When the right time comes, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, will follow Prince Charles as King of England one day and Prince George, who is currently six years old, will be sitting on the throne as well, as per the British royal line of succession. But at what age did Prince William learn of his destiny and does his first-born son already know his future?
Royal fans discussed this line of succession on Quora, where someone asked about how the heirs to the throne were made aware of their royal duty. Apparently, Prince William, and to some extent his brother Prince Harry, was told quite early on of their destiny. When Prince William said that he wanted to be a cop when he is a grown up to protect his mother, his brother said that it cannot happen because he would be the king.
About age five or six, Prince William also apparently threatened his misbehaving playmates that he would send them to the tower if he becomes king. About that same age, or even younger, Prince Charles was allegedly aware of his future role after seeing a parade. His sister, Princess Anne, was said to have remarked there was a coronation but he told her it was silly because the next coronation will be his and nobody else's.
Royal fans also think that Prince George may not yet know he would be King of England one day. Apparently, Prince William and Kate Middleton want to downplay this fact so that he would be able to enjoy a normal and stable childhood as much as possible. Prince George, however, might be at the ripe age now to know the truth about his destiny and could likely have the talk with his parents sooner rather than later.
But royal biographer Andrew Morton wrote in the book "William and Catherine: Their Lives, Their Wedding" that Prince William found out about his future role from his classmates. He was also not aware of the fact that "Granny" was the Queen of England until a classmate asked about Her Majesty.
As for Queen Elizabeth, she knew she would one day become the monarch at around 10 years old shortly after her father's coronation. King George VI was not supposed to sit on the throne but since his older brother, Edward, abdicated from his role without any heir, the line of succession shifted towards the Windsors.
