Prince George and Princess Charlotte to be 'separated' in royal rule

Princess Charlotte, Prince George, and Prince William at Wimbledon
-Credit: (Image: NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)


The Royal family has long-standing traditions, including those for its youngest members. A unique Royal protocol, which ordinarily begins at the age of 12, will soon impact Prince George.

Under this tradition, from that age on, Prince George may have to start flying separately from his father Prince William and his younger sister Princess Charlotte. With George's 12th birthday due next July, this protocol is aiming to protect the line of succession by ensuring key members of the monarchy don't travel together, mitigating risk during flights.

Prince William himself had to adhere to this protocol when he turned 12. He is currently second in the line of succession after King Charles, with Prince George third and Princess Charlotte fourth.

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To preserve the continuity of the Royal lineage, the siblings, and their father would need to take separate flights. This information was spotlighted as Prince George approached his 11th birthday on 22 July, through an insight provided by King Charles's former pilot, Graham Laurie, to OK! magazine, reports Birmingham Live.

Laurie detailed the practices used to follow for Royal travel, saying, "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."

If the family wishes to travel together, they may now need to seek permission from King Charles, as the current monarch. If history repeats itself and the Royal rule is applied, it means that George, at just 12 years old, will have to travel separately from his family for the rest of his life.

Despite the rarity of plane crashes in modern times, three members of the Royal family have tragically lost their lives in air accidents in the past. Prince Philip's sister, Princess Cecile, perished in a crash in 1937, the late Queen's uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent, died in 1942, and her cousin, Prince William of Gloucester, was killed while participating in an air show in 1972.

A few months ago, Prince William, Princess Charlotte and Prince George were spotted at a Taylor Swift concert, causing much excitement and leading to a backstage selfie with the pop star. The father-son duo, Prince William and George, were also seen enjoying the UEFA England match in Berlin in July.