It’s been a busy few weeks for the United Kingdom after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a snap election for July 4th, 2024.
Despite only just returning to his public-facing royal duties, King Charles has now postponed all his upcoming engagements until after the election has taken place.
According to the monarch, he and his wife Queen Camilla opted to do this to not distract from the election campaign.
Speaking of the campaign, as one of his election promises, the Conservative Prime Minister has revealed his plans to introduce a year of compulsory military service for citizens when they turn 18 – and young royals Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are no exception!
“This bold new model will open up a world of opportunity. It will make sure young people in the UK get the same chance in life as their peers in allies like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and France – which have all recently introduced or announced new forms of national service,” Rishi shared with his 2.3 million X (formerly known as Twitter) followers on May 26th.
According to The Telegraph, the Conservative Party has confirmed that the children “would not be exempt from National Service” and would be expected to take part.
While members of the royal family have long been associated with the military, this is the first time grandchildren and children of the reigning sovereign will be conscripted, instead of enlisting voluntarily.
Thankfully, unlike the conscription of World War I and World War II, the Cambridge children will not be sent into active war zones (unless they opt into active duty), and will instead be trained in areas such as logistics, cyber security, procurement, and civil response operations.
If they are unable to undertake these military duties, they will be required to volunteer in the public sector for one weekend every month for a one-year period.
Despite being in power for the previous 14 years, pre-polling has suggested that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will win the election, and thus royal children being conscripted will be an unlikely reality.
