Why Kate Middleton and Prince William Deliberately Waited to Tell Prince George He Would Be King Someday
The Prince and Princess of Wales waiting longer than normal to break the news “shows special care and thoughtfulness.”
The Gist
- Prince William, like his son Prince George, is a future monarch—and he took much of what he didn’t like about being a young boy and future king into the raising of George, learning lessons and attempting to do it better for George than had been done for him.
- As such, William and Kate Middleton delayed telling their eldest son about his destiny until he was about 7 years old, roughly around 2020 or 2021.
- From his own experience, William knew all too well “the weight of the crown,” royal historian Robert Lacey told People.
Like his father Prince William before him, Prince George has a destiny someday—he will one day be king. That said, William and wife Kate Middleton deliberately waited to tell George about the future that had been mapped out for him since before he was born—and for an understandable reason.
William knew all too well “the weight of the crown,” royal historian Robert Lacey told People for a new cover story; he, along with Kate, wanted George to be able to just be a kid. They didn’t tell him about his future until he was around 7 years old, making it roughly 2020 or 2021.
“He really has had a period of a normal childhood,” Lacey added. “William deliberately delayed this news until the last possible moment. It shows special care and thoughtfulness.”
“William takes his role as father of the future king as seriously as he takes his role as future king,” royal biographer Robert Hardman told People. “That’s key. His overarching priority is making sure they enjoy it rather than fear it.”
That extends to George’s siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, too. George, now 12 years old, “does the right things at the right moment, as any 12-year-old would,” a source close to the palace told the outlet. “And that’s all that matters.”
Lacey added that, when it comes to discussing their shared future as monarchs someday, “I imagine that when William talks to George about things like this, he uses words like ‘destiny’ rather than ‘duty,’” Lacey explained. “‘Duty’ has a sense of being trapped; ‘destiny’ has a sense of choice.”
The moment William and Kate told George about his destiny was “a controlled moment of their choice, reflecting William’s unhappiness at the haphazard fashion in which the whole business of his royal destiny had buzzed around his head from the start,” Lacey previously wrote.
Back in 2016—when George was around 3 years old—William told the BBC about telling George about his future that “There’ll be a time and place. Right now, it’s just a case of keeping a secure, stable environment around him and showing as much love as I can.”
“It’s a massive balancing act,” a palace source previously told People. “William and Kate are doing the right thing, protecting him so he can have as normal childhood as possible—but he’s also dipping into duties as a future monarch.”
“He’s getting firsthand experience of what it’s like to be a royal and a monarch and firsthand experience of being a normal boy,” the insider added.
