The Queen will celebrate her platinum jubilee this summer, marking 70 years on the throne with a four day bank holiday weekend in June and a range of activities to be enjoyed by the public – and there will even be a monarch-approved English sparkling wine available to those who like a bit of fizz.
However, many have speculated that the Queen may be preparing to hand over the crown to her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles. Earlier this year she announced she would like Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to be referred to as Queen Consort when Charles is King, and reports claim that the Queen and Charles are currently working together as a ‘co-monarchy’ due to her ongoing health issues.
When Charles is coronated, it means his son, Prince William, will become the heir and his eldest grandson, Prince George, will be second in line to the throne.
Although he is only eight years old, royal experts believe that George is already starting to prepare for his future role – and that these preparations will have an impact on his relationships with his two younger siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
When William and Harry were younger, much was made of the brothers being ‘an heir and a spare’, and it is also something that Princess Margaret is said to have struggled with.
Last year, royal expert Daniela Elser wrote for News.com.au explaining how George will be forced to grow apart from his siblings in the very near future.
She explained that ‘a lifetime of reigning and parliament opening’ is ahead of George, saying: ‘He will get to be handy with a sword for the odd-spot of knighting and faces decade upon decade of having to endure weekly audiences with the Prime Minister of the day.
‘To wit, his future is set in perfect Cumbrian stone. The opposite is true for Charlotte and George.
‘While as children, as it was for William and Harry when they were tiny royal mites, all three of the Cambridge kids are being raised equally, the inherent disparity between George and his siblings will make itself horribly known in the years to come.
‘It is inevitable – sad and inevitable.’
However, she claims that the Cambridges – who are used to doing things their own way – will handle the ‘spare’ conundrum differently, and believes that Charlotte and Louis will play very important roles within the monarchy as they will be ‘lumped with the entire responsibility of making the monarchy in any way seem relevant to younger Britons’.
