Despite the expectation upon his shoulders, he is determined to carry on with his life at Oxford.

Despite the expectation upon his shoulders, he is determined to carry on with his life at Oxford.

"It was his mother's greatest joy that he got to Oxford," said Ms Schofield, adding that Miss Bhutto would have expected him to return to his studies. However, that university life could well change, with increased security in the wake of his mother's death. Ms Schofield believes that Bilawal will also have to learn quickly about his homeland,.

"He has barely been to Pakistan, he would have been 11 when he left," she said.

"He does speak Urdu and Arabic but English is his first language, that was what was spoken in the home.

"He has also got to work on a new relationship with his father - he didn't really knew his father as a boy."

In 2004, a prophetic Bilawal looked both to the past and the future when he said: "My grandfather was a very courageous man and I consider myself very lucky because I have three powerful role models that will obviously influence my career choices when I am older."

Four years later, he finds himself the teenage heir to that political dynasty facing a crisis unmatched by even its own standards.