Forget Prince George and Baby Archie, these royal children are all closer to the throne – from Japan’s Prince Hisahito, 13, to Bhutan’s 4-year-old ‘Dragon Prince’

Mar 11 , 2020

The next generation of royals will face up to a very different world than their parents. Photo: Instagram

From Monaco’s primary-aged Prince Jacques, 5, and Sweden’s Princess Estelle, 8, to Thailand’s Prince Dipangkorn and Spain’s Princess Leonor – both aged 14 – these royal heirs will all soon be on the world stage

In the decades to come, we can expect to see the monarchies all around the world evolving and adapting to a rapidly changing world. With these inevitable transformations, the next generation of princes and princesses will ascend to their respective thrones and make history in their own ways.

We’ve heard so much about the Cambridge brood and the immediate successors to the British throne, but how much do we know about Prince George’s young counterparts around the world? Below, we round up all the royal babies, toddlers, and tweens who are busy preparing to take their crowns.

Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, Bhutan

Also known as the “Dragon Prince”, Bhutan’s heir to the throne recently celebrated his fourth birthday and will soon be an elder brother after Queen Jetsun Pema announced in December of last year that she was expecting another child.

When he was born in 2016, thousands of volunteers in Bhutan gathered and planted 108,000 trees to mark his birth.

Prince Hisahito, Japan

We’ve heard of the concept of an “heir and a spare” but the Japanese monarchy doesn’t seem to have the luxury of a “spare”. The shrinking royal family has many princesses to boast of, but few male heirs.