Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis Would Not Exempt from Plans to Revive Military Service

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans for 18-year-old citizens to either serve in the armed forces or through volunteer work for a year

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis would not be exempt from the U.K. Conservative Party's plans for 18-year-old citizens to participate in mandatory service, either in the armed forces or through volunteer work in the community.

After U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans to revive National Service on May 26 ahead of the general election in July, the Conservative Party confirmed to The Telegraph that children in the British royal family would be expected to take part.

In addition to Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, the young children of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips and more royals would be required to complete the initiative.

According to the BBC, the plan would see 30,000 out of an estimated 700,000 18-year-old citizens spending a year in the military in areas like logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations. The rest would be required to spend one weekend every month volunteering with organizations such as the NHS, fire service, ambulance, search and rescue and critical local infrastructure for 12 months.

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Sunak said on X, "This bold new model will open up a world of opportunity. It will make sure young people in the U.K. get the same chance in life as their peers in allies like Sweden, Norway, Denmark and France — which have all recently introduced or announced new forms of national service."

"Everyone will get the life-changing chance to learn from the best of the best - from the men and women of our Armed Forces, our inspirational NHS staff or the fire service," he continued. Gaining skills for life in everything from cyber to leadership."

The British royal family already has strong ties to the military, with many serving.

As monarch, King Charles is the head of the armed forces, and he previously served in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976.

Both of his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. William, 41, went on to serve with the Blues and Royals and before working as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, while Harry, 39, also entered the Blues and Royals and also being deployed to Afghanistan twice. Prince Harry's tours made him the first member of the U.K.'s royal family to serve in a war zone since his uncle Prince Andrew, who flew helicopters during the Falklands War.

Related: King Charles Appoints Prince William to Military Role Linked to Prince Harry in Controversial Move

Queen Elizabeth made history as the first female in the family to become a full-time member of the armed services while she was heir to the throne. As Princess Elizabeth during World War II, she persuaded her reluctant father, King George VI, to allow her to join the military and signed on with the Auxiliary Territorial Service, donning a uniform and rolling up her sleeves to become a vehicle mechanic.

Many working members of the royal family hold various appointments and honorary ranks in the armed forces, and Prince George (as future monarch) and his siblings will likely continue that tradition.

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King Charles, Prince William and other royals canceled planned engagements last week ahead of the general election, set to take place on July 4. After Sunak called for a surprise general election, Buckingham Palace announced that members of the family would postpone outings "which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign." The royals, who are constitutionally non-political, traditionally leave the public space to the country's political parties during campaigns.

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