Kate and William may ditch a decades-old royal rule as Prince George nears 12 – here's what it means and why it matters

Twelve isn’t typically considered a turning point in most families, but when you’re second in line to the British throne, even birthdays come with weighty consequences. As Prince George celebrates his 12th birthday on July 22, a little-known but longstanding royal protocol could soon change the way the young heir travels, possibly for the rest of his life.


Historically, direct heirs to the crown are discouraged from flying together, an unbending precaution rooted in the monarchy’s effort to ensure continuity. Prince William, George’s father, was 12 himself when this rule was enforced. Until then, he’d traveled alongside both parents and younger brother Prince Harry. Then, the rules kicked in.


“We flew all four: the Prince [Charles], the Princess [Diana], Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Prince William was 12 years old,” Graham Laurie, King Charles’ former pilot, said on A Right Royal Podcast in 2023. “After that, he had to have a separate aircraft, and we could only fly all four together when they were young with the written permission of Her Majesty."



At the time, it was Queen Elizabeth’s handwritten note that made those early family trips possible. Without it, flying together wouldn’t have been allowed.


Will Kate and William follow the royal protocol?
This year, the decision falls to Prince William and Kate Middleton, and it isn’t just logistical; it’s philosophical. Do they stick to precedent and separate flights? Or continue traveling with their three children, George, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 7, as they have until now?


The answer isn’t clear.


While permission from King Charles could allow all five family members to board the same plane, it’s also possible the Prince and Princess of Wales may not ask at all. In recent years, they’ve made deliberate choices to soften, or outright abandon, certain royal traditions in favor of protecting their children's childhoods.


Take long-distance travel, for example. When Charles was young, Queen Elizabeth often spent months away from him, leaving him in the care of nannies and his grandmother. “You can’t see this couple doing that,” a royal insider told PEOPLE, noting the clear contrast in how William and Kate approach parenting.


They’ve also skipped various ceremonial events to keep family life stable, especially amid Kate’s ongoing cancer treatment, during which time the family has drawn even closer.



Helicopter in the room


The travel conversation around the Wales family isn’t new, and neither is the concern. The Sun on Sunday once reported that Queen Elizabeth was deeply uneasy about Prince William’s habit of flying helicopters with his entire family on board.


“She knows William is a capable pilot but does not think it is worth the risk for all five of them to carry on flying together, and can't imagine what would happen,” the outlet reported. “It would spark a constitutional crisis."


Because after Prince William and his children, the next in the line of succession is Prince Harry, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and now lives with Meghan Markle in California. What was once an abstract risk now feels closer to a crisis scenario, especially from the palace's point of view.