We are unlikely to see Prince George in public during his school summer break, which makes his annual birthday snap even more special. This year’s photo showed just how grown-up the young royal has become and was released early on his 12th birthday, rather than the day before as the Prince and Princess of Wales have often done in the past.
In a cute echo of Queen Camilla’s 78th birthday photo, Prince George is leaning against a gate surrounded by greenery. He looked put-together and relaxed in his countryside attire, which consisted of a blue and white shirt and cosy khaki gilet.
As with many of the royal birthday pictures we see, this was a very composed shot. However, there was also a tiny detail which reminds us all that Prince George is enjoying his childhood to the full before taking on all this responsibility.
It’s a subtle thing that’s easy to miss, but the 12-year-old was wearing a blue and white friendship bracelet on his wrist. This looks very similar to the one he had on for his 11th birthday photo last summer and Prince George also had a bracelet at Wimbledon 2024.
Although not confirmed, the outfit Prince George is wearing in his new snap is the same as he wore in Josh Shinner’s Father’s Day photo - including the bracelet. So the Prince and Princess of Wales’s eldest son has at least owned this specific bracelet for a month.
Friendship bracelets experienced a surge in popularity during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour (which George, Charlotte and Prince William all attended). The children were spotted with them after they went to the Wembley performance in July last year and Princess Charlotte has continued to make them - and insist her dad keeps his on!
Speaking during his visit to South Africa for the Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony that November, Prince William explained that his daughter had gifted him his very own bracelet.
"Well, this is a relic, if you like, from a Taylor Swift concert that my daughter decided that she wanted to create a bracelet for," Prince William explained, as per People. "She gave it to me when I came away. So I promised that I'd wear it and try not to lose it while I was out here."
It’s possible that Princess Charlotte helped to create Prince George’s bracelet, or that the siblings excitedly made them together. What I find most moving about the 12-year-old still wearing a friendship bracelet is how much it shows he’s still, after all, a child.
This can often be forgotten amidst the scrutiny surrounding the children as young royals, but Prince William and Kate are committed to giving their kids as ordinary an upbringing as possible. They have a high degree of privacy at Adelaide Cottage and George’s love of Taylor Swift’s music and on-trend accessories is exactly what you’d expect from any child.
It’s a fun, grounding detail in Prince George’s birthday photo that balances how smart and mature he is as a young King in the making. I loved spotting this in the new photo and I find it particularly charming given how big a deal 12 is for a royal.
This is the age that Prince William reportedly stopped traveling on planes with his father and brother to protect the line of succession, so it’s possible the same will be true for Prince George. With big changes potentially ahead, enjoying childhood to the full sounds like a great idea to me.
