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22nd July 2017
12:16pm BST
(Photo by Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty Images)[/caption]
According to etiquette expert William Hanson it's got to do with tradition among the upper class, aristocracy, and royals. If they were to avoid this tradition it would be seen as "suburban".
William told Harper's Bazaar, "It’s a very English thing to dress a young boy in shorts. Trousers are for older boys and men, whereas shorts on young boys is one of those silent class markers that we have in England. Although times are (slowly) changing, a pair of trousers on a young boy is considered quite middle class – quite suburban. And no self-respecting aristocrat or royal would want to be considered suburban. Even the Duchess of Cambridge."
This tradition has been held throughout the royal family with George's dad William and Uncle Harry sporting the shorts as kids too.
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(Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)[/caption]
Mr Hanson continued saying, "The usual custom is that a boy graduates to trousers around eight years old. This is, historically, perhaps due to the practice of 'breeching', which dates back to the sixteenth century. A newborn boy would be dressed in a gown for their first year or two (these gowns have survived as the modern Christening robe) and then he was 'breeched' and wore articles of clothing that more resembled shorts or trousers than dresses."
He added, "The modern habit of upper class families choosing to dress their boys in shorts will deliberately hark back to a bygone age. The British upper set are always keen to hold on to tradition, and this one also silently marks them out from 'the rest'."
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