At the tender age of nine, the future king of Great Britain, Prince George has an extraordinary future mapped out for him.
Will Prince George follow in Prince William’s footsteps?
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s eldest child will one day be crowned King and, as such, his parents have the difficult job of balancing the weight of his royal responsibilities with providing a normal and happy childhood for their son.
Of course, as George grows older, he will increasingly step into the spotlight. His father, Prince William, is perfectly placed to help him navigate this transition – he has grown up under the same spotlight and has managed to strike a happy medium between his personal and public life.
Also read: Pictures: Duchess Catherine reveals her favourite photos of Prince George.
One of the standout moments on George’s path to becoming a more prominent royal will be his very first solo engagement. While there are no set rules on the age a young Prince or Princess will undertake this task, he is likely to take a leaf out of his father’s book.
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Prince William’s first solo engagement took place in June 2005, when he was 23 years old. Prince Charles’s son was invited to join the British and Irish Lions rugby team on their tour to New Zealand, and during his 11-day stay, he also represented the Queen at events to commemorate the end of the Second World War.
British and New Zealand reporters in Wellington formed a 50-strong media contingent at the city’s airport when Prince William touched down on a commercial flight from Auckland at about 8.15 am. There were also huge crowds of excited wellwishers at the airport, including three students from Christchurch’s St Andrew’s College, who managed to get the Prince’s attention as he walked past – William had graduated from Scotland’s St Andrew’s University with an art degree just one week prior. According to one onlooker, the royal said “awesome” as the students shouted out the name of their college.
It was the Prince’s second visit to New Zealand. He had previously travelled there in 1983 as a nine-month-old with his mother, the late Princess Diana, and father Prince Charles.
Interestingly, Prince Harry was also 23 when he undertook his first solo engagement. He received a very warm welcome from locals as he visited Cardiff’s University Hospital – and even had his first major public encounter when a local mother pressed her sleeping baby girl into his arms.
Also read: William says George walks like Prince Charles as a young boy: See the video proof.
Prince George carried out his first official engagement in the UK when he was just two years old, attending the Royal International Air Tattoo. William, meanwhile, was eight years old when he joined his parents Prince Charles and Princess Diana on a visit to Cardiff.
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