Prince George’s detailed drawing of a kingfisher features prominently in a 300-page special edition of Country Life magazine, guest-edited by his father, the Prince of Wales, and published this Wednesday.
The issue is the largest Royal Edit to date.
The 13-year-old prince created the colourful artwork of the bird perched on a branch while at home in the spring when he was 12. The drawing takes pride of place in the bumper issue.
The prince is said to enjoy drawing and appears to be following in the footsteps of his grandfather the King, who is a keen artist, while the Princess of Wales studied art at A-level and history of art at university.
As a former serviceman, he commissioned an article by Octavia Pollock to explore the injustices servicewomen have faced and how to ensure they feel safe, respected, and valued in the future.
Mark Hedges, the editor-in-chief of Country Life, described the Prince as a formidable, hands-on guest editor.
Prince William is not the first royal to guest-edit the publication. He follows in the footsteps of King Charles, who guest-edited the magazine for his 65th birthday in 2013 and his 70th in 2018. Queen Camilla and the Princess Royal have also previously edited editions, with the Princess Royal guest-editing an edition in 2020.
Republic has accused the move of undermining journalistic integrity, arguing that journalists should be scrutinising the heir to the throne rather than handing him editorial control.
He recalls growing up at the King’s Gloucestershire retreat, Highgrove, where he had to remember not to open the curtains before getting dressed because the garden was often filled with visitors. He also discusses family walks with the Waleses’ dogs Orla and Otto, and how George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis love to get out and explore.
The Prince also details his “fanatical” support for his “second family,Aston Villa. Unai Emery, the club's manager, is featured in the magazine discussing leadership and the importance of the Prince's support.
If we can give him good news, good results or good moments in football, we are proud of it,” Emery says in a video.
The places you love best are not the ones you preserve unchanged, but the ones you keep quietly improving. One day, George, Charlotte and Louis may ask me what I did to help communities thrive… we didn’t simply imagine a better future, we helped build it, so that someone else could build further still. In the
