Prince George turns 12: Here's all you need to know about future King

The royal family is celebrating Prince George’s 12th birthday, prompting quiet contemplation about the young royal already destined to guide the nation in decades to come.

Born in 2013 to Prince William and Kate Middleton, George Alexander Louis of Wales is heir to the throne, just behind his father, and at the moment of his birth he inherited a striking, historic duty.

His childhood, nevertheless, has been thoughtfully shaped to harmonise the weight of royal tradition with a pleasantly normal life.

Having completed his early years at Lambrook in Berkshire, the prince is privately observed to possess a lively interest in books, a passion for the countryside, and a gently confident manner.

With each term he has gradually moved to larger public events—Trooping the Colour, the Wimbledon final, memorial services—usually accompanied by Charlotte and, on occasion, by Louis.

Still in childhood, he is nonetheless being gently oriented toward royal duties. Family confidants report that the Prince and Princess of Wales are resolved to instil in him a sense of public duty without permitting the press to overwhelm his years of growth.

Now on the cusp of adolescence, Prince George is attracting renewed public interest as he quietly evolves into the future monarch the nation will one day salute as King.