There’s something about watching a royal child grow up in public that hits differently than any other kind of “growing up” story — and today, it hit hard. Prince George turned 13 on July 22, and the new birthday portrait Kensington Palace shared says it all: the boy in the little grey shorts we fell in love with over a decade ago is now a young man in a dark suit, hands in his pockets, smiling like he already knows he’s about to be the talk of the internet.
The photo — taken by royal photographer Matt Porteous shortly after Trooping the Colour in June — is simple, but that’s exactly why it works. No forced pose, no overly polished styling. Just George, looking every bit like a young William.
What’s really got fans talking, though, isn’t just the picture — it’s a story that resurfaced from Christmas Day at Sandringham last year. A well-wisher reportedly told Kate that George was on track to hit 6’4″, and instead of brushing it off, Kate laughed and admitted he’s “catching up with everybody.” For context: William stands at 6’3″, Kate at 5’9″. Their eldest son is quietly closing that gap, one growth spurt at a time. Even more telling — Kate once joked that George already wears her shoe size.
And the timing of this birthday makes it even more bittersweet. This September, George will start at Eton College, following in his father’s — and his uncle Harry’s — footsteps, a tradition that skipped a generation, since King Charles himself attended Gordonstoun in Scotland instead.
It’s easy to forget, in between the Wimbledon appearances and the Wales family’s perfectly composed portraits, that George is still just a kid figuring out who he’s becoming — except his “becoming” happens with the whole world watching. Happy birthday, George. Here’s to hoping thirteen treats you kindly.
