How Prince George will be introduced to life as King

The prospect of one day being King of England must be a daunting one but Prince George, second in line to the British royal throne, is being prepared for his life of duty in a practical way that is “not scary”.

This is according to royal biographer, Robert Hardman, who recently spoke with People Magazine about Prince William and Princess Catherine’s approach to balancing Prince George’s childhood and his exposure to his future as king.

“William is trying to normalize it. They’re not in denial and there’s a lot of thought being given to it, which was not always the case,” Hardman told People in an exclusive interview.

“With George, there’s a sense that the priority is that he and his siblings are not put off this, that it’s not scary, that it’s something that they understand and it’s going to be part of their life.

“And there’s a belief to make it as unobtrusive and as normal — if you can call it normal — and as pleasant as possible.”

The author, whose book The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy has just launched, added, “Crucially, it’s both of them — William and Catherine.”

In his book, Hardman also reveals that the Prince of Wales takes his duty of training his heir very seriously.

“In his view, it’s not far off the most important job he has – raising the next King,” a family friend is quoted as saying.

According to Hardman, this approach is in stark contrast to how King Charles III was introduced to the throne.

“King Charles’ future was largely determined without his consultation,” Hardman says.

“It was laid out for him. He was told by a committee, ‘You will do this.’ There was once a dinner, which involved the Prime Minister of the Archbishop of Canterbury and a few others, where it was decided that Charles would go to Trinity College, Cambridge and would then join the Royal Navy.

“And he was sort of informed afterward, this is what you are going to do,” Hardman told People.

Prince William enjoyed more freedom when it came to making choices about his education and early career and he hopes for his son to have a similar experience.

In Hardman’s book a Kensington Palace source reportedly said, “There is no expectation that any royal duties are going to kick in until George is well into his 20s.”

This consultative approach was demonstrated when Prince William and Princess Catherine asked the young prince, whether he’d like to be a page at his grandfather’s coronation. it was a good move as Prince George was keen to be involved.