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They were on their best behavior. As Prince George<\/a> and Prince Louis rolled through the streets of London in a horse-drawn carriage with mom Princess Kate Middleton<\/strong><\/a> and sister Princess Charlotte, onlookers watched them chatting away while taking in the crowds gathered for grandfather King Charles III<\/strong>\u2018s official birthday celebration, Trooping the Colour.<\/p>\n But once they stepped out onto the Buckingham Palace balcony during the June 15 event, George took charge. When Louis turned around to speak to their father, Prince William<\/strong><\/a>, George stepped in with an order: \u201cTurn around,\u201d he commanded, gesturing for his younger sibling to face forward. Louis immediately complied.<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear the 6-year-old looks up to George. Despite their five-year age difference, the future king<\/a>, 11, and his brother \u201chave started to really bond in recent months,\u201d a royal source exclusively tells Life & Style<\/em>. \u201cLouis is becoming more fun and seems less like an \u2018annoying little brother.\u2019 He\u2019s always up for doing whatever George wants to do.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the source, the baby of England\u2019s Wales family \u201cgets to tag along a lot more often now, and George is realizing he\u2019s actually a good little buddy to have around!\u201d\n<\/p>\n Indeed, the sibling dynamic in William and Kate\u2019s household is shifting. \u201cWhereas for years, it was always Charlotte and George doing things together,\u201d explains the source, the busy 9-year-old princess \u201cnow has her own friends and interests, and while she loves being with her brothers, she\u2019s often out enjoying her own hobbies. That leaves a lot of time for George and Louis to spend together.\u201d<\/p>\n In public, George is known for his calm, reserved demeanor. Louis, meanwhile, developed a reputation early on as a little rascal who delights in displaying his playful personality at royal events with his animated faces, enthusiastic waves and minor misbehavior that frequently steal the show.<\/p>\n In private, however, George is no angel, reveals the source \u2014 and it\u2019s often because of Louis. \u201cHe tries to convince George to do cheeky things with him,\u201d shares the source. \u201cThey\u2019ll raid the kitchen for snacks after dinner when they\u2019re not supposed to or pull pranks on their parents or tease Charlotte \u2014 things George would normally think himself too old to do but that he also enjoys because it\u2019s fun to be a little kid again with Louis.\u201d<\/p>\n Together, the boys \u2014 who along with their sister have a passion for sports including rugby and soccer \u2014 \u201ckeep all the royals laughing and on their toes,\u201d adds the source.<\/p>\n George is learning when to be a role model\u2014and when to get out of Louis\u2019 way. Months before his mature Trooping the Colour display, for example, he showed Louis how to greet the public during the royal family\u2019s 2024 Christmas Day walkabout and even gave Louis a teddy bear he received from a well-wisher. But when George saw Louis mischievously blowing out Charlotte\u2019s candle during a holiday carol service, he decided to shield his own flame instead of reprimanding the pint-size troublemaker.<\/p>\n At school \u2014 the trio begin their third year together at the private Lambrook School<\/a> in Windsor, England, in September \u2014 \u201cGeorge is protective of Louis, though he doesn\u2019t have to stand up for him,\u201d says the source. \u201cLouis can carry his own.\u201d<\/p>\n He certainly did during a recent family outing. In early August, William and Kate, both 42, joined their kids in a Nerf gun battle at adventurer Bear Grylls\u2019 Gone Wild Festival near their country home, Anmer Hall. An enthusiastic Louis was heard shouting, \u201cNerf or nothing, let\u2019s do this!\u201d<\/p>\n As Kate continues her recovery following a cancer diagnosis earlier this year, these moments of family unity take on a whole new meaning. \u201cShe and William both love their boys\u2019 bond,\u201d says the source. Seeing George and Louis together \u201cis a nice reminder of how much brothers can love each other. And a stark reminder of what could lie ahead for them\u201d if they ever have a falling-out like William and his brother<\/a>, Prince Harry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The two have been estranged for years amid their disparate feelings about how the royal family treated Harry, 39, and his wife, Meghan Markle<\/strong>, before they moved to America in 2020 and what Harry has publicly revealed about the monarchy.<\/p>\n \u201cKate wants to believe that nothing will ever break George and Louis\u2019 bond,\u201d says the source. \u201cShe tells William that Charlotte is the glue between them that will make sure her brothers will always be close.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nGeorge and Louis Are Partners in Crime<\/h2>\n
Prince William\u2019s Family Unit<\/h2>\n