertaking royal duties, as protocol for the Firm states that anyone over 12 years old in the line of succession cannot travel together for safety reasons, per Reader’s Digest.
This ensures that in the tragic event that one of them were in an accident, the other would presumably be safe, protecting the line of succession from falling apart.
While many think this morbid rule applies to all forms of transport, royal expert Jennie Bond says it only applies to air travel for heirs to the throne.
The former BBC royal correspondent also revealed, per Yahoo, that while the Prince of Wales may be expected to enforce this centuries-long protocol, he may also continue his shake-up of the monarchy by dismissing it from time to time.
Bond told 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.”
“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.”
Bond added that introducing such a strict royal rule would undoubtedly have an impact on the young prince, whose future has been outlined for him since the day he was born.
She said: “It is, of course, quite a graphic illustration of how George’s destiny is mapped out and of how he is different from everyone else. And that must be quite hard for a 12-year-old to accept.”
“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.”
The Prince of Wales had to go through the same when he turned 12 in 1994. Former RAF Squadron Leader, Graham Laurie, who used to work for the royals, told Hello Magazine’s A Right Royal Podcast: “Interestingly, we flew all four, up until Prince William was 12 years old.”
“After that, he had to have a separate aircraft, and we could only fly all four together when they were young with the written permission of Her Majesty. When William became 12, he would fly normally in a 125 from Northolt, and we would fly the 146 out with the other three on.”
Bond also claimed that, as Prince William has already made moves to shake up and modernize the monarchy, there is a chance he could abandon the tradition altogether.
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.”
Other peculiar travel rules for members of the Firm include not eating certain foods to avoid any case of poisoning, the Express explains.
The royals, particularly the monarch and the Prince of Wales, also travel with bags of their blood type in case of an emergency, as well as their own doctor.
Lastly, another essential item the royals usually travel with while abroad is a black outfit as a precautionary measure for the purposes of mourning.
The rule is in place to protect the line of succession, ensuring that in worst-case scenarios like plane crashes, at least one heir to the throne will be protected at all times to keep the monarchy stable.
Currently, the line of succession to the British throne is Prince William first, followed by Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
While the family of five will likely just divide up when traveling, with George going with his mother Kate and the other children traveling with their father, there’s also a slim chance that William may scrap the tradition altogether. Only time will tell when George’s birthday arrives next week.