How Prince George Already Started Prepping for Life at Eton College

George is preparing to attend dad Prince William's alma mater, which is an all-boys, full-time boarding school

NEED TO KNOW

• Prince George has already practiced boarding at school before heading to Eton College this fall
• According to a new report, George asked his parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton, if he could board at Lambrook School
• Prince William previously mentioned that George was boarding

Prince George already has some practice for heading to boarding school in the fall, and it was all his idea.

Prince William and Kate Middleton's eldest child, who is turning 13 this week, is heading to Eton College in the fall, just like his father before him. While students at Lambrook School — where George attended with his younger siblings Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8 — have a choice on whether they want to live at school full-time or not, Eton College is strictly a boarding-only school.

Prince William previously mentioned that Prince George was doing some boarding already. Now, a new report from the Daily Mail claims it was the young royal's idea, and he asked his parents if he could try some boarding at Lambrook.

"They agreed. It helped him grow, to be part of a collective," royal reporter Robert Jobson told the outlet.

Lambrook School offers both weekly and flexi-boarding for children aged 7 to 13, allowing students to stay anywhere from one night a week to full-time boarding, per its website. The school says around 75% of its prep pupils participate in some form of boarding to gradually prepare for full-time boarding schools.

While Prince George is following his father by going to Eton College, Jobson told the Daily Mail that the circumstances are wildly different.

"William walked into Eton carrying his parents’ marital war," Jobson says, referring to the future King Charles and Princess Diana's separation before their divorce was finalized a year later. "George walks in from a settled home. Two parents, together, who built him a base and guard it fiercely. Confidence is not taught. It is absorbed."

Just two years after Prince William started at Eton, Diana died at 36 in a car crash in Paris. Through the difficult times, Eton provided stability. William also developed a close bond with housemaster Andrew Gailey, and several friends from Eton remain part of his inner circle.

Jobson also notes that Prince George has "emerged steadier" after seeing both his mother and grandfather the King diagnosed with cancer in recent years.

While Jobson notes that Eton will be a "challenge," it will help that he's close to home, as the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 44, live a short drive away in Windsor.

"As he steps out in his tailcoat, false collar, he will look a picture. But the environment will protect him like it did his father, who thrived there," Jobson said. "Then time. A great deal of it, let us hope, for George’s sake."

While many options were explored for Prince George's next step in schooling, a source close to the family told PEOPLE, “George has always wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps."

Founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, all-boys Eton costs about $80,000 a year and has educated generations of leaders, including 20 prime ministers and other British royal family members like Prince Harry. Come September, George will become the latest prince to don Eton’s iconic black tailcoat, waistcoat and pin-striped trousers.

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"Yes, Eton stands for tradition, but it has moved with the times and now has a more diverse student body than it had—even in William’s day,” says royal author Sally Bedell Smith. “I think their decision hinges on the school’s academic excellence and the many ways it develops its students for leadership roles."

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