Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis could be set to experience National Service if the Conservative Party’s plans to introduce the mandatory service, either in the armed forces or community volunteering come into force. Ahead of July’s upcoming general election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced his plans to revive National Service if the Conservative party are re-elected, with a spokesman for the party confirming to The Telegraph that even royal children would be expected to take part.
Under the proposals, 18 year olds would be required to undertake a period of mandatory service, as is required in several other countries around the world such as South Korea, Sweden and Thailand, with around 30,000 out of 700,000 young people estimated to spend a year in the military. Although active duty is a possibility, they would also be trained in areas such as logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations.
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Alternatively, any young person unable to undertake military duties would instead be required to spend one weekend every month volunteering in the public sector, in areas such as the NHS, fire service, ambulance, search and rescue or local infrastructure for around 12 months, reports the BBC.
While the Cambridge children would be just one set of royal siblings affected by the proposals if they are brought into force, the plans would also impact on the young children of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips.
Announcing the proposals on social media over the weekend, Rishi told his followers on social media: “This bold new model will open up a world of opportunity. It will make sure young people in the U.K. 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.”
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“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 has a long standing history with the military, with King Charles currently the head of the armed forces as well as a veteran having previously served in both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976.
Both of his sons Prince William and Prince Harry have also enjoyed successful military careers, with William having worked as a search and rescue pilot for the RAF, while Harry undertook overseas deployments with the British Army in Afghanistan.
Prince William has even hinted at the possibility of eldest son George following in his father’s footsteps, after he revealed the young Prince has a passion for flying and expressed a keen interest in planes and helicopters from an early age.