For years now, whenever one of the Wales kids has a birthday, royal commentators always say the same thing about how the kids are celebrating: a family birthday party, with the Princess of Wales “baking a cake.” It’s their go-to line. I guess it probably comes from Kensington Palace’s WhatsApp group with royal reporters. Well, if you can believe it, that’s exactly how Prince George celebrated his 13th birthday yesterday. Vanity Fair claims that the Wales family is staying at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, and that Kate baked a cake and they’re all trying to have a quiet and outdoorsy summer before George goes to Eton.
On Wednesday, Prince George will celebrate his 13th birthday with a party before he starts at Eton College in September, with the royal also set to enjoy a few more weeks of summer fun.
Insiders tell Vanity Fair that the teenage prince will mark the occasion with a “low-key party” and a homemade cake baked by Kate Middleton. As for gifts? “One thing George won’t be getting is an iPhone,” says royals commentator Sarah Hewson. “His parents are very hot on phones, and they won’t allow him on social media. They want to protect him from that for as long as they can.”
Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis will be spending much of the rest of the summer at Anmer Hall, their Norfolk hideaway, as they prepare the teenage prince for the next chapter of his life: starting boarding school at Eton in September. Sources close to the family say they want to make sure they have quality time together—and will be keeping things low-key and close-knit —before George begins attending Eton.
According to one family friend, the Waleses are hoping to give George “a summer to remember.”
“He starts boarding school in September and that’s a big step. He will be away from home for the first time, and William and Catherine want to spend as much quality time together as they can this summer,” the source says.
George will be following in his father’s footsteps when he enrolls at Eton in September. His uncle Prince Harry also attended the prestigious school. Before George begins classes, the family will enjoy Norfolk’s wild beaches, its rugged coastline, and taking forest walks.
“It is very special to the family because it’s a place where they can escape daily life and enjoy their freedom. It’s their family sanctuary,” says Hewson. “They go for walks, spend long days jumping into the marshes and running along the beaches. It’s a [children’s book] Swallows and Amazons–type summer, the best possible summer before George heads off to boarding school.”
It’s possible that they’re spending most of the summer at Anmer Hall, and it’s possible that the family really did have a quiet and no-drama family-oriented birthday party for George. I have a September birthday – I always enjoyed that, because it meant that my birthday fell at the beginning of the school year, and I could have a party with school friends. I always felt bad for people with summer birthdays because it felt like they never got to celebrate with a big group of friends. For George in particular, this sounds less like how he actually wanted to spend his summer, and more like how his mother wants to spend the summer. Like… what 13-year-old boy genuinely wants to spend two months hanging out with only his siblings and his grandmother?? I would also guess that the family is already on a vacation outside of the UK, or they soon will be. Last summer, they “borrowed” a luxury yacht and sailed around Greece with the Middletons. What have they planned for this summer?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images and Kensington Palace.
