Royal experts tell PEOPLE that the Prince and Princess of Wales ultimately selected the prestigious all-boys boarding school because of both family tradition and ‘absolute discretion’
Credit: Adrian DENNIS / POOL / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Prince William and Kate Middleton recently accompanied Prince George on his first day of school at Eton College
- While it was thought that the couple might send their eldest to a coed secondary school, they ultimately decided on William’s alma mater for a variety of reasons
- “They know there will be absolute discretion,” royal historian Amanda Foreman tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story
When it came to picking a secondary school for their eldest son and the future British king, Prince William and Kate Middleton had a lot to consider.
Royal historian Amanda Foreman tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story that the couple’s choice of Eton College for Prince George, 13, was a “flight to safety.”
“They had wanted a fresh look, but this is trusted, tried and true, and they know there will be absolute discretion,” Foreman adds. “They don’t have to reinvent any protocols.”
Credit: Matt Porteous / Kensington Palace
Some thought that the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 44, might choose a coed institution like Marlborough College, Kate’s alma mater, so that George might be able to study alongside both of his siblings — Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8 — in the future.
However, Eton — where both William and his brother, Prince Harry, spent their secondary school years — was the ultimate choice.
“George has always wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps,” a source close to the family told PEOPLE following the official announcement.
On the rainy morning of Sept. 8, Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince George arrived at the historic institution, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. They were welcomed by headmaster Simon Henderson and provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge.
“Welcome. Good luck. Enjoy it,” Henderson told George.
Prince George “looked relaxed and happy,” royal author Simon Vigar tells PEOPLE.
Credit: Adrian DENNIS / POOL / AFP via Getty
Following their welcome, the trio was escorted into the fourth-form passage, with Princess Kate placing a protective arm on her eldest son’s back. Then it was time to settle into his first-year room, complete with a single bed, a desk and some shelves. As he progresses through the school, his accommodations will become more spacious.
His room did include one familiar standard: the standard Eton uniform of a black tailcoat, waistcoat, pin-striped trousers and a stiff white collar. Like his father, uncle and hundreds of boys before him, George will wear it for the next few years, with the privilege to wear a colorful waistcoat if, like William, he eventually becomes a “Pop,” a senior student at Eton with a leadership role.
Credit: Matt Porteous / Kensington Palace; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty
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While it’s familiar territory for the royals, it’s a major change for the Prince and Princess of Wales’ family, who have had all three kids in school together since Louis started at Lambrook in the fall of 2022.
“It’s not a drop-off—it’s a handover; it’s a massive transition,” says Melanie Sanderson, managing editor of The Good Schools Guide in the U.K., about William and Kate moving George into Eton.
William and Kate spent the summer months preparing their family for the change, from holiday time at their country home, Anmer Hall, to an outing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to the royal family’s annual late-summer getaway to Balmoral Castle.
“The whole summer was geared around family time before, for the first time, they would spend a considerable amount of time apart,” royal author Russell Myers tells PEOPLE.
William’s “overriding ambition is wanting his children to have as normal a life as possible when they are children,” adds a friend. “He and [Kate] have been enormously successful with that.”
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The family’s busy fall has been further complicated by the return of Prince Harry, 42, and Meghan Markle, 45, who moved back to the U.K. last month with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.
While Harry has been in recent contact with his father — including a July meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove — tensions between the brothers remain strained, with no direct communication between them.
Myers says that the King and Prince William are “completely united” on one detail of Prince Harry’s return: “the Sussexes not representing the royal family.”
“It’s without a doubt how in sync they are on this matter,” adds the author of William and Catherine.
However, Myers adds, William and Kate won’t be able to avoid the issue forever. “[They] can maintain that their focus has to be about them and their family, but there will be pressure on them about how they interact with Harry and Meghan and their family in the future.”
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