Prince George

The ‘chatty and charming’ prince is finding his way as a big brother—and a future king

PLAYING IN THE GRASS WITH HIS sister and a handful of cousins last month, Prince George wasn’t about to let being third in line to the throne get in the way of having a good time. While his dad, Prince William, competed in a charity polo match at Beaufort Park on June 10, 5-year-old George charged across the lawn trailed by 3-year-old Princess Charlotte. “George ran with his head up as fast as he could,” says an observer. “He looked back at Charlotte once or twice, but kept on going. He was not holding back. And the first thing he did when he got there was slide down the hill on his bum.” Mum Kate pointed out a group of photographers to the children as a gentle reminder, but “she let them get on with it, sliding and rolling on the grass. They were loving the great big area to play in on such a sunny day.”

As the future king, Prince George—who turned 5 on July 22—has the world at his feet, even as his parents have shielded him from the weight of his historic role. A sometimes shy child, “George takes a little while to warm up, but once he’s comfortable with you he’s very chatty and charming,” says a source. And he’s “very happy” at his new school, Thomas’s Battersea in London, where he is known as “George Cambridge.” At home in Kensington Palace, he’s “very independent now and not as interested in playing with Charlotte all the time,” the source adds. “They are close, but George likes to go off and do his own thing.”

Over the summer, the siblings—minus

3-month-old Prince Louis—have been spotted out with the family’s trusted nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, riding bikes ( both without training wheels!) and enjoying the parks outside the palace gates. “Maria loves the children dearly,” says the source. “She can be firm and strict, but she is very loving and soft with them too.”

Although the time will come for George to formally be ushered into public life ( William was taken on his first official engagement at age 8 by his mother, Princess Diana), he still has a few years left to enjoy just being a kid. “The Queen doesn’t like too much, too early. Her belief is that they are children and should stay out of the limelight,” says Ken Wharfe, Diana’s former bodyguard. “George will know exactly who he is, and William and Kate will want to make sure that his moment of entering royal glory is kept away as long as possible.” •

Kate and William shared this new photo, taken after Prince Louis’ christening, to mark Prince George’s fifth birthday. Prince George officially entered the spotlight outside the hospital after his 2013 birth.

In 2014, Will and Kate shared photos of George exploring the butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London on his first birthday.

The prince stayed up late (in his monogrammed bathrobe!) to meet President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in 2016.

George whirled a slinky during his polo outing on June 10. ”He charged around trailing it in the air behind him,” says an onlooker.

Before Meghan and Harry’s nuptials, George (with Charlotte) was a page boy for Aunt Pippa Middleton in May 2017.