Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge will soon have his own passport and be ready for travel with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Costing £46, the Duke and Duchess have applied for the passport for the nine week old Prince, according to the 22 September online edition of The Mirror.
Prince George will apparently be joining his parents next year on their tour of Australia and New Zealand. Thirty years ago, the Prince and Princess of Wales took the nine month old Prince William on the same tour of the Commonwealth countries. Royal Protocol set forth rules that the heir and next in line to the throne are to never fly together. Diana was adamant that Prince William should not fly separately on that trip and Her Majesty granted permission for both Prince Charles and Prince William to be on the same flight together.
It seems Her Majesty will do the same for the Australia and New Zealand trip the Duke and Duchess will be embarking on next year, according The Mirror.
The Duke and Duchess have already flown together along with Prince George, last Sunday on a private flight to Balmoral. Prince George’s first flight was in a £14million Cessna 750. Sources from the Daily Mail reported that the plane is owned by Prince William’s godfather, the Duke of Westminster, who apparently lent it for their use.Kensington Palace would not allude to any information in regards to the passport. It was “a private document,” one spokesperson commented.
The Royal Family’s children have been used to travel and separation from their parents. In 1926 when Her Majesty was only eight months old, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth embarked on a Commonwealth tour of New Zealand, Fiji and Australia. The trips taken by the Royal Family back in those days lasted many months, with the then Princess Elizabeth staying behind in London.
Her Majesty in turn left a young Prince Charles in London when Prince Philip, as part of his naval duties, was stationed in Malta from 1949-1951. In 1953 after the coronation, Her Majesty and Prince Philip began their six month world tour while five year old Prince Charles and three year old Princess Anne stayed behind.
Prince Charles and Diana left a young Prince William back in London on their 1983 trip to Canada. The Prince and Princess of Wales spent 18 days in Canada travelling to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, P.E.I., Alberta and Ottawa.
In April 1985, Prince Charles and Diana visited Italy with Prince William and Prince Harry in which they had a private audience with Pope John Paul II. Then in 1986, The Waleses were once again abroad in British Columbia without Prince William or Prince Harry. One cannot forget though the Ontario trip in 1991, when a young Prince William and Prince Harry ran into their mother’s arms aboard the HMY Britannia which was docked in the Toronto Harbour.
Will Prince George be in tow on his parents’ trips around the world as they embark on more Royal engagements? If the passport application is any inclination, Prince George will be soon be on his way to being a seasoned traveler!
photo credit: Christopher Neve and OwenBlacker via photopin cc
In my humble opinion, I think you are right on the money. Ignoring all the dribble that is constantly written on comment sections about the Royal Family, there is either very limited coverage, or none at all, on the young Yorks. And, when they are reported on, the main body is only concerned with what they are wearing. I do believe that these young ladies get the negative trash talk only for two reasons. The first being that they are very wealthy, therefore can sit around on their backsides being “parasites”. The second reason, I believe has a great deal to do with their parentage. Let’s face it, if the parents are getting mostly negative press, then the bad publicity will also follow them.
The important thing for folks to remember is that these lovely young ladies asked for neither situation. If they are not considered working members of the Royal Family (read, not “parasites”) and instead are working outside of the Palace confines, and are taking time to help their community of their own accord, they should be praised for it!! And, with the state of young people today, I think the press could do a better job of covering their activities.