Prince George beams in never-before-seen photo released to mark his 12th birthday

The Prince and Princess of Wales have released a stunning photo of Prince George to mark his 12th birthday.

The future King, who was born on July 22, 2013 at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, looks angelic as ever as he beams in the photo, released via Kensington Palace.

The snap, understood to have been taken earlier this year by one of the family’s favourite videographers and photographers, Josh Shinner in Norfolk. It echoes Prince Louis‘s seventh birthday portrait, released in April.

In the snap, the future king is dressed in a white checked shirt layered with a khaki gilet as he leans over a wooden gate and smiles into the camera.

He also appears to be wearing a friendship bracelet made of blue-coloured threads – in a trend that he and his sister Charlotte have previously taken part in.

George, who is the eldest of the Wales children with younger siblings Charlotte, 10 and Louis, seven, was first introduced to the world when his mother Kate and father William stepped out of the Lindo Wing with him in their arms. 

Dressed in a summery powder blue frock, Kate glowed as she and William revealed their first child, George Alexander Louis, to the world.

George, who currently attends Lambrook School in Berkshire, will move to secondary education when he reaches the age of 13 – although it has not yet been confirmed which institution his parents have chosen to send him to. 

Among the schools reportedly being considered were his father’s alma mater; Eton College, and his mother’s; Marlborough College.

While nothing is confirmed yet, the Mail on Sunday reported last month that £63,000-a-year Eton was the frontrunner for Kate and William.

A source told the paper: ‘All roads lead to Eton.’

Sport-loving George has delighted royal fans around the world with public appearances alongside his parents at sporting events; including Aston Villa matches with his father and, most recently, the men’s Wimbledon final.

The 12-year-old sat alongside his parents and sister Charlotte to watch defending champion Carlos Alcaraz take on World No. 1 Jannik Sinner – before the Italian smashed the Spaniard to lift the trophy.

An animated George watched in apparent frustration as his favourite player dropped sets to Sinner, and appeared downcast at the final result.

It has been widely reported in the past that George and Charlotte are huge Alcaraz fans, and the pair have rejoiced at the 22-year-old’s Wimbledon wins in the last two years.

Indeed the Princess of Wales revealed in 2024 that Princess Charlotte had been supported Alcaraz as he beat Novak Djokovic to lift the Wimbledon trophy.

George looked solemn as his mother Kate, patron of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club, descended on Centre Court to award Alcaraz the runner-up dish while Sinner was awarded the winner’s trophy.

Earlier in the day, the future King revealed tennis is one of the sports he plays as an extracurricular activity; humbly suggesting he’s ‘alright’ at the sport.

Ahead of the men’s final, George arrived with his family to the All England Club where he chatted to doubles champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.

Chatting to the royals, Cash asked George and Charlotte if they play ‘tennis’.

The pair both nodded, before Cash replied, ‘Are you good?’.

The future king then modestly quipped: ‘I was alright’.

While the Prince and Princess of Wales have gone to great lengths to protect George’s privacy in childhood, they have previously revealed fleeting details of his interests and hobbies.

Among them is his love of Aston Villa FC as he takes after his father Prince William in supporting the West Midlands-based side.

George has long been attending matches with his father, looking the image of William as he goes through the rollercoaster of emotions of supporting a football team.

The Prince and Princess of Wales also revealed insights into their eldest son’s music taste in recent years, sharing that he’s something of a rock fan.

In 2023, during a Big Lunch event to celebrate the King’s Coronation, William told a royal fan that George was a fan of classic rock bands.

Caroline Mulvihill, from the Rock Choir in Windsor and Maidenhead, recounted a conversation she had with the Prince of Wales during the event.

‘We were talking about the kind of music we do in Rock Choir and Will was telling us in their household they have a very diverse music taste and George is very much into AC/DC and Led Zeppelin,’ she said.

Queen singer Adam Lambert has also suggested the young prince is a fan of the classic rock band of which he is now the frontman, replacing founding member Freddie Mercury.

Lambert previously recalled a conversation he’d had with the Princess of Wales at her Together at Christmas carol concert, in which she’d spoken to him about Queen’s performance at the 2022 Platinum Jubilee concert.

He said: ‘It was such an honour. I got to meet Princess Kate, which was fabulous. She was absolutely lovely and down to earth and charming. 

‘She was talking about her son [George] recalling the performance with the Queen at the Palace for the Platinum Jubilee two years before. Adam continued: ‘She was like, he said: “Oh is Adam going to play his guitar?”

‘She said, “I think he was confused who was playing guitar and who was who but he remembered who you were.” I was like, “Oh, that is cute”.’

