It’s safe to assume that Prince William and Kate Middleton are – just like the rest of the Royal Family – currently busy preparing for King Charles and Camilla’s coronation. When the couple follow the procession to Westminster Abbey, their three children, Prince George, Prince Charlotte, and Prince Louis will be there with them.
While George will likely get a more significant role at the coronation, Charlotte and Louis can be expected to be relegated to the background given their ages. That said, the coronation could mark a historical moment for Charlotte as she might wear a crown of sorts for the first time – which would actually go against royal protocol.
Though their royal duties are a serious undertaking, William, Kate, and their children are all loving people, never afraid to have some fun. Neither they are afraid to show off their more sensitive, human sides.
Indeed, perhaps this was never better evidenced than the way Charlotte and her siblings once remembered to honor their late grandmother, Princess Diana, on Mother’s Day …
King Charles‘ coronation is less than two months away. It will take place on May 6, and the it will be celebrated nationwide by the British public.
The royals will travel in procession to Westminster Abbey, where a traditional service, including an anointment with holy oil, will be performed. And it’s not only the adult royals set to be involved in the coronation, but also the royal children.
Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, won’t be traveling alone to the Abbey – where countless royal marriages, services, coronations, and funerals have taken place over the years.
That specific part of the coronation is for senior members of the Royal Family only, meaning that even if they are in the UK for the occasion, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be involved.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte & Prince Louis – coronation
That same goes for other non-working royals, including Andrew, the Duke of York, and his children, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.
Besides the debate and many reports about Harry and Meghan’s “be or not to be” showing at the coronation, another hotly talked about topic has been the potential involvement of Prince William’s eldest son, Prince George. Reports have suggested that he might take on a more significant role at the coronation, alongside Camilla’s grandchildren, who look set to perform one of the most honorable tasks of the whole day.
According to leaked documents in The Times, the Prince and Princess of Wales – Prince William and Kate Middleton – will take part in the procession alongside their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Alongside them will be Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir. Tim Laurence, the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (Prince Edward and his wife Sophie), the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (Prince Richard and his wife Birgitte), as well as the Duke of Kent (Prince Edward) and his wife, Princess Alexander.
In total, there will be 15 senior royals included in the procession, including King Charles and Camilla.
The role Prince George will play at his grandfather’s coronation has sparked a “bit of an argument”. His parents worry about the pressure on the young royal, an expert has claimed.
According to the leaked plans for the coronation rehearsal, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are all expected to be seen by the public during the coronation, as well as on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
William & Kate “worried” for Prince George’s role at the coronation
But while Prince George is preparing for royal life as the future king, the fact that he, at nine years of age, might have a prominent role during the coronation has sparked an argument between his parents, William and Kate.
According to royal commentator and author Tom Quinn, William and Kate are worried that the pressure might be too much for the young prince.
“I’ve heard from my contacts that there is a bit of an argument going on about whether George should play a more formal role,” he told Express. “I’ve heard that Kate and William are worried that it will be too much for him.”
Reports have long suggested that William and Kate have done their best to give their children a normal childhood. Of course, given the fact that Prince George will be king one day, they also have to begin preparing him for the job.
It’s believed that William and Kate are slowly letting him know what the future will hold. Reports suggest that George – like his father – will likely begin working full-time as a royal by age 35, if not sooner. For a future king, it’s crucial to be ready.
According to royal historian Robert Lacey, William and Kate have already told George what the future has in store for him.
“William has not revealed to the world how and when he broke the big news to his son,” Lacey wrote in his book, Battle of Brothers.
“But sometime around the boy’s seventh birthday in the summer of 2020, it is thought that his parents went into more detail about what the little prince’s life of future royal ‘service and duty’ would particularly involve.”
Princess Charlotte might have to work to make a living in the future, expert claims
According to Tom Quinn, it’s not only the fact that Prince George might be too young that worries them about the coronation. They’re also concerned with what has happened to royals in the past, including what William and Harry had to experience after the passing of their mother, Princess Diana.
“It’s almost an echo of the way William and Harry were sometimes made to attend formal occasions that they shouldn’t have been made to attend – most famously, the funeral of their mother and walking behind her coffin at their age,” he told the Express.
