THE NEXT STEP - DECISION TIME FOR THE CAMBRIDGES

THE CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY HAVE BEEN ENJOYING TIME TOGETHER IN LOCKDOWN BUT SOON THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE WILL BE FACED WITH A POTENTIAL DILEMMA

The playful photos released for the Duke of Cambridge’s 38th birthday illustrate how Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, really are the centre of his world. Taken by the Duchess of Cambridge at their Anmer Hall home, they’re the most candid royal photos we’ve seen yet and give a lovely insight into William and Kate’s hands-on parenting style.

But with the pictures telling the story of a close-knit family unit, they emphasise the potential dilemma the couple face about whether or not to send George and his siblings away to boarding school in the near future.

Royal expert Ingrid Seward exclusively tells OK!, “Kate and William are modern parents and will weigh up the decision very carefully. I think they’ll wait to see how the children’s personalities develop, and take into consideration whether or not they would be happy to live away from home. Having experienced terrible trauma in his own childhood, William is very tuned in to his children’s mental health.”

George and Charlotte, who’ve spent the past three months being homeschooled during lockdown, are both pupils at Thomas’s Battersea, London, not far from Kensington Palace. The private day school takes students up to the age of 13, but royals are traditionally sent away to preparatory school from the age of eight.