It is a tradition and unwritten rule that goes back a long way in Great Britain, which expressly imposes that two heirs to the throne cannot fly together on the same plane when they travel outside the country. A rule that, logically, is explained for safety reasons in the event of a possible and undesirable air tragedy that would mean the hypothetical death of both.
© GTRESUntil now, the princes of Wales had broken this strict rule when traveling abroad during their royal tours, by being accompanied by their eldest children during their trips to different parts of the planet. This happened during his visit to Australia and New Zealand in 2014, to Canada in 2016 and to Germany and Poland in 2017.
© GTRES
© GTRESApparently, William of England himself asked permission from his grandmother, the remembered Elizabeth II, for Princes George and Charlotte to be with him and his wife Kate Middleton on those stays of several days and many kilometers from their home ( Prince Louis had not yet been born, as he was born in April 2018).
© GTRESHowever, that kind of temporary subterfuge that was granted to them by the late monarch would not be valid from 2025, when the number two in the line of succession turns 12 next July. From that date onwards, he will no longer be able to share the seats of an aircraft going outside the United Kingdom with his parents or his two younger brothers, aged 9 and 6 respectively.
© GTRESThis is how they traveled when Prince William was a child
Graham Laurie, a former pilot who worked for royalty, recalled last year on the podcast HELLO! the vacation trips of Princes Charles and Diana with their two children: “The ones I did mainly were when they went to the Mediterranean,” he said. Among those flights, the one that presumably brought the Windsors together in the same photo with the Spanish royal family in Mallorca at the time.
© GTRES“The four of them flew together with Her Majesty’s written permission, until Prince William was twelve years old. After that, he had to have a separate plane,” Laurie explained. “Today, for example, the King cannot fly with the Prince of Wales,” he adds. Finally, regarding the current circumstances surrounding this rule, he clarified: “I know that the monarch is trying to reduce costs in terms of travel, but I believe that security remains paramount.”