Like his father and uncle before him, Prince George will be walking the hallowed halls of Eton College as he takes his place among the prestigious school's pupils this September. It seems like only yesterday that the royal baby whose birth the world so patiently awaited made his first appearance outside the Lindo Wing, and now, 13 years later, he's all grown up and preparing to arrive for his first day at his father's alma mater.
After much speculation, Kensington Palace confirmed over the summer that the Prince and Princess of Wales' first child would attend Eton College. In doing so, he will be following in the footsteps of Prince William, who once said he "really enjoyed being able to go about Eton as just another student".
It's now George's turn.
As the teenage Prince begins a new chapter, he is taking another step towards the role he has been destined for since birth, and it's sure to be an experience that will help shape the future King.
© Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty ImagesClose to home
Eton, located across the River Thames from Windsor Castle, isn't far from the Waleses' Windsor home: Forest Lodge. Prince William, Catherine and their children have been living in the eight-bedroom home since November 2025.
Before George's secondary school was announced, The Good Schools' Guide's managing editor Melanie Sanderson spoke with HELLO! about why Eton would make sense for the Wales family.
"You can see Eton College from Windsor Castle. So that would be lovely for George to be able to pop home," Melanie said.
"And the boys now are allowed a little bit of freedom to pop in and out of school at the weekends, to come home for Sunday lunch or tea on a Saturday evening after their sports fixtures."
Robert Jobson has previously told HELLO! that he believes George's relationship with his grandfather, King Charles, could echo the one Prince William had with his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, whom he regularly visited for tea while he was a student at Eton. "Being close by, to spend time in his formative years with his grandfather and learn from his wisdom, will be quite important," Robert said.
On his own
Despite Eton's proximity to family and home, it is a full boarding school, with no day or weekly students. George will therefore be living in one of the 25 boarding houses, in a room to himself.
But this isn't a special privilege extended to the Prince just because of who he is. Au contraire. There are no shared rooms at Eton. "Boys thus have their own private space and are required to organise themselves and to develop self-discipline in meeting tasks and deadlines," per the school's website.
Boarding is said to be "at the heart of every boy’s experience at Eton.
© Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty ImagesGeorge has already had some boarding experience. Back in May, Prince William revealed during a radio appearance that his firstborn had spent the previous night boarding. George's former school, Lambrook, which his younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis both attend, offers weekly and flexi-boarding for students ages 7 to 13.
A phone for George?
While the "rhythm of boarding life ensures that boys go home every two or three weeks," George may have a phone of his own to call home.
Although Prince William told Eugene Levy, in an episode of Apple TV's The Reluctant Traveler, that none of his "children have any phones," noting that he and Catherine are "very strict about" that, he later revealed that his eldest child might get one before leaving for school. Speaking to broadcaster Luciano Huck in November 2025, the Prince of Wales said: "I think when George moves on to secondary school, then maybe he will have a phone then that has no internet access."
"And to be honest, it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming a little bit of a like tense issue. But I think he understands why," the royal dad of three added. "We communicate why we don’t think it’s right. And again, I think it’s the internet access I have a problem with. I think children can access too much stuff they don’t need to see online, and so having a phone and text message, the old sort of 'brick phone' as they call them, I think that's fine."
That would work out well for George, since it was reported in 2024 that Eton was banning smartphones for incoming first-year students. Instead, pupils were provided with "brick" phones.
Academic excellence
The second in line to the throne's new school has a broad curriculum, offering 28 subjects, including nine modern and classical languages. Eton encourages all of its students to "aspire to academic excellence," with the school's masters described as "subject-specialists" who hold prestigious degrees in their respective subjects. Each student is also assigned a personal tutor, whose guidance helps boys develop "the learning habits which will be the foundation of his Eton career," according to the school.
Former Etonian, Tom Sykes, who was expelled three years into his time there, recalled in a VIP piece for HELLO! that "Eton has always taken academic standards ruthlessly seriously."
For Tom, the decision for George to attend Eton is telling of the Prince's strengths. "What I find fascinating about George going to Eton is what it reveals about his strengths. It tells you he must be a bright, academically grounded child, because there is simply no way Catherine would send him there otherwise," he noted.
© Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images"Very privileged to go there"
To attend Eton is a "privilege," Prince George's godfather Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton said on HELLO!'s A Right Royal Podcast. The all-boys boarding school, which costs a whopping £65,673 a year, has educated Princes William and Harry, as well as Tom Hiddleston, Eddie Redmayne and 20 of the UK's prime ministers.
George's godfather Jamie is also among the school's alums. "It's probably changed a lot since I went. Actually, it certainly has. And in many ways, it's changed for the better," Jamie said on A Right Royal Podcast. "My son was there too, so I've seen it quite recently. You're very, very privileged to go there and there are all sorts of amazing things you can do."
"The Drawing School, for instance, at Eton, is just sensational. That's the name of the art department, as it were," he continued. "And you can do anything you want. And they have these amazing societies – debating societies, history of art societies, where incredible people come down. Now that is a real privilege."
Writing in HELLO! after Eton was announced for George, Sir Anthony Seldon, former headmaster of Wellington College and Brighton College, stated that George needed to go to a school that allows him to learn, make friends and mistakes "away from the public eye."
"Eton, his father's school, is ideally placed to provide it," Anthony penned. "It knows how to deal with an heir to the throne and how to provide him an environment where he will not be a talking point. He won't be a quirk. People are just very relaxed about who somebody is.
"You cannot put too high a value on that. What he needs is five years of life invisible to the public gaze, where he can grow up unhassled and unfussed, allowing him to prepare for a lifetime of public duty."
With summer now over for George, the Prince destined for the throne is leaving the nest as a new era begins...his Eton era.
