Prince George of Wales (George Alexander Louis; born 22 July 2013) is a member of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

. He is the eldest child of

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

, and

Catherine, Princess of Wales Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew ...

. George is the eldest grandchild of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

. He is second in the

line of succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest Collateral descendant, collateral line. The Bil ...

behind his father. George was born at

St Mary's Hospital, London St Mary's Hospital is a teaching hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust ...

, during the reign of his paternal great-grandmother,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, and was third in line before her death. His birth was widely celebrated across the

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the re ...

s due to the expectation that he will eventually become king.

Infancy

Prince George was born at 16:24 BST on 22 July 2013 in

, during the reign of his paternal great-grandmother,

. He was the first child of Prince William and Catherine, then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. His birth was announced by press release and followed by the display of a traditional easel in the forecourt of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. Celebrations were staged in the United Kingdom and other

Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the ...

and the newborn was widely hailed as a future king in the majority of British newspapers. His name was announced as George Alexander Louis on 24 July. George was third in the

at the time of his birth. For the first time since the reign of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, three generations in direct line of succession to the British throne were alive at the same time: George; his father, William; and his grandfather,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

. George was christened on 23 October by the

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is an Anglican bishop who served as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 2013 to 2025. After an 11-year career in the oil industry, Welby trained for ordination at St John ...

, in the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

Upbringing

George spent his first months in

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, Wales, before his family relocated to Kensington Palace in 2014. He embarked on his first royal tour with his parents in April 2014, during which they spent three weeks in New Zealand and Australia. Although George appeared only twice, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

described the "nine-month-old future king" as "the star of the show". The then Australian Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

predicted in the

Parliament House, Canberra Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, the Legislature, legislative body of Politics of Australia, Australia's federal system of government. The building also houses the core of the Executive (government), execut ...

, that George would one day be welcomed there as

King of Australia The monarchy of Australia is a key component of politics of Australia, Australia's form of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westmi ...

. Australian media called him "the republican slayer", after polls showed the lowest support for republicanism in the country for 35 years. In June 2015, George made his first public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the

Trooping the Colour Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event performed every year on Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of Household Division, to celebrate the King's Official Birthday, official birthday of the British sovereign, though t ...

parade. From 2015 to 2017, his family lived at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, where he started at West Acre

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

School Nursery in January 2016. George met Barack and

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

on 22 April 2016. The encounter later prompted Barack Obama to joke that "Prince George showed up to our meeting in his bathrobe... a clear breach of protocol." George started primary school under the name George Cambridge in September 2017 at Thomas's School in Battersea. In 2022 the family relocated to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park. Since September 2022, George and his siblings, Charlotte and

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, have attended Lambrook, an independent preparatory school in Berkshire. George commenced flying lessons in September 2024. George took part in his great-grandmother's Platinum Jubilee celebration in June 2022, including the

carriage procession. Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022 and was succeeded by George's grandfather Charles III. George moved up to second in line for the throne, behind his father. He served as a page of honour at his grandfather's coronation on 6 May 2023. George and his siblings occasionally accompany their parents on royal engagements, tours, and diplomatic visits.

Public image

Clothing and other products used by George are often sold out, which has been termed as the "Prince George effect". His parents have been adamant about maintaining their son's privacy during his childhood. In August 2015, Kensington Palace stated that they wanted all global media to stop taking unauthorised photographs of George, saying that "a line adbeen crossed" in paparazzi methods of locating and photographing him, including surveilling the family and sending children to bring George into view. In the British satirical sketch programme '' Newzoids'' George was depicted as a rebellious, foul-mouthed character with a lewd sense of humour. The 2016 children's book '' Winnie-the-Pooh Meets the Queen'', written in honour of the 90th birthdays of both Queen Elizabeth II and the fictional character of

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...

, features a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

from George, to whom Piglet presents a red balloon. The 2021

animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animation, animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''The Simpsons'', ''SpongeBob SquarePan ...

The Prince ''The Prince'' ( ; ) is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and Political philosophy, political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new Prince#Prince as gener ...

'' stars a fictionalised eight-year-old George who makes life difficult for his family. The show was cancelled in February 2022 after the first series drew criticism for satirising royal children.

Title and styles

George is a prince of the United Kingdom with the official

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

"His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales". During the reign of his great-grandmother, he was styled "His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge".

Notes

References

External links

Prince George
at the official website of the British royal family * * {{DEFAULTSORT:George of Wales, Prince 2013 births Living people 21st-century British people Children of William, Prince of Wales House of Windsor Middleton family (British) Mountbatten-Windsor family People from London Royal children British princes