AS PRINCE GEORGE ENTERS HIS TEENAGE YEARS, PRINCE WILLIAM AND PRINCESS KATE ARE REPORTEDLY FACING A PARENTING CHALLENGE THAT HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH ROYAL LIFE AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WATCHING THEIR ELDEST SON GROW UP.

Anyone would be hard pressed to find parents of a teenager who didn’t have concerns about their child—but when your child is the future king, those anxieties no doubt heighten.

Prince George, the eldest child of Prince William and Kate Middleton, turned the milestone age of 13 on July 22. Writing for The Daily Mail, veteran royal correspondent Rebecca English identified the Prince and Princess of Wales’ “biggest worry” when it comes to George—“not the paparazzi, but an entire generation armed with camera phones, instantly uploading snaps and videos for ‘clout and likes,’” she wrote.

“It will be interesting to see how they navigate this challenge given how determined they have always been to ringfence their family from the moment George and his siblings were born,” she added.

While no one understands George’s position as a teenage heir to the throne quite like William, when William was a teenager in the 1990s and early 2000s, smartphones didn’t exist. This—George “growing up in a digital age,” as English put it—adds an entirely different element.

William and Kate do not allow their three children to have phones; William has mentioned that George might be able to get a “brick phone” when he heads off to Eton College in September. Eton, in lockstep with the Prince and Princess of Wales, also doesn’t allow smartphones, which must be a sigh of relief for the royal couple as George prepares to head off there soon.

William and Kate have long been private when it comes to their children, gradually introducing them to public life at their own pace. English pointed to a 2015 incident—when George was not yet two years old—that was a “tipping point for Kate in particular.” Mother and son were out on the beach in Norfolk “when it became clear they were being stalked by two photographers,” a source said. “She had to grab him and go, and was deeply upset about the whole thing.”

“It wasn’t the first time this had happened, but she was really unhappy and very, very worried,” the insider continued. “There was a lot of thinking along the lines of ‘What is this role that William and I have in public life going to do for him?’ She was desperate for a sense of normalcy for her family. From that moment on, she and the prince worked hard to protect their family life.”

Another source said that the couple “have always, always put their family first,” even if it sparked criticism.

“William and Catherine have ripped up the royal rulebook and rewritten it themselves,” the insider said. “It’s prompted debate at times, I know, but I would argue when you see those children, who are such a credit to their parents, then you can’t disagree with their approach.”

A friend speaking to The Telegraph said of William and Kate, “The biggest thing is that it has to be family first. They will serve the institution, but they will also make sure their children are raised with as much normality as possible.”

“The way they have lived their lives—getting the kids outside, spending time together, focusing on the school run–it’s just as strategic as any other part of their public service,” a source said. “Preparing their children for the lives they are going to lead, it’s central to their roles—it’s not something that’s on the side.”

As he heads off to Eton, George will be doing so “in quite a warm, confident space,” royal biographer Robert Jobson told Hello!. Fellow royal biographer Ingrid Seward told the outlet that it will help that, at the Wales family home Forest Lodge, “his family are so close by and he knows the area.” This, she said, “will help him to feel at home” at Eton.

A family friend told The Sun that “George is very aware of who he is, and that has made him extremely cautious with friendships. You have to feel for him, really—it’s a very difficult thing to know you will be the future king of England.”

“He hasn’t faced up to the enormity of his future, but he does take his position seriously,” the source added.