Exactly when Prince George will take on Royal Family duties - and it's not soon

Following Prince George's starring role at the Coronation, royal fans have been wondering when he will start to take on more official royal duties. One expert thinks it might be some time yet...

As Prince George has gotten older, he has started to make more public appearances alongside his parents. His most prominent role to date was at his grandfather King Charles' Coronation, when he took on the role of Page of Honour.

It was a major position for the then-nine-year-old - and by far his most visible outing so far, with hundreds of millions watching the historic ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

It led to speculation that the young Prince will soon start taking on more official royal roles. But the fact is, it might be some time before we see George take on additional duties.

According to royal author Robert Hardman, Prince William and Princess Kate are in no rush to burden him with his royal duties. Instead their focus is on giving George and his siblings as normal an upbringing as possible before their official responsibilities kick in.

Writing in his book, Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story, Hardman further revealed that William regards it his "paramount duty" to train his eldest son and heir.

"Prince William had a significant degree of autonomy in his university education, his engagement with the armed forces, and his introduction to regular duties," Hardman said. "He is determined that Prince George should have a similar if not greater involvement in the way he develops his own royal role.

"'There is no expectation that any royal duties are going to kick in until George is well into his twenties, says a Kensington Palace veteran. 'Before he was even made a page at the coronation, William and Catherine wanted to ask him if he felt comfortable about it because he was the youngest. It turned out he was keen.'"

Over the coming years, George is expected to receive training similar to the lessons that his father, grandfather and great-grandmother had. During his school days at Eton College, a young Prince William would walk up the hill and attend tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle where he would be prepped for his future as king.

Speaking about their relationship, royal expert Robert Lacey previously said: "There has always been a special closeness between William and the Queen, and she has taken a particular interest in him. When William became a teenager, she would have him at Windsor Castle and would open the state boxes and guide him through the papers. It was William's constitutional education."

Lacey also speculated about George's future in an updated version of his book 'Battle of Brothers'. He wrote: "William has not revealed to the world how and when he broke the big news to his son.

"Maybe one day George will tell us the story himself. But sometime around the boy's seventh birthday in the summer of 2020 it is thought that his parents went into more detail about what the little prince's life of future royal 'service and duty' would particularly involve."