A report claims that Prince William and Prince George broke a longstanding royal travel convention by flying together. The father-son duo took a commercial flight to Barcelona, Spain, to watch their beloved Aston Villa face FC Barcelona in a UEFA Champions League match at Spotify Camp Nou earlier this week.
Prince William and Prince George take a commercial flight after a recent outing
In a surprising break from tradition, Prince William traveled alongside Prince George on a regular commercial flight this week. A fellow passenger spotted them on the plane to Barcelona for the Aston Villa match on November 3, filmed the moment, and shared it on X (formerly Twitter). The pair timed their Spain getaway to coincide with Prince George’s half-term holiday from Eton College. Prince William has also passed his fierce loyalty to the Villans down to his eldest son.
As PEOPLE has pointed out, flying commercial is fairly normal for the royal family, even though members sometimes use private jets. The more significant departure from tradition was William and George travelling on the same aircraft. A longstanding royal travel convention generally keeps direct heirs apart during flights to protect the line of succession in the event of an accident.
The Prince of Wales himself started following this separation rule once he turned 12. The detail came from Graham Laurie, King Charles’ former pilot, who spoke about it on “A Right Royal Podcast” in 2023.
Laurie had explained, “Interestingly, we flew all four: the Prince [Charles], the Princess [Diana], Prince William and Prince Harry, up until Prince William was 12 years old. After that, he had to have a separate aircraft, and we could only fly all four together when they were young with the written permission of Her Majesty.”
The decision may reflect William and Kate’s approach to balancing royal responsibilities with their children’s upbringing. They have previously sought to give George, Charlotte and Louis a relatively normal childhood, even as they prepare George for his future responsibilities as heir to the throne. However, whether the couple intends to change the family’s traditional travel arrangements permanently remains unclear.
