Can Prince George travel with Prince William? The royals' unique travel precaution explained

Can Prince George travel with Prince William right now? You might be wondering where things stand for the future King when travelling.

Prince George is only ten years old but fans are likely already more than a little curious about both his daily life and his future. From whether Prince George can be King as a child to which rugby team he supports, there are so many questions you’ll find yourself asking about the future monarch. Another one that comes to mind is who Prince George can travel with and whether his devoted dad Prince William is barred from going with him. As we await Prince George’s next public appearance alongside his parents, we have all the details on whether he and Prince William travel together and why things could be about to change for father and son.

Can Prince George travel with Prince William? 

It’s believed that Prince George can travel with Prince William right now but they’ll start travelling separately after he turns 12. Last year the Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly travelled with all three of their children to Westminster Abbey to attend Kate’s Together at Christmas carol service. However, as per The Mirror, King Charles’s former pilot Graham Laurie has suggested that this won’t be the case much longer for Prince George. He claimed that Prince William stopped travelling with his father and brother from the age of 12.

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Getting candid on Hello! Magazine’s A Right Royal Podcast, Graham declared, “Interestingly, we flew all four: the Prince [now-King Charles], the Princess [Princess Diana], Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Prince William was 12 years old.”

The pilot went on to allege that after the Prince of Wales turned 12 they could “only fly all four together when they were young with the written permission” of the late Queen Elizabeth. Graham added that Prince William would “normally” fly in on a 125 from Northolt and that he’d fly the 146 out with King Charles, Princess Diana and Prince Harry.

Since Prince William started travelling separately from King Charles from the age of 12, it could be that this royal rule applies to Prince George too. If it does, then he only has just over a year left of travelling with Prince William.  

It remains to be seen whether Prince George could end up travelling solo like his father did at his age, or whether he might travel with the Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis whilst Prince William travels alone. The Prince and Princess of Wales are known for being protective of their children’s privacy and are said to be keen to give Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis as ordinary an upbringing as possible.

Because of this, it might be likely that Prince George would still get to travel with most of his family, if not his father. This option might be a slightly less daunting prospect for Prince George, as Prince William is very used to travelling by himself. 

Why won't Prince George and Prince William be able to fly together? 

Prince George and Prince William probably won’t fly together for much longer to protect the monarchy’s future. Prince William and Prince George are first and second in the royal line of succession and direct heirs to the throne after King Charles. If both of them were on the same flight and a crash were to happen, then the Royal Family will have lost two direct heirs to the throne, but this risk is minimised if they travel separately.

It's for this reason that the tradition of heirs not traveling together exists and it's why Prince William stopped travelling with his father and brother when he was a child as all three were Queen Elizabeth’s direct heirs at the time. When Prince George is older, if he goes on to have children of his own, this unofficial royal travel rule means he and his eldest child will probably end up travelling separately at some point too.