The Royal Family are currently on their summer holidays and, unlike previous years where the family would jet off all over the world, they are all having a traditional staycation in the UK.
The Queen’s plans are unchanged, however, as she is currently at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
This is her first holiday at the castle without Prince Philip following his death earlier this year at the age of 99 on April 9.
The time spent at Balmoral is usually filled with family picnics and fishing, as well as one famous tradition which has been cancelled this year.
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Prince George will likely be disappointed to miss this tradition
(Image: John Sibley – Pool/Getty Images)
Balmoral’s Glorious Twelfth event sees members of the Royal Family go around the Balmoral Estate hunting young grouse.
The annual season extends from August 12 to December 10 and is an event which even the youngest royals go and watch.
Royal expert Richard Eden said in the Daily Mail that Balmoral may join other estates in postponing or cancelling the Glorious Twelfth.
It is thought the colder than normal temperatures have contributed to fewer animal births.
The tradition is attended by royals as young as five
(Image: Press Association)
A spokesman for the Royal Family told Eden that they are “leaving it to the experts” to decide if they should open next week for the shoot.
The revelation that Prince George, now eight, had attended the shoot at the tender age of five shocked royal fans.
PETA director Mimi Bekhechi said few people in 2020 viewed shooting as “anything other than a violent perversion”.
She continued: “For a child to be compelled to witness such casual killing – and by a parent he looks up to, no less – is potentially as harmful to his or her psyche as it is to the bird’s very life.
PETA have voiced their concerns that young Prince George has witnessed this tradition before
(Image: HRH the Duchess of Cambridge)
“It can desensitise children to the suffering of animals – which is cause for concern, given the well-established link between cruelty to animals in childhood and antisocial behaviour in adulthood – and could give George nightmares.
“To help him grow into a responsible, compassionate leader, his parents must teach him respect for all living beings.”
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The Duke of Cambridge was also previously criticised for his passion for hunting as he still remains a high-profile advocate for animal conservation.
In 2014, Prince William and Prince Harry were admonished for going on a boar hunting trip on the Duke of Westminster’s Spanish estate just days before joining a campaign against poaching and the illegal wildlife trade.
William- who is also the patron of Tusk, an African conservation initiative- was praised for his United For Wildlife campaign as it works to protect endangered species such as rhinos, tigers and elephants.
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