When I posted the new birthday portrait of Prince George yesterday, I grabbed what turned out to be the cropped image on Prince William and Kate’s Instagram account. The image on the Kensington Palace Twitter account wasn’t cropped as tightly, and you can see both of George’s hands and wrists. Look there, the eleven-year-old kid is wearing what appears to be a friendship bracelet or some kind of woven bracelet of some variety.
People Magazine suggests that George has possibly gotten into friendship bracelets via Princess Charlotte, because Charlotte is a major Swiftie. Notably, Prince William took George and Charlotte to one of Taylor Swift’s London concerts, and while they were ensconced in a VIP balcony area, I bet somewhere along the line, there were some friendship bracelets swapped with some of the other youths. So, maybe. Or maybe Charlotte just gave her brother one of her bracelets, or maybe one of George’s school friends made it for him. Who knows? One thing I will say is that the bracelet reminded me of Prince Harry, who wore bracelets and necklaces from his teenage years through adulthood. Harry loves some casual, cool accessories. So of course the Daily Beast’s Royalist column invoked Harry… but in the weirdest way possible: “Prince George’s Elegant Rebuke to Critics (Harry) of a Royal Childhood.”
Gone are the scalloped collars, short trousers, and knee-length socks that characterized so many of his childhood photographs. Instead, George, his hair neatly pushed to one side, wears a chic dark suit and a white shirt open at the neck.
However, in an unprecedentedly casual touch for a formal portrait, George is also seen wearing that perennial adolescent and pre-adolescent favorite, a handwoven bracelet on his left arm.
The telling personal detail shows photographer Princess Kate’s effortless mastery of the casual, common touch, the simple beach-side favorite of so many children eloquently pushing back against narratives arguing that the Windsor children are being brought up under unacceptable pressure.
Chief among those who have made the case that growing up in the royal bubble is harmful to children is Prince William’s estranged brother, Prince Harry. In his memoir, Spare, Harry said: “William and I have talked about it once or twice, and he has made it very clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility.”
Yeah, as I said, the visual of George embracing the same kind of accessory his Uncle Harry wears is not giving “take that, Harry!” It actually looks like someone wanted to draw a visual comparison TO Harry. That’s all I’ll say.
Photos courtesy of the Princess of Wales/Kensington Palace, KP’s social media and Taylor Swift’s social media.
Kate does not have the common touch. Decidedly not.
The words Kate and common touch do not go into the same sentence
Just the words “Kate” and “common”.
Well, that’s quite a leap!
100% agree with this comment! That’s a totally ridiculous thought on Harry.
The desperation is real.
Much better photo of George in those casual clothes at the concert.
I found this bw pic to be morbid. That’s all i got. 🤷♀️
Of course growing up in the royal bubble is harmful. W&K may be doing a better job of it than Charles and Diana did, but of course its harmful. First, I think its harmful for any uber wealthy children to grow up in such a privileged bubble – some people can overcome that but a lot can’t and it results in entitlement, lack of awareness of the world around you, and a sense that you are superior because of your birth (I mean we see this with William constantly.)
Also, they’re still so young. A lot of the toxicity and negative pressure for Harry started as he got older.
And then factor in the idea that the entire system is designed to prop up george over his other two siblings – he’ll get the money, the title, the attention – and how is it not harmful?
All that said – I don’t think george wearing this bracelet means a whole lot.
I agree with you.
The bracelet?
He is a child! Let him be
Since I was a kid myself kids wore woven bracelets. Taylor did not invent them
A child wears a bracelet and they turn it into a hate article.. British rags always keeping it classy.
They should leave the kids out of the harmful narratives, especially since they’re all fiction.
Can’t wait for his mother to start wearing him a tigers eye necklace which he never removes
Huh. Yeah, I figured it was a callback to the TS concert. As in he got it there and wore it for the photo. I sincerely hope they aren’t going to have george or any of the other kids unknowingly copykeen Harry. That would be messed up. Although Kate has already dressed Louis in some of Harry’s hand-me-downs.
So the child isn’t being pressured because he can wear a bracelet while he is trotted out for public viewing? And PH isn’t the only one to complain about a royal childhood, so has Charles.
It seems to me that the Wales children are trotted out more than prior generations. I recall Diana and Charles sending out holiday cards with the family and first days at school an some vacation pictures. I don’t recall William and harry having birthday portraits. The quality of the photographs were of better quality in William and harry s childhood pictures
@Tessa, I don’t agree with that. W&H were more public as royal children. They have got photocalls even while on vacation. We don’t even know where the Wales children are going for vacation, if they don’t share a photo taken by Kate. I also thought Kate wanted to be the one taking their photos for more privacy. Otherwise, the children would need to have professional photoshoots. This type of birthday photos was started because Will made a deal with tabloids. They won’t try to take photos of kids in public and W&K will give them photos on special days regularly.
