Prince George at 11: Prince William and Kate Middleton's Modern Birthday Makeover for Future King Revealed
Prince George of Wales celebrated his 11th birthday this year with a "private celebration" that reflected the struggles the Wales household faced this year.
On Monday, July 22, Kate, Princess of Wales, and Prince William reportedly introduced a new birthday makeover for the future king reflecting Kate's illness and "George's rapid approach toward adolescence."
"Kate is still going to very much carry on like many, many other mothers do, to keep as much of a normal life as possible," a palace insider revealed. "With royal birthdays, especially with children and especially Catherine’s, they are very private occasion."
George's big day also comes amid some reported tension in the Wales household revolving around the future heir to the throne's education. The future king and queen are said to be going back and forth between Eton College — William's alma mater — and Marlborough College, which is where Kate graduated from. However, the king and queen-in-waiting have reportedly reached a possible compromise and are also considering another option.
Their Royal Highnesses are also looking at St. Edward's School in Oxford, which comes with a 47,000 pound per year price tag. It is believed the pair think the school is a good fit for George, who is second in line to the throne, and reportedly visited the location shortly before the princess had abdominal surgery. Kate long disagreed with her husband about sending him away, even though it's tradition.
Regardless of these squabbles, the future king and queen put their differences aside to ring in the young prince's entry into his second decade.
"It will be business as usual with potentially a party or other kids coming round," former royal butler to King Charles III, Grant Harrold, told an outlet ahead of the big day. "There will be something that happens. It won’t be a case of him sitting behind closed doors and not doing anything; there will be some sort of a celebration."
"Of course, it’s going to be very different from last year, but they will go out of their way, I’m sure, to make George’s birthday as normal as possible this year," Harrold previously said. "They wouldn’t want to make George think this year is any different. Yes, it will be different, for obvious reasons, but the parents will want him to have a normal birthday."
Prince George's future remains unclear in terms of what we can expect from a future king. It is tradition for a monarch-to-be to serve in the British Armed Forces they will one day command. If he didn't, a future King George VII would be the first sovereign not to serve since Queen Victoria in the nineteenth century.
The New York Post spoke with Harrold.