Prince George starts counting down days for ‘harsh’ royal rule as he celebrates 11th birthday

In less than a year, Prince George will be forced to begin abiding by a decades-old Royal tradition.

Today (22 July), the eldest child of The Prince and Princess of Wales turns 11 years old.

To mark the occasion, his mother, Kate Middleton, 42, posted a black-and-white snap of the young Royal wearing a suit to Instagram.

In the caption, she wrote: “Wishing Prince George a very happy 11th birthday today!”

Interestingly, this image is a major departure from Royal tradition as pictures of the future King and his siblings Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, have always been released in colour.

George’s birthday celebrations also come after a hectic period of travelling and public engagements for the young Royal.

These included the men’s Euro 2024 final in Berlin and Taylor Swift’s concert at Wembley Stadium - both of which he attended with his father, Prince William, 42.

However, everything could change next year when George turns 12 as he may no longer be allowed to travel with William.

As George is second in line to the throne after his dad, there is a longstanding royal rule in place which prohibits the pair from travelling together, in case of disaster.

Prince George may not be allowed to travel with his family once he turns 12. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)

Therefore, it’s likely that the rule will come into effect when the prince turns 12 in July 2025.

Of course, George isn’t the only royal to be torn away from his parents.

King Charles III’s former pilot, Graham Laurie, has previously claimed the same royal decree applied to William once he turned 12 in 1994.

"We flew all four: the Prince, the Princess, Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Prince William was 12 years old,” he explained to OK! magazine.

“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.

"When William became 12, he would fly normally in a 125 from Northolt and we would fly the 146 out with the other three on.”

It's not yet known if the rule will be enforced. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)

At the time of writing, it’s not known whether the rule will be upheld when it comes to George.

Heirs to the throne usually have to ask permission from the monarch before travelling together, as was the case back in 2014, when Prince William and his wife flew to Australia with their children.

At the time of the incident, the royal press office told BBC’s Newsround: “They had to ask the Queen for permission, but she said yes.

"While there is no official rule on this, and royal heirs have travelled together in the past, it is something that the Queen has the final say on."