Prince William recently took his eldest child Prince George to a homeless shelter, The Passage. George and William served food and George got to meet some of the volunteers and coordinators. It was a soft-entrance into the charitable world George will officially enter as an adult. Unfortunately, the British press has been going overboard to draw connections between “future king” George and Princess Diana, and they’re also just hyping George way too much. He’s a kid, stop obsessing over every single thing he did at a homeless shelter. I can’t solely blame the press though, it’s clear that Kensington Palace wants this kind of coverage of George. They’re positioning George as a working-royal-in-training. The kid is 12 years old and he’s providing cover for his work-shy parents. Anyway, the Telegraph had a piece about all of this and more, including some new speculation about George’s school next year.

Getting used to a royal kid working: While it was once a novelty, the public has grown used to Prince George’s presence at royal events these days – often appearing a few steps behind his father, always watching, always emulating, always learning. On VE Day in May, he took part in his most significant royal engagement to date at a tea party thrown for Second World War veterans at Buckingham Palace. Six months later, George, who will one day be Head of the Armed Forces, made his first appearance at the Festival of Remembrance, sitting in the front row of the Royal Albert Hall’s Royal Box with his parents and the King and Queen. A model of good behaviour, the schoolboy looked entirely at ease. If he’s daunted by the idea that he’ll one day be sitting in his grandfather’s seat, it never shows. The same was true of his appearance at The Passage, where George smiled and mucked in with food preparation while his father introduced him to people he has now known for decades.

George is an impressive young man: “He is a very impressive young man,” says Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, “but I think William is anxious to bring him up differently to how he himself was brought up after his mother died. He is very conscious of not wanting George to be seen as an elitist kid, he just wants him to be as ordinary as he can be. I remember [the Princess of Wales] once saying that they always discuss these appearances with George, that he is never pushed. William is doing what he can to get him to look at the world in a certain way, but you can see how good George was with those old soldiers – he wants to do all these things. And William is happy for him to have a taste of it, but not the full meal.”

Slimmed-down monarchy: There is always much talk about the “slimmed down” monarchy expected under Prince William’s eventual reign. Following the choice by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live a non-royal life overseas, plus the defenestration of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and subsequent questions surrounding the future roles of his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Prince William’s children will be central to a Royal family that has a focus on quality over quantity. “Things will be so different. They won’t be able to spread themselves so thin. I don’t see Beatrice and Eugenie getting involved much,” Seward says. “And William likes to control situations, so he will keep the key figures close – meaning his own children.”

George’s next school: For several years, rumours have swirled about whether he might follow in the footsteps of his father, at Eton College, or head further west and attend the alma mater of his mother by joining Marlborough College in Wiltshire. Some royal-watchers think he’ll end up attending somewhere else altogether. “From what I’ve heard, Marlborough might be off the table due to security concerns, as it is very spread out. And there’s no way he’ll go to Eton, so we will have to wait and see where they choose,” Seward says. What she can say with a greater degree of certainty is that George will be “left to be as normal a teenager as possible” once he begins at his new school. “They’re very conscious of not pushing him. Royal children do lead a sheltered life because of who they are, but he’s got the rest of his life to learn. It is not essential that he conduct engagements at this age.”

Biographer Christopher Wilson’s thoughts: “There is obviously valuable experience to be gained from seeing his father operate as a charity patron, and to see the work of places like The Passage when he is so young. Ultimately, though, George is a 12-year-old boy, and no more ready for the spotlight than William was at that age, or Charles was at that age. The kindest thing they could do for his future is to let him go and be a teenager at secondary school, far away from the pressures of his role and the glare of the media. There will be enough of that once he becomes an adult. William will know that better than anyone.”

[From The Telegraph]

“From what I’ve heard, Marlborough might be off the table due to security concerns, as it is very spread out. And there’s no way he’ll go to Eton…” Wait, what? I still believe that William wants George to go to Eton, although Kate will probably get her way on Charlotte and Louis’s education. But if it’s not Marlborough, then what will it be? Hm. As for the rest of it… the problem is that William and Kate haven’t really thought this through, about when to include their kids in public events and charitable visits. Not only that, they haven’t come up with a plan to protect the kids from a press machine which will happily chew up those kids. William could have taken George to The Passage privately, with no photos and no excessive press coverage. William also could have attended the Festival of Remembrance himself instead of sending his 12-year-old son in his place. All said, I have little faith in William and Kate’s ability to prepare their kids for public life.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Kensington Palace.