For Prince George, it was the early birthday treat that made everything all right.
At the end of a five-day tour in which he has not always been as enthusiastic as hoped for, George, who turns four today, and Princess Charlotte, two, were given a guided tour of two helicopters by their father at the Airbus site in Hamburg.
Described by palace sources as “helicopter crazy”, George clambered into the cockpit of an aircraft of the same type flown by the Duke of Cambridge in his job as an air ambulance helicopter pilot — an H-145 — and another model.
He tried on a helmet and Charlotte pushed buttons in the cockpit, but appeared to have a little tantrum outside the helicopter before being scooped up by her mother.
The family have been greeted with wild enthusiasm by the crowds in Poland, and given saturation media coverage in Germany. The significance of the trip, during Brexit talks, has not been lost but newspapers focused on the personal rather than the political angle.
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The Berliner Zeitung devoted the first eight pages of Thursday’s edition to the royal visit and hailed Kate as the “princess of hearts”.
William had a touching reminder of his family history during a tour of Hamburg’s Maritime Museum when he came face to face with a model of the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was decommissioned 20 years ago. “Is that Britannia?” he asked, astonished. “It’s beautiful, amazing.”
An official fourth birthday picture of Prince George was released by Kensington Palace last night. Showing him with a big, toothy smile, his parents decided to publish the picture even though he has been in the newspapers several times this week, because they were so delighted with the image. “The picture is very special,” said a royal source.
It is understood that it is already on display at their home.