Prince William under 'pressure' as he's separated from Prince George by royal rule

With Prince George ’s 12th birthday right around the corner, Prince William is feeling the pressure of maintaining a centuries-old royal rule that will see him separated from his son for one major reason. As soon as George turns 12 on July 22nd, a royal tradition will come into place that will mean the young prince can no longer travel with his father.

The eldest son of Prince William and Princess Kate will have to travel separately from his father when undertaking royal duties, as an historic royal custom dictates that anyone over 12 years old in the line of succession cannot travel together for safety reasons.

This ensures that, in the tragic event that one was in an accident, the other would presumably be safe, protecting the line of succession one way or another.

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While many believe that this rule applies to all forms of transport, royal expert Jennie Bond believes that the custom may only apply to air travel for the heirs to the throne.

The former BBC royal correspondent also shared that while Prince William may be expected to enforce this centuries-long protocol, he may continue his shake up of the monarchy by dismissing it from time to time.

Bond told the Mirror : “This is a rule which I think applies only to flying, not to other methods of transport. Nevertheless, it’s going to be rather annoying for the family because they are such a tight little unit and obviously enjoy travelling together.

“However, I think there will be pressure on William to stick to this rule – at least most of the time. It’s all to do with protecting the succession to the throne.”

Bond added that the introduction of such a strict royal rule would no doubt have an impact on the young prince, who has had his rise to the throne outlined from the day he was born.

She said: “It is of course quite a graphic illustration of how George’s destiny is mapped out and of how he is different to everyone else. And that must be quite hard for a 12-year-old to accept.

“But he has brilliant parents in Catherine and William, and I’m sure they will explain the situation as gently as possible to all three of the children. In any case, I don’t think we should think of George flying on his own. I imagine they will just divide up as a family and as long as William and George are separate, they can make it work.”

Bond also claimed that as Prince William has already made moves to shake up and modernise the monarchy, there is a chance he could abandon the tradition altogether.

She explained: “William is very much his own man and it may be that he feels this tradition is unnecessary – especially as some statistics suggest flying is safer than driving. So we shall have to wait and see whether he sticks to the way things have been done in the past.”