Prince George Had a “Proper Awareness” of His Future as King After This Happened

“He is most certainly aware of his future.”

The Gist

• Prince George, who just turned 12 years old on July 22, was born to be king—and he is aware of his destiny, royal historian Marlene Koenig said.
• George reportedly became aware of his future around the time that Queen Elizabeth, his great-grandmother, died in 2022, when he was 9 years old.
• “He is most certainly aware of his future,” Koenig said.

At 12 years old, Prince George is “undoubtedly aware of his future role” as king someday—the role he was born to fill, following in the footsteps of his father Prince William, his grandfather King Charles, and his great-grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth.

In fact, it was reportedly after the Queen’s death on September 8, 2022 at 96 years old that George, then 9, was given “proper awareness” about his destiny, royal historian Marlene Koenig told Us Weekly. Since then, George has “taken part in numerous public events” with other members of the royal family, with Koenig noting that William and Kate Middleton have likely discussed “these changes” with him.

“Barring any accidents or health issues, George will not be king for some years,” she said, adding that this next chapter of the future king’s life will be spent learning “firsthand about the responsibilities as heir to the throne” from William.

Koenig pointed out that, after the Queen’s death nearly three years ago, George notably took part as a page boy in Charles’s May 2023 coronation, making him “the first member of the royal family to have such a role in the service.”

“If the young prince was nervous, he didn’t show it,” she said, noting that the Prince and Princess of Wales watched “with pride” as George took part in the ceremony.

“The coronation provided the young prince with the knowledge that he, too, would one day be crowned in a coronation ceremony,” Koenig told the outlet. “George may be a 12-year-old schoolboy who loves sports, but he is most certainly aware of his future.”

Royal biographer Robert Jobson told Us Weekly that George’s awareness of his future as king was gradual, so as not to “freak him out.”

“I think it was very important that he played that part as a page boy at the King’s coronation,” Jobson said. “It gave him a real sense of the grandeur and all the expectation. I thought that was quite important, actually, for George.”

After turning 12 years old on July 22—not only the last year he’ll be a preteen, but also reportedly when he can no longer travel via air alongside his father or grandfather—another big milestone is on the cards for George in the near future: where he’ll attend school in 2026. Will it be the all-boys Eton College, where his father went, or the co-ed Marlborough College, where his mother went? Money seems to be on Eton, with Tatler reporting that George “is apparently primed for Eton College—as it’s rumored that a house has been chosen for the future king.”

What, exactly, does this mean? Well, according to the outlet, Eton has 25 houses for its pupils to live in, and buzz is indicating that “George would board at C1 house, located around the college’s main quad,” Tatler reported.

“Given his happy memories of his own school days [at Eton], it seems likely that Prince William would want his eldest son to enjoy the same experience,” the publication wrote. The Mail on Sunday has also reported that, when it comes to George, “all roads lead to Eton,” and William and Kate reportedly visited the school ahead of the Easter holidays.

“It’s the talk of the school, and of the parents,” a source told Richard Eden earlier this year.