PRINCE GEORGE ROYAL TURNS 10!

TRAINING TO BECOME KING BEGINS AS THE BIRTHDAY BOY REACHES A BIG MILESTONE

- Kylie Walters

Before Prince George could even think about heading off to his parents’ idyllic country retreat in Norfolk for school holidays and a summer of fun – not to mention celebrating his 10th birthday with friends – there was work to be done. On July 14, the young royal was busy undertaking official duties, attending the huge Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

Flanked by the Prince and Princess of Wales and his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, George was given the important task of pressing a button to partially raise the ramp of the C-17 transporter aircraft the family were being given a tour of. It was the same plane that was used to transport the late Queen Elizabeth’s coffin to London for her funeral last September. Two days later, George and Charlotte had another royal engagement – cheering Carlos Alcarez onto victory during the men’s singles final at Wimbledon (see page 6).

The appointments, that came in the days leading up to the prince’s first double-digit birthday on July 22, are all designed to help him prepare for the very public life he will lead as the passing years bring him closer to wearing the crown.