Prince George is growing up. The eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales just turned thirteen, and now that the teenage years have begun, a whole new set of parental worries set in. Prince George will start at Eton College in September, and his newfound independence will bring new challenges for the future King.
“There are parental concerns, naturally, that he will be growing up in a digital age,” Royal editor Rebecca English wrote for the Daily Mail. “The couple have refused to allow their children to have mobile phones, although admit that will change with their eldest at senior school.” Prince William was very clear that his children do not have phones, but Prince George may need a brick phone when he starts at Eton College. These nostalgic brick phones, like a throwback Nokia 3310, have minimal features and are purposely low-tech.
“One thing George won’t be getting [for his thirteenth birthday] is an iPhone,” royal commentator Sarah Hewson told Vanity Fair. “His parents are very hot on phones, and they won’t allow him on social media. They want to protect him from that for as long as they can.”
In November 2025, Prince William told Brazilian TV host Luciano Huck, "I think when George moves on to secondary school, then maybe he might have a phone that has no internet access." The Prince of Wales clarified that its “the internet access I have a problem with. I think children can access too much stuff they don’t need to see online, and so having a phone and text message, the old sort of 'brick phone' as they call them, I think that’s fine.”
While smartphone addiction and social media are a concern for the Prince and Princess of Wales, their main worry for Prince George is a little more complicated. “The couple’s biggest worry now is not the paparazzi but an entire generation armed with camera phones, instantly uploading snaps and videos for ‘clout and likes’,” Rebecca English wrote.
With every smartphone boasting a state-of-the-art camera, anyone can snap a photo or video of Prince George and guarantee it will go viral—and it's impossible to police. “It will be interesting to see how they navigate this challenge given how determined they have always been to ringfence their family from the moment George and his siblings were born.”
