16 Ways Prince George Has Prepared To Be King

George's kingly duties started way before he was 7. Will and Kate taught their young son to wave to photographers and fans before he was really even old enough to talk. His whole life is in the public eye, so it makes sense that they wanted him to start acknowledging that early on.

Something else George started as a baby was attending royal tours. When he was just a few months old, he went to Australia and New Zealand with his mom and dad. Since then, he's also traveled to Canada and Germany on his parents' royal tours. By the time he does one solo, he'll be a pro.

Around Prince George's seventh birthday, Prince William and Kate Middleton told him that he would eventually become king. Of course, when explaining such a thing to a child it probably had to be scaled down a bit — it's tough to get into the nitty gritty details all at once. But the point is, George has been primed for understanding this job since he was little.

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Around the time that he was told of his future role, George was also invited to appear in a special heirs-only photo shoot. Taken when Queen Elizabeth was still reigning, the portrait featured the top four royal family members — the queen, then-Prince Charles, Prince William, and little Prince George.

Speaking of the Queen, before her death she'd taken to singling George out for one-on-one time. According to the Daily Mail, Queen Elizabeth went "out of her way to spend time with him." Perhaps she was doing that as a great-grandmother, but given that she had a lot of great-grandchildren, spending extra time with George feels like a monarch and heir thing.

Now that Charles is the king, he's reportedly mentoring Prince George like his mother once did, according to Express. It's widely known that Charles felt a bit neglected by his own father, Prince Philip — so he probably takes his role as George's mentor very seriously.

Will and Kate have tried to keep all their kids out of the public eye as much as possible, but over the years they've had George step out a bit more. He does need to get used to living his life in front of people, after all. William has taken George to sports games, and Kate has had him tag along on her work events, among other outings.

Now that George is older, one aspect of his life is about to change in a big way. One of the royal rules to protect the heirs is that they're not allowed to travel together. William didn't force George to obey that rule when he was a child, but that won't last much longer. When he turns 12, Will and George will have to take separate cars, planes, etc., so there's never an accident that affects them both at once.

All of the Wales children have participated in royal events to varying degrees, but George has occasionally gone to things by himself with one or both of his parents. Eventually he'll be able to conduct royal work without his parents by his side at all. Doing these kinds of solo outings will help prep him for when he has to lead by himself one day.

Gone are the days of George's knee socks and smocked onesies. The shift from George-the-child to George-the-future-king has already occurred in his closet. These days he can often be spotted in smart suits just like his dad would wear. If he's also inherited his mother's fashion sense, he'll be quite a well-dressed king.

Royal protocol is very strict when it comes to who walks into events in which order. As seen in this Instagram video, George observed this rule when attending the Coronation Concert ahead of his younger sister, Princess Charlotte. They may be siblings and kids, but at the end of the day George is second in line and Charlotte is third.

There's a lot of handshaking involved with being a royal. George's parents often walk up and down long lines of fans saying hello to as many as they can. George has been learning how to interact with his public as well, such as when he greeted people outside the Sandringham church on Christmas Day last year.

George may soon follow in his father's footsteps and attend Eton college. People reported in summer 2023 that the young prince was seen touring the campus with his parents. It's not a requirement for the future king to go to Eton, but it's quite a prestigious school fit for a royal.

Charles was too young to participate in his mother's coronation, but the king made sure he included George in his own coronation in May 2023. George was selected to be his grandfather's Page of Honor during the ceremony, per People. It gave the young prince an up-close look at what his own future will be one day.

Though he may be a young royal, George already knows how to ask for what he wants. For his coronation appearance, George reportedly asked King Charles if he could alter the page uniform. According to the Mirror, George didn't want to wear white tights and be teased at school. After he asked, Charles allowed George to wear pants instead. That's how to get it done, George!

Both Prince William and King Charles invest a lot of their time to climate and conservation charities. It's a big passion of theirs, and it won't be ignored after they're gone. According to People magazine, little George is passionate about caring for the environment as well. William said that even at 8 years old, George was frustrated by how much litter accumulated around his school.

When he's king, George will have the power to do something about that and so much more.