Prince George faces royal 'initiation' that once traumatised Prince Harry

Prince George is swiftly approaching the age that his uncle Prince Harry was when he had to take part in a “gruesome” centuries-old royal rite of passage.

The 11-year-old future king could be introduced to stag hunting this summer when the Prince and Princess of Wales will take George and his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, to Balmoral Castle for their annual retreat. There, the oldest Wales child might be expected to take part in a controversial "initiation" that's left other young royals shaken, according to royal biographer Duncan Larcombe.

Speaking to Woman magazine last year via Express, Larcombe — who wrote the 2017 book Prince Harry: The Inside Story — noted that George could accompany his father, Prince William, on a hunting shoot in the Scottish Highlands.

“Traditionally, the blood of a hunter’s first kill is spread on their face, a ritual that goes back centuries,” Larcombe noted of the “gruesome” and centuries-old “ritual.”

As the young prince turns 12 this month, the likelihood of George participating in the tradition has increased, although the Palace has so far “refused to comment on the claims.”

It’s a practice Prince Harry vividly recalled in his 2023 memoir Spare, where he described his own initiation at age 15 and how he thought he was going to die.

“[My guide] pushed my head inside the carcass,” the Duke of Sussex wrote. “My nose and mouth were full of blood, guts, and a deep, upsetting warmth,” he continued, writing that his guide instructed him not to wipe the blood off and let it dry.

Though George’s mom Kate Middleton previously joined the royals on hunting trips, it remains unclear whether she would allow George or his younger siblings to take part in the same brutal tradition.