William & Kate ‘Frustrated’ Over The Royal Protocol George Must Follow After Turning 12
Prince George recently celebrated his 12th birthday on July 22, and now a lot would change for him as the second in line to the throne. The young Prince, who is already being compared to his father, must follow in his footsteps and take a different flight than his, as Prince William does with King Charles. The forced separation of the family has allegedly left William and Kate Middleton feeling 'frustrated', according to a royal expert.
The royal family must adhere to a protocol where the first two in line to the throne cannot fly together. This rule is usually enforced once the heir turns 12. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, Charles and William ceased flying together when the latter turned 12. On rare occasions when he did so together, it was with the Queen's written permission. Discussing what the Waleses feel about the same, royal reporter Robert Jobson claimed that the parents are likely 'frustrated'. He told GB News, “The fact that the King has raised it before George was 12, I think, is important.” He continued, “When you've had a cancer diagnosis like the King has had and the treatment he's had, he's obviously thinking about his own mortality and the future of the monarchy. And that involves Prince George very much so, left, right, and centre. So I think that it's quite important.” Jobson added, “I can understand why there was frustration because if you're going to separately get one child to take a different route, it can be quite awkward if you're going on holidays and things like that.”
However, the expert believes that William and George may skip the protocol for a commercial flight. Jobson explained, “But helicopters do tend to be the focus. Mind you, we've had a few billionaires, haven't we, that have crashed in helicopters who must have thought with their wealth and experienced pilots and wonderful helicopters that they were indestructible, but they weren't.” The expert stressed that the protocol is to safeguard the monarchy. However, it is not confirmed if George will actually be separated from his parents and siblings during family holidays. William could fly solo, or the family could divide among themselves and board two different planes.
When William turned 12, he flew in a separate plane from his parents, Charles and Princess Diana, and brother, Prince Harry. During a conversation with Hello! magazine, former royal pilot Graham Laurie opened up about the rules and revealed, “Interestingly, we flew all four: [King Charles], [Princess Diana], Prince William, and Prince Harry, up until when 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."