In the public’s eye, Prince George is not the only royal child that has become very popular. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis also have gotten their fair share of public exposure – even if it hasn’t always been positive. In Harry’s memoir, Spare, the Duke claimed that he feared for their future and the fact that they might end up like him… a spare.
With the coronation approaching, much has been speculated regarding Prince George’s possible role. The future king naturally has more eyes on him than the other royal children, and the respective roles of Charlotte and Louis will be markedly different when they grow up.
Will Princess Charlotte even be a working royal in the future? According to royal expert Richard Eden, William and Kate are raising her with the expectation that she won’t be a full-time working royal – but rather that she will have to work for a living.
“From what I hear, the Prince and Princess of Wales want Charlotte, aged seven, to grow up with the expectation that she will get a job and not be a full-time royal,” Eden told the Mirror.
“This path for the young Princess would be in keeping with her grandfather, King Charles III’s, vision for a slimmed-down monarchy.”
Princess Charlotte to break royal protocol at coronation?
While King Charles and Camilla are the two main center pieces of the coronation, another royal might be seen wearing a crown for the first time: Princess Charlotte.
Royal rule state that royals can’t wear a crown until they’re married – this applied to both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. However, there have been some exceptions in the past. Princess Anne, for example, often wore tiaras before her first marriage to Mark Phillips.
The same might go for Princess Charlotte, if reports are to be believed. We might see her wear a tiara at the coronation.
“Expect Charlotte in a dainty coronet [small crown] – perhaps even the one the late Queen wore to her father’s coronation aged 10 – and the two brothers in frock coats and breeches,” historian Tessa Dunlop told the Mirror.
“Kate loves dressing up her children, so objections are unlikely. And the money shot everyone will want is a snap of the three siblings in their finery alongside the King and the Queen on Buckingham Palace balcony after the service.”
It goes without saying that Princess Charlotte will continue to be in the public spotlight. Just days ago, she became the talk of the town once again on the UK’s Mother’s Day.
Prince George & Princess Charlotte’s heartbreaking Mother’s Day card to Diana
William and Kate took the opportunity to share their children’s lovely Mother’s Day cards from some years ago. It wasn’t only their mother that Princess Charlotte and her siblings decided to honor – but also William’s late mother and grandmother, Princess Diana.
“Dear Granny Diana, I am thinking of you on mother’s day,” Charlotte wrote in her card. “I love you very much. Papa is missing you. Lots of love, Charlotte”.
Meanwhile, George wrote: “Dear granny Diana, Happy happy Mother’s Day. I love you very much and think of you always, sending lots of love from George.”
Prince Louis was only two years of age at the time and created a cart with a heart and some animals, all of which had been stuck onto the Mother’s Day card.
In 2017, Prince William opened up about his mother’s passing and his memories of her. He also described how he has educated his children about their late grandmother.
“We’ve got more photos up around the house now of her, and we talk about her a bit and stuff. It’s hard because obviously, [Kate] didn’t know her, so she cannot really provide that level of detail,” he said in a 2017 BBC documentary.
“So, I do regularly, putting George or Charlotte to bed, talk about her and just try and remind them that there are two grandmothers, there were two grandmothers in their lives, and so it’s important that they know who she was and that she existed,” William added.
Princess Diana letters about a young William & Harry discovered
Prince William and his brother Harry are now busy raising their own children, no doubt doing their best to pass on all that was taught unto them by Diana.
Just how much of a ‘normal’ childhood William and Harry had with their mother is hard to tell. However, in May of last year, an old letter written by Princess Diana surfaced, shedding new light as to their loving relationship.
The letter gives us a brief but beautiful glimpse of William and Harry’s childhood. Not only that, but also the extraordinary childhood bond between the two.
The letter was written by Diana in March of 1985, just six months after the birth of her youngest son, Harry.
“William adores his little brother and spends the entire time swamping Harry with an endless supply of hugs and kisses, hardly letting the parents near!” Diana’s handwritten letter states, as reported by The Sun.
The letter, written to a former steward at Buckingham Palace, Cyril Dickman, was sold at auction in Cambridge in 2017.
In other letters, Princess Diana revealed how a then-older Prince Harry was “constantly in trouble” at school. Time will tell if the same will be written about Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis in the future.