Prince George Turns 12 and Looks Just Like Prince William in New Images

Prince George turned 12 years old today—and, in addition to it being his last year as a preteen, the future king has many changes afoot.

First of all, as evidenced in May when George attended a Buckingham Palace tea party for World War II veterans alongside his parents Prince William and Kate Middleton—and without his siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who were there earlier in the day—George’s exposure to royal life will continue to expand as he gets older. Also, at 12 years old, it is royal custom for heirs to no longer fly together, meaning that William and George may have to take separate flights so as to prevent the collapse of the line of succession if catastrophe struck. George is also on the precipice of attending a new school apart from his siblings—likely Eton College, where both his father and his uncle Prince Harry attended before him.

But before all of that, George is celebrating his birthday on July 22, and was celebrated on social media by his parents, who shared a new photograph of their eldest. In the photo—taken by photographer Josh Shinner in Norfolk, where the Wales family has their country home, earlier this year—George strikingly resembles his father William as he rests his arms on a fence. The never-before-seen 12th birthday portrait sees the future king in a white and blue checked shirt with a brown fleece gilet on top of it. He also sported a blue and white friendship bracelet—a trend that has proven popular with all three of the Wales kids.

“Happy 12th birthday to Prince George!” the Prince and Princess of Wales captioned the shot on Instagram, adding a birthday cake emoji and a photography credit to Shinner for good measure.

After sharing the first shot of George solo, the birthday boy was joined by his siblings Charlotte and Louis for a video tribute, which sees the three at one point walking hand in hand. “12 today!” the video was captioned.

As he turns 12 today, George is expected to spend his birthday privately with his family.

Of raising George to embrace his future as monarch while also raising him to be a normal boy—or as normal as one can be in the royal fishbowl—“It’s a massive balancing act,” a palace source told People about raising George specifically. “William and Kate are doing the right thing, protecting him so he can have as normal a childhood as possible, but he’s also dipping into duties as a future monarch.”

“He’s getting firsthand experience of what it’s like to be a royal and a monarch and firsthand experience of being a normal boy,” the insider continued.

Royal biographer Robert Hardman wrote in his 2024 book King Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story that George will likely have more freedom in his path to the throne than his grandfather King Charles once did, or even that his father William does now. 

“Whereas Charles III had his future mapped out without consultation, Prince William had a significant degree of autonomy in his choice of university education, his engagement with the armed forces, and his introduction to regular royal duties,” Hardman wrote. “He is determined that Prince George should have a similar if not greater involvement in the way he develops his own royal role.”

Described as “funny, feisty, and cheeky” by his godmother (and Princess Diana’s friend) Julia Samuel, Hardman added to People that, when it comes to George’s royal role, “William is trying to normalize it. They’re not in denial, and there’s a lot of thought being given to it, which was not always the case.”

“With George, there’s a sense that the priority is that he and his siblings are not put off this, that it’s not scary, that it’s something that they understand and it’s going to be part of their life,” he added. “And there’s a belief to make it as unobtrusive and as normal, if you can call it normal, and as pleasant as possible.”

There is no expectation that any heavy-lift type of royal duties are going to kick in until George is “well into his 20s,” a Kensington Palace source said in the book. William said himself in a 2017 interview with British GQ that “I want George to grow up in a real, living environment. I don’t want him growing up behind palace walls—he has to be out there.”

Of his children, William added, “I will fight for them to have a normal life.”