The bizarre royal protocol Prince George will now have to follow as the future king celebrates his 12th birthday 

Today is Prince George’s 12th birthday and an important milestone for the future king in more ways than one.

While Prince William and Kate will be considering which school George should join next year, the young prince now faces a significant change in his royal protocol. 

The strict rule is not enforced until a member of the family turns 12 years old and is designed to protect the line of succession to the British crown.

It’s a protocol that George’s father had to follow and also his grandfather during their times as heirs to the throne.

From his birthday today, George will no longer be permitted to fly on the same plane as William.

Speaking to MailOnline, royals expert Richard Fitzwilliams explained why this rule is followed. 

Richard said: ‘To ensure the continuity of the institution, King Charles and Prince William never travel together. When Prince George, who is second in line to the throne, turns 12 on July 22, the rule will apply to him but not to his siblings. 

‘He could travel with them, with Prince William in another aircraft or travel alone. 

‘It reportedly needed the written permission of the monarch for Charles, when he was Prince of Wales to travel together with Diana and his sons, but before William turned 12 it did happen. 

‘William and Catherine have travelled together with their children, but when George turns 12 he will have to travel separately.’ 

It remains unclear whether it will be William who flys on his own, separate from Kate and the other children, or if his son will instead.

The bizarre rule was established following a string of tragic deaths in the family involving aircrafts.

‘The unexpected can happen, as with Prince William of Gloucester’s tragic death in 1972, though this was in a competition. 

‘Prince George, Duke of Kent also died in a plane crash in 1942, which has become controversial. 

‘Prince Philip’s sister, Cecile, died in a plane crash in 1937, giving birth to a stillborn child,’ Richard said. 

These tragedies have only served to reinforce the Royal Family’s belief in ensuring the heirs travel separately. 

And when William ascends to the throne, Charlotte will most likely have to follow the protocol too. 

Richard noted that a similar policy exists across the pond where the President never travels by plane with the Vice-President. 

Whilst this is a new royal protocol for the young prince to follow, it just one of many rules George and his siblings will have been following as members of Britain’s most famous family. 

These include always travelling with a change of black clothes should a member of the family die unexpectedly. 

This rule was introduced after King George VI died while Elizabeth was in Kenya and she did not have any black clothes.

The children also face limits on what they can and can’t wear with the girls expected to wear dresses and the boys must wear shorts.

On top of this, they can never eat shellfish while on a royal tour to avoid food poisoning.

As Prince George gets older, he will be expected to attend more and more official royal engagements.

In May, George joined other members of the Royal Family for a tea party at Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

The future monarch looked natural as he, alongside his parents, chatted away to World War Two veterans.

Prince William proudly told 101-year-old Alfred Littlefield, from Portchester, that George is ‘interested’ in learning about those who served.

The royal added that it was ‘very important’ for his eldest and the ‘next generation’ to hear the stories from those who fought for our nation.

George was snapped beaming as he shook hands with one esteemed veteran.

The Prince and Princess of Wales face the big decision of deciding which school George will attend once he turns 13 next year.

In April, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reported that Prince George visited Eton College before the boarding school broke up for the Easter holidays to see where he would stay if he goes to his father’s alma mater next year.

Although George might be expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and attend £63,000-per-year Eton, it remains unclear if he will do so. 

There has been speculation that George could follow the example of his mother, the Princess of Wales, and her siblings, Pippa Matthews and James Middleton, and attend Marlborough College, the Wiltshire boarding school where annual fees are £59,000.

Unlike Eton, Marlborough is co-educational. George’s parents have been spotted at a number of potential choices, including Highgate School in north London. 

Catherine was reported to be attracted to Highgate because it has a ‘world-class’ drama department. However, it would seem an unlikely choice as it is 30 miles from Windsor and commuting across the capital could take an hour each way.

Richard Eden says that Eton remains the family’s preferred choice as William, Catherine and their three children live mainly at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park, which is just a short walk away.

George has four terms left at Lambrook School, in the Berkshire countryside, where his sister, Princess Charlotte, aged nine, and Prince Louis, six, are also day pupils.

Eton’s Provost – equivalent of chairman of governors at other schools – is Sir Nicholas Coleridge, the former Conde Nast magazine boss who is a friend of the royals.

He made clear last December that he would not be doing any favours for chums, however high-born.

‘I find myself receiving a torrent of letters and emails from friends of friends, hinting that they hope I can help them secure a place for their sons or grandsons,’ Sir Nicholas wrote in The Spectator magazine. ‘There is a rigorous admissions system here, run with integrity, and it is awkward when the prospective boy hasn’t caught the selector’s eye.’