The Prince and Princess of Wales kept a life-changing secret from their firstborn son in order to let him enjoy a carefree childhood – before breaking the news in 2020

From the moment he was born, Prince George has been destined to be King. It’s an extraordinary situation for any young boy – and Prince William and Princess Kate have worked hard to give their firstborn as normal a childhood as they can.

The couple decided to keep George’s future role a secret from him in his early years; while George knew he was a prince, he didn’t initially know he will also ultimately be King.

It’s thought that William and Kate finally told the young boy of his destiny in the summer of 2020 when he was around seven years old. Writing in his biography Battle of Brothers, royal expert and historian Robert Lacey said: “William has not revealed to the world how and when he broke the big news to his son.

“Maybe one day George will tell us the story himself. But sometime around the boy’s seventh birthday in the summer of 2020, it is thought that his parents went into more detail about what the little prince’s life of future royal ‘service and duty’ would particularly involve.”

Their decision was said to link to “William’s unhappiness at the haphazard fashion in which the whole business of his royal destiny had buzzed around his head from the start”.