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Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Sons Louis and George Have ‘Started to Bond in Recent Months’
They were on their best behavior. As Prince George and Prince Louis rolled through the streets of London in a horse-drawn carriage with mom Princess Kate Middleton and sister Princess Charlotte, onlookers watched them chatting away while taking in the crowds gathered for grandfather King Charles III‘s official birthday celebration, Trooping the Colour.
But once they stepped out onto the Buckingham Palace balcony during the June 15 event, George took charge. When Louis turned around to speak to their father, Prince William, George stepped in with an order: “Turn around,” he commanded, gesturing for his younger sibling to face forward. Louis immediately complied.
It’s clear the 6-year-old looks up to George. Despite their five-year age difference, the future king, 11, and his brother “have started to really bond in recent months,” a royal source exclusively tells Life & Style. “Louis is becoming more fun and seems less like an ‘annoying little brother.’ He’s always up for doing whatever George wants to do.”
According to the source, the baby of England’s Wales family “gets to tag along a lot more often now, and George is realizing he’s actually a good little buddy to have around!”
George and Louis Are Partners in Crime
Indeed, the sibling dynamic in William and Kate’s household is shifting. “Whereas for years, it was always Charlotte and George doing things together,” explains the source, the busy 9-year-old princess “now has her own friends and interests, and while she loves being with her brothers, she’s often out enjoying her own hobbies. That leaves a lot of time for George and Louis to spend together.”
In public, George is known for his calm, reserved demeanor. Louis, meanwhile, developed a reputation early on as a little rascal who delights in displaying his playful personality at royal events with his animated faces, enthusiastic waves and minor misbehavior that frequently steal the show.
In private, however, George is no angel, reveals the source — and it’s often because of Louis. “He tries to convince George to do cheeky things with him,” shares the source. “They’ll raid the kitchen for snacks after dinner when they’re not supposed to or pull pranks on their parents or tease Charlotte — things George would normally think himself too old to do but that he also enjoys because it’s fun to be a little kid again with Louis.”
Together, the boys — who along with their sister have a passion for sports including rugby and soccer — “keep all the royals laughing and on their toes,” adds the source.
Prince William’s Family Unit
George is learning when to be a role model—and when to get out of Louis’ way. Months before his mature Trooping the Colour display, for example, he showed Louis how to greet the public during the royal family’s 2024 Christmas Day walkabout and even gave Louis a teddy bear he received from a well-wisher. But when George saw Louis mischievously blowing out Charlotte’s candle during a holiday carol service, he decided to shield his own flame instead of reprimanding the pint-size troublemaker.
At school — the trio begin their third year together at the private Lambrook School in Windsor, England, in September — “George is protective of Louis, though he doesn’t have to stand up for him,” says the source. “Louis can carry his own.”
He certainly did during a recent family outing. In early August, William and Kate, both 42, joined their kids in a Nerf gun battle at adventurer Bear Grylls’ Gone Wild Festival near their country home, Anmer Hall. An enthusiastic Louis was heard shouting, “Nerf or nothing, let’s do this!”
As Kate continues her recovery following a cancer diagnosis earlier this year, these moments of family unity take on a whole new meaning. “She and William both love their boys’ bond,” says the source. Seeing George and Louis together “is a nice reminder of how much brothers can love each other. And a stark reminder of what could lie ahead for them” if they ever have a falling-out like William and his brother, Prince Harry.
The two have been estranged for years amid their disparate feelings about how the royal family treated Harry, 39, and his wife, Meghan Markle, before they moved to America in 2020 and what Harry has publicly revealed about the monarchy.
“Kate wants to believe that nothing will ever break George and Louis’ bond,” says the source. “She tells William that Charlotte is the glue between them that will make sure her brothers will always be close.”
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