Prince George’s third birthday:

The young prince’s most astounding powers and privileges

by Maya Oppenheim

From receiving an £18,000 cottage on wheels as a present to being exempt from Freedom of Information laws, Prince George lives a life that is worlds apart from the average toddler

Pic courtesy: Dailymail

He has only just turned three, yet Prince George has already experienced more privileges than 99 per cent of his subjects will do in their lifetime.

While most babies are born to the sound of hospital staff urging mothers to push, Prince George was born to the sound of a 41-gun salute from soldiers hoisted on horses.

As the third in line to the throne, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has lived something of a fairytale existence thus far. From roaming the Queen’s 770-odd-room palace to being exempt from the Freedom of Information act, the cherub-faced royal tot, who has already mastered the art of the royal wave, is not your average three-year-old.

Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge has also exerted a great deal more influence than most toddlers. Well, at least according to Tatler, who listed Prince George at number 10 in their league table of ‘People Who Really Matter’.

Here is a selection of the most astounding and bizarre privileges and powers enjoyed by Prince George.

His home has ten bedrooms

While Prince George’s exact wealth is unknown as of yet, it would be fair to say his family are not exactly strapped for cash. Richest Celebrities predict his father’s net worth to be in the region of $40 million.

Prince George lives in Anmer Hall, an 18th-century mansion which was given to his parents by the Queen as a wedding gift. Prince William and Kate Middleton are reported to have spent several million refurbishing the secluded Georgian ten-bedroom country Norfolk property, which is also home to a swimming pool and a private tennis court. Housekeepers, collectible china and family silver are likely to be a plenty too.

But if Prince George bored of his Norfolk home, he is always welcome at the 775-roomed Buckingham Palace. While the monarch might be known as the Queen to most of us, her great-grandson calls her ‘Gan Gan’ and she is said to leave out little gifts for her great-grandchildren whenever they pay a visit. Of course, it goes without saying that whenever Prince George leaves royal premises, he will be surrounded by a swathe of security.

He is exempt from the Freedom of Information act

Unlike the rest of society, the Royal Family are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Brought in by Tony Blair in 2000, the act created a public right of access to information held by public authorities. The only public body exempt from this is the Royal Family.

He has a coin and stamp dedicated to him

Most of us will never get to see our faces printed on coins or stamps but Prince George has already managed it at age three. As soon as he was born, a specially-minted commemorative £5 coin was brought out in his honour and is now priced anywhere between £13 and £50,000. The more expensive ones contain a kilogramme of fine gold each.

If a coin wasn’t enough, in April of this year, Royal Mail released a new stamp with an image of Prince George standing on foam blocks in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace along with his family.

He received a £18,000 cottage on wheels for his second birthday

Most toddlers would be thrilled to receive a luridly-coloured plastic house for their birthday. Prince George’s parents, however, went one step further and gifted him a real £18,000 cottage on wheels for his second birthday. The luxury Victorian-style outhouse is situated on the edge of the Prince of Wales’s wildflower meadow at Highgrove.

He could sack the whole of Australia if he became King

If Prince George does indeed become King he will be entitled to a vast array of age-old secret powers and privileges more extensive than most of us could even fathom. From appointing knights, to being immune from prosecution, to not having to pay tax, to having a weekly meeting with the Prime Minister and holding dominion over every British swan, there wouldn’t be much he couldn’t do.

What’s more, being the head of the commonwealth and thus the state in Australia, he would technically be able to give the whole Australian government the sack if he felt like it.

- The Independent