Prince George Is Turning 8, Which Means He's Officially Old Enough to Stop Wearing Shorts All the Time

• Earlier this month, at the UEFA Euro 2020 Championships, Prince George (opens in new tab) debuted a very grown-up new look, stepping out in a smart suit and tie.
• It's traditional for young aristocratic boys in England to only wear shorts (even in the winter) until they're about eight years old.
• George turns eight later this month and royal experts say his new, more dapper and grown-up look is probably here to stay as a result.

Prince George (opens in new tab) is growing up and hitting a fashion milestone.

Earlier this month, the young royal looked very grown-up (and very royal) at the UEFA Euro 2020 Championships with his parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton (opens in new tab). At the match, George looked like Will's mini-me in a smart blue suit and a necktie.

"I thought he looked very dapper and regal," Sophie Mirman, founder and creative director at Trotters (opens in new tab) told People (opens in new tab) of the look. "He must have felt very cool and grown-up in his new jacket and tie — matching with his dad was actually very cute too."

Mirman, who has dressed all three of the Cambridge kids (opens in new tab) over the years, says the event was a perfect time for George to debut his new grown-up look. As royal fans know, George has typically worn shorts in the past (although there have been a few notable exceptions, like his Christmas Day walk with the royals in 2019 (opens in new tab)). This goes to a longstanding tradition among royals (and other aristocratic types), although it's not a hard and fast rule. 

"I think it's definitely a look for the royals, and there is this rather strange thing in English schools where children have to wear shorts, even in the winter, with their freezing cold knees — it's almost like an unwritten code," Mirman explained.

George turns eight later this month, which, according to old school etiquette experts, is the right age for aristocratic boys to make the switch from shorts and knee socks to full-length pants.

"Boys wear short trousers until they are 8," Majesty magazine Editor-in-Chief Ingrid Seward (opens in new tab) told People in 2014. "It is very English."

Seward explained that making the switch from shorts-all-the-time to long pants is a big deal for boys—and that it's a change George is actually making a little sooner than William did.

"It is shorts until you’re 8 and then 'woo, you’re in long trousers.' They suddenly feel very grown up," Seward said. "Prince William didn’t wear long trousers until he went to school at Ludgrove at the age of 8 or 9."