FAMILY FUN FOR PRINCE GEORGE'S BIG BIRTHDAY

AS PRINCE GEORGE REACHES HIS MILESTONE 10TH BIRTHDAY, WE CONSIDER HOW HE WILL CELEBRATE AND WHAT HIS FUTURE HOLDS

- REBECCA RUSSELL

It seems like only yesterday Prince George was introduced to the world. Swaddled in his mother’s arms as she posed with Prince William on the steps of the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, just one day after he was born, the newest member of the royal family had no inkling of the future that lay ahead.

His life had been prescribed from the moment he was born – destined to one day be King. But his besotted new parents promised from day one to strike a balance between their intense public-facing duties and their efforts to raise a happy family.

Doing their utmost to support George as he navigates the ins and outs of his daunting future role, the Prince and Princess of Wales have strived to give him as ‘normal’ an upbringing as possible, allowing him to share in many of the same interests as other young boys his age – from football and video games to climbing trees and, somewhat surprisingly, classic rock music, according to his dad!

This wonderful sense of normality that governs life at home for the Wales children will be very evident later this week when George, now second in line to the throne, enters the exciting era of ‘double digits’. He celebrates his milestone 10th birthday this Saturday, with presents, lots of family fun with sister Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old brother Prince Louis – and, of course, a showstopping cake!

Kate previously let slip to Dame Mary Berry that it has become a tradition for her to stay up late the night before making birthday cakes for her children, and that she ends up “with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing”.