Prince George will have to follow a strict royal rule next year – unless his grandfather King Charles decides to intervene.
The royal family has to follow a number of guidelines , ranging from what they can eat and wear on official outings to refraining from PDA. And there is one regulation that has been put in place for a macabre reason. While Prince William is currently able to travel with all three of his children, Prince George will soon be forced to separate from his father. Heirs to the throne are not allowed to fly together in order to protect royal lineage. This restriction only impacts those in line to the throne, and therefore included William, his father King Charles, and his grandmother, the late Queen .
It also affects Prince George, who is currently second in line. The tradition was put in place in the event of a fatal plane crash, ensuring that an heir to the throne is always protected and the monarchy remains stable. Speaking on HELLO Magazine’s ‘A Right Royal Podcast’, King Charles ‘ former pilot, Graham Laurie, opened up about the rule and how it affected a young Prince William when he turned 12 in 1994.
He told the hosts: “Interestingly, we flew all four: the Prince, the Princess, Prince William and Prince Harry , 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.”
While Prince George will soon be required to fly separately from his father, it remains to be seen whether he will continue to travel with his mother and siblings while his father uses a different plane, or if the second-in-line to the throne will be the one to fly solo. As monarch, King Charles could step in to allow George to fly with his father. But it seems unlikely. The late Queen Elizabeth II is said to have had reservations about Prince William flying with his eldest son.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson wrote in Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed, that the monarch had expressed her concerns. He wrote: “She had sharp words with William after he defied her wishes by taking a helicopter flight to Norfolk with all his immediate family. She had warned him against flying with George in case of an accident, telling her grandson he always had to be aware of the succession.”
