The sweet tradition Prince George, Princess Charlotte and their cousins might continue this year

It could be up to Princes George, Louis and Princess Charlotte and their cousins to carry on a funny, silly tradition which goes back to their great grandfather, Prince Philip, this summer. The late Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed being playful with his grandchildren, teaching them a messy prank which reportedly infuriated the late Queen.

• One royal expert thinks the young royals – including Prince George and his cousins, the Tindall children – will carry on a silly tradition started by Prince Philip this summer
• Prince William once explained the bizarre mustard prank his grandfather taught them as kids, and now it’s the younger generation’s turn to carry the torch
• In other royal news, the new names Prince George could take on when he becomes King
  

It’s easy to imagine the royal family being so committed to their well-known rules and customs that time spent together could be rather stuffy.

But that wasn’t the case when Prince Philip was around – and one royal expert believes the younger generation of royal kids will carry on a silly tradition he taught his own grandchildren.

This summer, as the family plan to join Charles and Camilla at Balmoral for the traditional holiday together, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond has given an insight into what the royal children like Prince George and his cousins, including Zara and Mike Tindall’s children, might expect at Balmoral.

She has suggested the Balmoral summer holiday might be more relaxed this year, saying, “They will enjoy the usual Scotland activities with lots of fresh air, riding, walking, picnicking, fishing and plenty of family games… especially when their young cousins, like the Tindall's, arrive.”

“It will probably be a bit more relaxed under King Charles, although obviously there will be a lot of sadness and nostalgia because of the anniversary of the late Queen’s death.”

And one thing that she added the kids might get up to involves mustard. Yes. Mustard.

Much to the late Queen’s annoyance, Philip enjoyed a messy game with his grandchildren, as told by Prince William during a special documentary shown shortly after his grandfather’s death in 2021.

Recalling the mustard game, Prince William said, “He used to take the lid off and put it in your hands… and then he’d squish your hands together to fire the mustard onto the ceiling.”

“He used to get in a lot of trouble from my grandmother for covering most of the places we had lunch and things with mustard on the ceiling.”

Zara Tindall also affectionately remembered the mustard antics, saying, “I can’t remember exactly what he says but he ends up slamming your hands together…. It goes all over the ceiling.”

Her brother Peter Phillips added, “I actually think the marks are still there.”

A more relaxed approach seems to be a recurrent theme now that Charles is King.

Previously, another royal expert explained how an Easter tradition would be more relaxed under the King.

“The Queen always said until they could hold a knife and fork properly they could not eat at the table, but Charles might have relaxed that rule a bit,” Ingrid declared.