King Charles and Queen Camilla undertook several engagements in Newmarket, Cambridgeshire, during Prince George's 12th birthday.
The young royal is celebrating his birthday privately with the Prince and Princess of Wales and his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The King and Queen spent the day in Newmarket with an engagement at The National Stud, an industry-leading stud services and boarding for mares, young stock, and spellers.
Stallions reside in the historic Duke of Roxburghe Stallion Unit, and over 100 thoroughbred foals are born each year in The Stud’s Foaling Unit.
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|King Charles and Queen Camilla undertook several engagements in Newmarket, Cambridgeshire, during Prince George's 12th birthday.
Each year, over 6,000 people tour the facilities, of which over 1,000 visitors are from charities, schools, third-level education providers and community groups.
During a separate engagement in the region, the King and Queen met with the Chairman of Ipswich Football Club, Mark Ashton, at the King Edward VII Memorial Hall.
The King and Queen did issue a public birthday message to Prince George on social media.
The Royal Family account, which represents the couple, wrote: "Wishing a very happy birthday to Prince George!"
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|The King and Queen did issue a public birthday message to Prince George on social media.
Earlier on Thursday, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared the new photograph on social media, accompanied by the caption: "Happy 12th Birthday to Prince George!"
Prince George's 12th birthday is particularly significant as a longstanding Royal Family rule looks set to come into place.
The future king may now be separated from Prince William when using certain forms of transport.
George is second in line to the throne while Prince William is first in the Royal Family's line of succession.
There is a rule in place that limits which royals can travel together in the same plane, with William travelling on a different plane from Charles once he turned 12 in 1994.
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George is second in line to the throne while Prince William is first in the Royal Family's line of succession.
Previously, Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte could all travel together, but that may change now that George has turned 12.
The rule is in place to help secure the heirs to the throne and it can be broken with the monarch's permission, but it is discouraged since, in the event of a crash, the future of the monarchy would be immediately unstable.
It may be decided that William is the one to fly on his own, and George travels with his mother and siblings.
Another option is that William travels with either Charlotte or Louis, or both of them, while George travels with Princess Kate.
Three royals have previously died in plane crashes, including Prince Philip's sister, Princess Cecilie in 1937, the late Queen's uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent in 1942 and her cousin, Prince William of Gloucester in 1972.