Before finding out about his destiny to be King, Prince George had a very relatable dream job – and it’s the same career his father Prince William also once hoped to pursue

Prince George is destined to one day be King. But as a little boy he had a very different career path in mind.

Back in 2018, when George was only four, his father Prince William revealed his son’s dream job during a reception at Kensington Palace honouring Scotland Yard. Following the event, Police Commissioner Jayne Richardson recalled her conversation with William, saying: “We’re only based just down the road in Kensington and I said to him ‘Perhaps Prince George and Princess Charlotte could join the police cadets’.”

William replied by saying: “[George] is obsessed, actually, by the police… cars, toys, everything.” It wasn’t the first time that William had spoken of George’s love for the police force. At the end of 2017, William hand-delivered a letter to Santa Claus on behalf of his little son while on a walkabout in Helsinki, Finland. The young Prince had asked for just one gift on his Christmas list – a police car. “I’ve seen you and I had to give you this letter,” William said at the time. “He hasn’t written down many requests, so I think one request is probably ok.”

George’s wish to join the police is something he shared with his father. As a child, William also wished to join the force, according to Princess Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton. He wrote: “William and Harry were aware of their destiny. On one occasion the boys were discussing their futures with Diana. “When I grow up I want to be a policeman and look after you Mummy,’ said William. Quick as a flash Harry replied, with a note of triumph in his voice, ‘Oh no you can’t, you’ve got to be king’.”

By now, George will be all too aware of his future royal role. Writing in his book, Battle of Brothers, Robert Lacey said: “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.”

Robert continued that William and Kate wanted to sit George down at a “controlled moment of their choice” at the age of seven. Their decision was said to link to “William’s unhappiness at the haphazard fashion in which the whole business of his royal destiny had buzzed around his head from the start”.

The couple have put a great deal of thought into preparing George for his future. Royal expert Duncan Larcombe told OK! in 2022 that Kate had been increasing her son’s appearances and dressing him in suits for a specific reason. Duncan revealed: “William was apparently keen on the idea [of wearing a football shirt], but it was Kate who said no. She was showing George that being ‘on duty’ requires a different approach… he has to learn to don the royal armour.

“That doesn’t mean hiding his personality or feelings though so George was encouraged to leap up and celebrate England scoring, to roar and wave and hug his mum and dad like any normal lad. And even to shed a tear when it all ended in heartbreak. George is only just beginning to understand his destiny, but Kate has got the journey planned.”