Ten Lucky Babies Will Get the Chance to Meet Prince George in New Zealand

Josh Duboff


Prince George
Prince George

Prince George has become something of a "fashion darling" over just a few public appearances. His personalized sweater-prominently on display in the window-frame royal portrait which we still have saved as our iPhone wallpaper-immediately sold out. And yesterday, photographs of George from the family's arrival in New Zealand seemed to be found wherever you turned on the Internet (you know you've made it when you're being compared with Grumpy Cat).

So, how much of George will we be seeing for the remainder of the three-week tour? Well, it's somewhat unclear. CNN reports that while the prince's private secretary pinpointed a few events in Australia and New Zealand where George might accompany his parents, it will be very much played by ear. "George being just a little over eight months old by the time they travel, I'm sure you will appreciate that the couple will have to make a final decision on those moments much closer to the time," he said.

One event that seems to be a safe bet, though, is tomorrow's scheduled public engagement at . . . a "parent and baby group." Yes, William and Kate will be taking the eight-month-old to the home of Wellington's governor-general for a playgroup, in what will be the highest-stakes infant playdate since the first time North West and Blue Ivy Carter met. All of the babies who will be bestowed the honor of sharing crawl space with George will be his contemporaries, "all . . . born within a few weeks of [George's] birthday on July 22 last year."


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The parents of the 10 babies who will be meeting George have now talked to the press, and they're as giddy as you'd imagine. "I've had a few jealous looks from other parents," one said, with another predicting "there will be a lot of laughter." The families-all chosen by a parent-support organization-reflect "a spread of all the communities in New Zealand, including Maoris, Samoans, people of Chinese descent and gay couples," according to the organization's president.

Meanwhile, these parents are no doubt spending the preceding hours preparing and prepping their children for the meeting: "Remember to ask George about Lupo, Marigold. It came up over and over again in my research that he loves that dog . . . I know, I know, you can't speak yet, but that's no excuse! Just make a barking noise or something . . . and if you get a moment alone with George, try to indicate that you like Kate's hair just the way it is and don't understand what all the fuss is about. Maybe point to Kate's head and smile . . . Remember, the goal here is for you guys to become Facebook friends by the next morning. Once you two are Facebook friends, you'll be in there for life. Don't worry, if he ever un-friended you, we'd go to the press. They wouldn't want that getting out."


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