When Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the Prince and Princess of Wales’ eldest children, accompanied them on their international tours, they broke the rules governing royal travel.
Prince William and Prince George traveled together to Australia in 2014, Canada in 2016, and Germany and Poland in 2017, despite the long-standing unwritten rule that two heirs shouldn’t board the same flight.
According to reports, William requested that the late Queen allow George to travel with him and Catherine to Australia and New Zealand.
However, in the upcoming year, 11-year-old George’s rules might change, and he might not be allowed to travel with his parents and younger siblings, Prince Louis, 6, and Princess Charlotte, 9.
On an episode of HELLO!’s “A Right Royal Podcast” last year, former royal pilot Graham Laurie confirmed that William started flying in a different plane from his family when he turned twelve.
Graham talked about taking Charles, Diana, William, and Harry on family vacations, saying: “The ones I did [holiday flights] mainly were the ones when the Wales’ went to the Mediterranean.”
“But interestingly, we flew all four: the Prince, the Princess, Prince William and Prince Harry, up until when Prince William was 12 years old. 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.
“Nowadays, for instance, the King can’t fly with the Prince of Wales.”
Graham went on: “So, what we did in the end, when William became 12, he would fly normally in a 125 from Northolt and we would fly the 146 or the Andover out with the other three on.”
Explaining the decision for the change when William turned 12: “Up until then, they probably thought it will be too much for him travelling on his own. But nevertheless, that’s what they did.”
When asked if this rule would apply to today’s royals, with Prince William and Prince George, Graham said: “I know the King is trying to cut down cost and is aware of travel, but I think the safety side is still paramount.”
Royal travel has undergone other major changes, especially in the area of security.
Graham explains: “Our aircraft were painted red, white and blue… but they changed the colour scheme in 2002 to look more like a normal airliner.“