Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis will not be exempt from the UK Conservative Party's plans for mandatory national service for 18-year-olds, either in the armed forces or through community volunteer work.
Following UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's announcement on May 26 to revive National Service ahead of the general election in July, the Conservative Party confirmed to The Telegraph that even royal children would be expected to participate.
Along with Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, the young children of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips, and other royals would also be required to complete the initiative.
According to the BBC, the plan envisions 30,000 out of an estimated 700,000 18-year-olds spending a year in military roles such as logistics, cybersecurity, procurement, or civil response operations. The remaining participants would spend one weekend per month volunteering with organisations like the NHS, fire service, ambulance, search and rescue, and critical local infrastructure for 12 months.
Sunak stated on X, "This bold new model will open up a world of opportunity. It will make sure young people in the UK get the same chance in life as their peers in allies like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and France — which have all recently introduced or announced new forms of national service."
"Everyone will get the life-changing chance to learn from the best of the best - from the men and women of our Armed Forces, our inspirational NHS staff or the fire service," he continued. "Gaining skills for life in everything from cyber to leadership."
The British royal family already has strong ties to the military, with many members serving. King Charles, as monarch, is the head of the armed forces, having previously served in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976. Both of his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. William served with the Blues and Royals and as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, while Harry also served in the Blues and Royals and was deployed to Afghanistan twice.
Queen Elizabeth made history as the first female in the family to become a full-time member of the armed services during World War II, joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a vehicle mechanic.
Many working members of the royal family hold various appointments and honorary ranks in the armed forces, and Prince George (as future monarch) and his siblings will likely continue that tradition.
King Charles, Prince William, and other royals cancelled planned engagements last week ahead of the general election, set for July 4. After Sunak called for a surprise general election, Buckingham Palace announced that members of the family would postpone outings "which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign." The royals, who are constitutionally non-political, traditionally leave the public space to the country's political parties during campaigns.
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