Catherine, Princess of Wales, may one day be the person behind the wheel when George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis learn to drive, a former royal butler who worked with Prince William said. Grant Harrold said he could imagine her taking a more hands-on approach with the three children instead of relying entirely on a conventional instructor.
The timing is starting to matter because George turns 13 next month, while Charlotte is 11 and Louis is 8, still years away from the age when driving lessons become relevant. Harrold said that, when the time comes, he would expect the family to choose an instructor carefully and that any teacher would likely be local, security-checked and trusted.
He said the setup would not be very different from the way other teenagers learn to drive, even if it comes with a royal layer of discretion. Harrold also pointed to William and Harry, who passed their driving tests on their first attempt at 17 in Cirencester, as an example of how the family has handled the milestone before.
Driving matters more than it might for many families because so many royal homes are in the middle of nowhere, Harrold said, and younger royals value the freedom that comes with being able to go out on their own. He said most of them have drivers, but the ability to come and go as they please remains important.
The one thing that complicates the picture is that royals still have to take standard theory and practical tests, even as the King does not technically need a licence because licences are issued in his name. Harrold said Charles would still have one anyway, because he needed it when he was the Prince of Wales and would have taken a test like everyone else. For now, though, the question is not whether Princess Charlotte will ever sit behind the wheel, but whether her mother will be the one to teach her when the time finally arrives.
