Prince William And Catherine Unexpectedly Defied Queen Elizabeth's Travel Wishes
By all accounts, it seems that Kate Middleton and Prince William get along with Queen Elizabeth famously. According to Hello! the eventual king is said to be extremely close with Her Majesty and there is rarely tension between them. The two royals have enjoyed an especially-close relationship since Prince Harry stepped away from the royal family. Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridge is also on great terms with the Queen, with Vanity Fair reporting that the monarch feels Kate loves her husband because of who he is, not since he will one day sit on the throne.
But just because the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge typically can do no wrong in the eyes of the Queen — in contrast to the ongoing drama the 96-year-old has endured at the hands of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — does not mean that the couple never has a squabble with the head of the royal family.
The Queen will reprimand Prince William if necessary
Sure, Queen Elizabeth mostly seems to approve of Prince William and Kate Middleton's life choices. But this is not always the case.
Take a childhood memory William shared in a documentary for the occasion of the Queen's 90th birthday. Apparently a game he and his cousins were playing got pretty rough and Zara Tindall got hurt. "I remember my grandmother being the first person out at Balmoral [the queen's private residence in Scotland] to come running across the lawn in her kilt. She came charging over and gave us the most almighty telling off, and that sort of stuck in my mind from that moment on" he recalled (via SCMP).
And now, another recent decision the Duke of Cambridge has made has reportedly angered his grandmother. It has to do with a vacation the Cambridges just took with their kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis according to Express. Apparently, the family's use of a helicopter, which they were seen boarding near Kensington Palace, did not sit well with the monarch — perhaps for a very good reason.
A travel rule is in place for the royal family's safety
Royal expert Neil Sean claims that the Queen specifically told Prince William that she forbade him from flying with his entire family (via Express). "It looks like Prince William and Catherine have defied orders from the Queen," he said. "This left the Queen concerned. It is a royal protocol for people to travel in separate aircraft for very obvious safety reasons. Apparently, the Queen spoke rather firmly to William about this."
According to Reader's Digest, this is not the first time the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have not followed this important family rule, which prevents more than one heir to the throne from traveling together. The outlet notes the rule is much like what we have here in the U.S., which USA Today reports is more of a practice than official protocol, with the president and vice president typically traveling separately in case of an accident.
Sean explains that William may have forgotten about the travel rule. The royal expert predicts the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge "will be summoned" to see the Queen upon returning from their trip to discuss the matter.
But there's one loophole the future king may have taken advantage of.
Soon Prince George will have to fly separately from Prince William
According to Express, the Queen can give members of the royal family permission to fly together, which she may have done in this recent instance. And, since Prince George is under the age of 12, he is currently not required to travel separately from his father, since that would be unsafe in and of itself!
Furthermore, it's important to note the rule about royal family members traveling together originates from a time when flying was far less safe (via Travel + Leisure). That said, Prince William would never fly on the same plane at his father and the immediate heir to the throne, Prince Charles, nor would the Queen's oldest son be on the same flight as the monarch herself.
Ultimately, we don't know whether the Queen okayed the Cambridge family's latest getaway on one helicopter. But talk about a family drama we're glad to have no part of, you know, not being royal and all.