Prince George has been slowly doing more appearances

It appears Prince William may already be prepping Prince George for his future role as king. But in doing so, he might want to make sure his son doesn’t fear it, according to a royal expert.

At some point in his future, Prince George, 12, will have the responsibility of being king. Obviously, there is a while to go before then, as Prince William hasn’t even stepped up to the throne yet. But it appears it’s never too early to prepare for what’s to come.

And the role is a substantial amount of responsibility. So, it’s no surprise that Prince William reportedly wants to make sure Prince George can look to his future as king with enjoyment, rather than dread.
William doesn’t want George to fear his role (Credit: Mischa Schoemaker/Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images)

Prince William prepping George to be king

Royal author Robert Lacey spoke to PEOPLE about how Prince William may have been helping his son.

And it seems the main way would be making sure George doesn’t feel like he’s “trapped” in this role. But instead William may encourage him to believe he was meant for it.

William and Kate would want him to focus on having freedom before giving him any royal titles.

Robert explained: “I imagine that when William talks to George about things like this, he uses words like ‘destiny’ rather than ‘duty’. ‘Duty’ has a sense of being trapped. But ‘destiny’ has a sense of choice.”

However, according to Robert, William “deliberately delayed” telling George about his royal future “until the last possible moment”. He said this shows “special care and thoughtfulness — it also tells us something about how William felt about the weight of the crown”.
Prince George is trying to live a normal life as long as he can (Credit: Cover Images)

William taking ‘his role seriously’

Prince George, along with his siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are all growing up with quite a lot of attention on them at all times. And so it appears Prince William has been trying to make positives from that.

Royal biographer Robert Hardman added to PEOPLE: “William takes his role as father of the future king as seriously as he takes his role as future king. That’s the key. His overarching priority is making sure they enjoy it rather than fear it.”

And away from the spotlight it seems a lot of William and Kate’s parenting skills actually stem from her own family background.

Robert explained that Kate’s family “has set the pace”. And it seems William has been “very happy” to take the lead from them.

As George has began spending more time at engagements, a palace insider confirmed that “it’s a slow game”. But instead of throwing him in the deep end, his parents are wanting to do it “on their terms”.

Read more: Prince George’s ‘warning’ to friends at school over dad Prince William