Prince George, 5, Reportedly Went Grouse Hunting for the First Time — and Fans Aren’t Happy

At five years old, Prince George has reportedly learned a big royal family tradition. According to The Sun, the young boy had his first grouse hunting experience with his mother, Kate Middleton, on Friday, Aug. 24, during a visit with his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

During the outing with the Duchess of Cambridge, George reportedly had lunch with other members of the royal family including Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Zara Tindall, Mike Tindall, Prince Edward, Sophie Wessex, and their two kids. 

However, royal fans weren’t happy about George’s latest life lesson. “Is it ok for the young Prince George being taught grouse hunting just because it is part of a ‘tradition’ for the royals? Should royals be immune to this?” one wrote. Another added, “This disappoints me so much — what right do they have to criticise trophy hunting abroad whilst still continuing this in the UK?”

One was particularly angry. “It’s extremely sad that when so many of us young people are working hard to reach younger kids and instill the idea that all life is precious; that nature is full of wonder and can teach us so much about compassion… then you have this! Sad,” they wrote. 

As of now, George may be learning all these royal family traditions, but he reportedly has no idea he’s the future King of England because they want his life to be as normal as possible. “With George, they are trying to delay that moment of realization and give him normality before they thrust this on him,” Catherine Mayer, author of Charles: The Heart of a King, once told E! News.

But they’re aware that may change now that George is in school. She added, “It will be, nevertheless, part of his upbringing both in terms of what he sees his parents and grandparents doing and probably quite soon a beginning of an understanding that he is in public life and what that means.” 

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