Kate has not taken all the photos and she is no professional . Royals have had trusted people to take photos like Snowdon and testin o. It was not always known where harry and William vacationed as children. I stand by my opinion that the Wales children of today are seen more. Diana and Charles and their children were not around for the age of social media I also think the annual portraits are a bit much.
Kate cannot pose for photos with the family and take the photo at the same time. A professional photographer is needed. Kate lacks the artistic abilities of testin o and helping out an up and coming photographer is a bonus.
I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. At the time Internet didn’t exist, the pr game was totally different, and we all know that if Diana was alive her Instagram would be fire.
@Tessa, I mean you are entitled to your opinion, but I think, it is due to recency bias. There are multiple docs about H&W’s childhood because there are many footages taken professionally by many journalists. Kate usually takes their birthday, family photos, not because she is good at it, but because of their deal with the tabloids. Also, W&K started to bring the kids more to the public events after H&M and burying of affair story. It is no doubt another demand from the tabloids.
The main difference is that Harry and William were physically pursued by paparazzi with Diana and so the brief photo calls at the start of holidays were a way to temper that insanity. Charles and Diana didn’t want them there
Laws are in place to prevent the physical chase, but William and kate now decide when to expose their kids.
I dont think Kate is good at it. It’s a shame that the royals cater to tabloids.
sevenblue is correct. W&K have hidden their children for the most part. We never saw Charlotte for a long time, save the odd photo.
It won’t do them any good as they grow up and lose the protection they currently have. Although, I’m sure there will be a negotiated agreement when they are at university, just as Willy had.
These kids are on the public purse from cradle to grave. This is how the monarchy survives by definition – succession by birthright. They are not ordinary children.
George and Charlotte weren’t seen much when they were babies and toddlers and the Uk media was mad that they would issue group family photos with Charlotte looking so different because her features would change over time when compared to stale dated family photos.
However everything changed in 2017 when Harry and Meghan got engaged. We suddenly saw the kids a lot more. It started with Charlotte and George being brought to the tour of Eastern Europe in summer 2017 (and they would have known that Harry was going to announce an engagement because Harry was not quiet about how he felt about Meghan ) And Louis was shown far more as a baby and toddler than the other two ever were.
George and Charlotte were also brought out for Christmas walks doing walkabouts much earlier than Harry and William ever did, especially Charlotte.
So anyone thinking these kids have a normal and protected life is missing all that has been done and will be done. George may be protected in university but they won’t protect the other two. Let’s recall that Harry never got the same protection that William did. Louis in particular seems to be set up for the family clown, taking on the role they gave Harry.
So it’s bizarre to go on about a bracelet when this family has parents who will sell out some of their kids for media protection. Nothing is normal about this family.
@Nic: I think there was far more freelance, invasive footage of W&H, such as inside KP. Everything is far more controlled these days with SM and technology. I also think that Charlotte and Louis will get the same protection as George by virtue of the chokehold William has over the BM.
I do agree that the kids are exploited by their parents. But as the future of the monarchy they cannot remain hidden. The parents do have a choice …
@Tessa:
There were photographs of the holidays, even after the first shoots. Diana and the children buying sweets, leaving the cinema, at a theme park… There was a full ninety minutes docu around 1986 against the rumors of difficulties (that’s were the “Harry will have all the fun” is from). In my remembrance William and Harry were exposed more, and the less their mother was protected…
I remember one of the early pictures of George and L u p o then the Cambridge pet dog
It was heavily photo shopped. Then later a family ski holiday with George and Charlotte
Diana had security protection only when the boys were with her this after the divorce.
Why do the British press always feels the need to be extra weird about a child ? When it’s not Angela Levin complaining that George is showing too much emotions it’s those idiots talking about a kid wearing a friendship bracelet.
So is Sykes saying that just because George is wearing a friendship bracelet, he’s won’t be damaged by living in a royal bubble?
Yes, I really think he is saying that.
I could swear that I’ve seen Charles wearing a (red?) string bracelet in a few recent pictures. I’ll look forward to future articles on the possible meaning(s) of that as well.
That’s not a Swiftie-like friendship bracelet. But it is the kind of bracelet that a lot of kids George’s age wear (my nephew, who’s the same age, has one just like it). And I think it’s great that boys feel comfortable wearing jewelry now.
LOL at Kate’s mastery of the common touch, though. She has tried to run as far away as possible from her upbringing as a commoner.
Kate is so full of the common touch she changed her accent to be super posh and less comprehensible than Charles and William. And the whole Catherine thing is also not exactly reminiscent of being common.
Kate is common . But doesnt have the common touch . There’s a difference .
Was this photo taken the same day as the photo with the 3 kids on the bench was taken? The one with Charlotte in the middle. If so then, yet again, it’s not a recent photo.
Nothing says casual common touch like photographing your 11 year old in a suit for his birthday.
I have finally figured out what l find weird about George. He is a good looking kid but somehow he has a ‘mature’
looking face.
There could have been some photo shopping he looked relaxed and happy in the photos with taylor swift. George is dressed as an adult in the portrait