A Big Decision About Prince George’s Future Has to Be Made By the End of This Month

Prince George will be 10 years old next month—unbelievably—and, while his eventual future as heir to the British throne has been mapped out for him since before he was born, his educational future might have just been revealed.

Both his father Prince William and uncle Prince Harry studied at Eton College, not far from the Wales family home in Windsor. Multiple outlets report that George, along with his parents, visited William’s alma mater recently, signaling that the future king might enroll there as soon as he is able (Eton students are between the ages of 13 and 18, but to get into the exclusive boarding school, they must register by June 30 of the school year the boy turns 10—which is this week).

The all-boys boarding school is home to 1,350 pupils and costs $20,000 per term, People reports—and there are three terms per year. There is also a $500 registration fee. Currently, George attends Lambrook School with his younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis; they are day pupils, however, and return home to Adelaide Cottage each day. Lambrook educates children up to age 13.

When William himself enrolled at Eton in 1995, he became the first senior royal to attend the school, People reports. His father King Charles and grandfather Prince Philip both attended Gordonstoun in Scotland, but his mother Princess Diana’s father and brother both attended Eton. Once enrolled, William and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, started a new tradition: Sunday lunches together, as the school is nearby Windsor Castle.

“The prince takes his style from his royal grandmother, who intervened as the marriage of William’s parents dissolved in 1995,” royal historian Robert Lacey wrote. “The 13-year-old was in a fragile place—alone and just starting boarding at the elite Eton College across the river from Windsor. Concerned for her grandson’s emotional state, the Queen invited William up to join her when Eton boys went home for the weekend.”

Even though Charles and Diana had been separated since 1992 and by William’s enrollment in 1995 had grown increasingly at odds, “William’s arrival at Eton also represented a rare moment of parental unity,” wrote Richard Kay for The Daily Mail. “At the time, Charles and Diana were in the middle of a separation that had grown increasingly ugly and bitter, with each taking pot-shots at the other. But when it came to their sons’ schooling, they managed to find common ground.” (Though Philip thrived at Gordonstoun, Charles did not, and had no problem not sending his own sons there.) 

Although Eton is a boarding school, George will similarly be able to visit his family in nearby Windsor. William, Kate, and George were spotted last week talking to two staff members at the school, Page Six reports.

William’s Eton experience still sticks with him, even 23 years after graduating in 2000, Kay wrote: “He forged a series of close friendships that endure to this day and, like his father’s more grueling experience in Scotland, it instilled in him a resilience that has served him well. Eton also gave William a taste for independence and privacy that is difficult to find for young royals, whose lives are so often under the spotlight.”