Prince George, second in line to the throne in the United Kingdom, celebrated his 13th birthday on Wednesday, as he prepares to follow in his father’s footsteps by entering the highly renowned and elite Eton College.
A photo of the teenager was published on social networks for the occasion by Kensington Palace, the services of his parents, Prince William and his wife Kate.
The snap, which shows him dressed in a black suit and white shirt, was shared by the accounts of King Charles and Queen Camilla, with a message of ‘happy birthday’.
George, eldest of Kate and William’s three children, is destined to become king one day, following his father. In the meantime, he is preparing, as the latter did, to join the boarding school for boys at Eton, a posh college-high school near Windsor, west of London, where many members of the royal family and political leaders studied.
According to royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, the young prince is being “introduced very gradually” to his future responsibilities and will increase his public appearances as he grows up.
George Alexander Louis was born on July 22, 2013 at St Mary’s Hospital in London, a “royal baby” who sparked worldwide media excitement.
In April 2014, he made his first royal tour when his parents took him with them to New Zealand and Australia. Eyes are riveted on this toddler in short pants, then eight months old, in the arms of his mother or father.
“Gorgeous George”
William, Kate and their son first lived on a rented farm on the island of Anglesey, off the northwest coast of Wales.
Protected very early by his parents from the lenses of photographers, the prince rarely appeared in public during his early childhood. Each of the outings of the man who was then nicknamed by the press “Gorgeous George” (“George the Magnificent”) was the subject of extensive media coverage.
His birthdays are celebrated in the private sphere, the family sometimes being content to release official photographs.
“William and Catherine succeeded very well in raising him in a way (…) as normal as possible,” comments Richard Fitzwilliams to AFP.
In 2017, the family moved into an apartment in Kensington Palace, London, and George went to school for the first time in a private establishment in the south of the capital.
They then move in 2022 to their main residence in Windsor, west of London, and George attends the Lambrook private school, like his sister Charlotte (11 years old) and his brother Louis (8 years old).
Football and helicopters
George has already taken part in several high-profile public events: he is regularly seen, with his sister and brother, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Color ceremony. In 2023, he also helps carry the coat train of his grandfather Charles III during his coronation.
Unlike Louis, noted for his childish grimaces and escapades, George generally appears serious and calm.
“We have the impression that he already assumes his role quite naturally,” believes the royal expert.
Last November, he accompanied his mother, the king and the queen to an evening honoring soldiers who died in combat.
From his father, George inherited a passion for football. He regularly accompanies William to the matches of his favorite club, Aston Villa, in Birmingham.
With his mother Kate, he goes to the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
There is also great interest in helicopters. He could follow in the footsteps of his father, who was an ambulance helicopter pilot for two years.
Like his father William and his uncle Harry before him, George will benefit from close protection at Eton, whose tuition fees exceed 63,000 pounds sterling (around 58,000 francs) per year.
