Prince George leans on two members of the Royal Family for advice and guidance that few others are able to give, a royal expert has claimed. The future king, who celebrated his 13th birthday on Wednesday, is set to attend Eton this summer as the recent teenager enters his formative years.
His parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, have taken steps to shield their eldest son from the world’s scrutiny and gaze, although they recognise that as he steps into young adulthood, the reality of his future role as monarch cannot be kept at bay forever. To manage this delicate balance, William and Kate have meticulously crafted a “protected zone” around their son, limiting his public appearances to key national events while fiercely guarding his day-to-day privacy. As the young prince prepares to one day ascend to the throne, the wider family are believed to be helping shape the young man into a future leader, including two family members who he is especially fond of.
Royal author Robert Jobson believes that the role of Zara Tindall and husband Mike should not be underestimated, with the couple’s well known humility and laid back approach to royal life an asset to the development of a future monarch.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, Jobson said: “Watch Zara with George, and there is no deference in it. She teases him. He is easy with her the way children are easy with adults who want nothing from them.
“Then there is Mike, who is not a godparent and has become something better. He talks to him about losing, the one subject nobody else raises, because everybody else is invested in the boy winning.”
He added that Mike puts an “arm round George’s shoulders” and there are “no airs and graces about the man”. George “worked that out years ago”, Jobson said.
Zara Tindall’s mother Princess Anne turned down royal titles for her children, meaning that her daughter has not grown up as a princess like many of her cousins.
It is this decision, Jobson believes, that could have had a significant impact on Zara’s own upbringing, driving her on to become a success in her own right as an olympian in 2012 where she claimed a silver medal in Team Eventing.
Her sporting pedigree combined with that of her Rugby World Cup Winning husband provide the future monarch with an outlet to learn about success and failure, Jobson thinks.