For years, we’ve heard about the Princess of Wales’s aversion to British boarding schools. She was allegedly bullied at one all-girls boarding school, and she ended up becoming a day student (as in, not a boarder) at Marlborough, a co-ed private school. Apparently, she wants all of her children, especially Prince George, to go to Marlborough. She’s been seen visiting Marlborough several times in recent months, although she and William were also seen touring Eton with George last summer as well. It’s believed that William is really pushing for George to attend Eton, the same posh all-boys school William and Harry attended. Will and Kate’s school argument has spilled out into the media, and it’s clear that Kate is really fighting to avoid sending all of her kids to any boarding school, especially Eton. Now In Touch Weekly claims that William won the battle about sending George to Eton, and that Kate is upset about it.
Kate Middleton couldn’t take her eyes off her son. As her husband, Prince William, spoke to Eton College headmaster Simon Henderson in a photo posted by a royal watcher on June 22, Kate placed her hands on her chin and gazed at George with a look that most mothers recognized instantly. “She’s thinking, ‘How did my baby grow so big, so quickly?’” guessed one commenter, while others interpreted her expression as “pensive,” “sad” and “worried.” Added another, “She looks very perturbed. I suspect she’s not looking forward to her eldest son going to boarding school.”
It isn’t exactly her choice. “Kate long disagreed with her husband about sending him away, even though it’s tradition,” says a source, noting that Eton is considered the most prestigious boarding school in the world, having educated England’s most elite boys — including William and Prince Harry — for nearly 600 years. “Kate thinks sending him to such a stuffy, upper-crust institution goes against all of their efforts to modernize the monarchy. Plus, she’ll miss George desperately. She and William argued about it for years, but he has finally won.”
The 10-year-old future king may have had a hand in the decision. “He wants to be just like his father,” says the source, and William, 41, has regaled him with stories about his five years at the nearly $60,000-a-year school, where he was captain of the swimming team and his house football squad and was also elected a prefect in the ultra-exclusive Eton Society, nicknamed the Pop. (Harry, who didn’t enjoy his time there nearly as much, recently recounted how hurt he was when his popular big brother told him to “pretend we don’t know each other” at school.)
Acknowledging George’s wishes, Kate, 41, “finally gave in,” says the source. She’s reportedly skipping a royal visit to Singapore with William in November to support her son as he takes Eton’s 150-minute verbal and mental reasoning entrance exam. “But she’s still heartbroken. She was horribly bullied at her first boarding school, and can’t bear the thought of George suffering through that.”
At least she’ll have a few more years with him: Boys don’t begin at Eton until they’re 13. It’s also just a nine-minute drive from their new home, Adelaide Cottage, in Windsor, the source points out. “William used to visit the queen for tea because she was so close by,” says the source. “It’s boarding only, but close enough that George would be able to come home on weekends.”
That’s Kate’s only comfort. “At least they’ll still have some family time, and he can bond with his siblings,” the source says of Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5. “But it still seems as if her family is being torn apart. There’s also the worry that William will insist the other two kids be shipped off next. Kate knows this is all part of her ‘royal duty,’ but there’s a lot of tension between her and her husband right now.”
I know it’s just In Touch Weekly, but I generally believe that this is the way it’s going down – William insists that George will go to Eton, George wants to go to Eton, and Kate is fighting for all of her kids to be day students at a co-ed posh school. As I’ve said before, there’s a good chance she might get her way with Charlotte and Louis. I can see that being the “compromise” – George goes to Eton, and the other two kids are day students at Marlborough. Kate won’t like it but this is just the kind of thing where William and Charles will get their way.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Catherine, Princess of Wales and The Dean of Westminster Abbey, The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle attend The “Together At Christmas” Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on December 08, 2023 in London, England. Spearheaded by The Princess of Wales, and supported by The Royal Foundation, the service is a moment to bring people together at Christmas time and recognise those who have gone above and beyond to help others throughout the year.,Image: 827899878, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Princess Charlotte of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince George of Wales attend The “Together At Christmas” Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on December 08, 2023 in London, England. Spearheaded by The Princess of Wales, and supported by The Royal Foundation, the service is a moment to bring people together at Christmas time and recognise those who have gone above and beyond to help others throughout the year.,Image: 827900368, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales attend The “Together At Christmas” Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on December 08, 2023 in London, England. Spearheaded by The Princess of Wales, and supported by The Royal Foundation, the service is a moment to bring people together at Christmas time and recognise those who have gone above and beyond to help others throughout the year.,Image: 827907503, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte and Prince George attend Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene church, Sandringham, United Kingdom, on 25 December 2023.,Image: 832317029, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards / Avalon
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- Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince Louis attend Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene church, Sandringham, United Kingdom, on 25 December 2023.,Image: 832317072, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards / Avalon
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- Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George and Prince Louis attend Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene church, Sandringham, United Kingdom, on 25 December 2023.,Image: 832317075, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards / Avalon
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- Catherine, Princess of Wales, visits the Evelina Children’s Hospital and officially opens their new Day Surgery Unit Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingbom When: 05 Dec 2023 Credit: John Rainford/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK**
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- (Left-right) Princess Charlotte, the Princess of Wales, Prince George, Prince Louis, the Prince of Wales and The Dean of Westminster Abbey, The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle arriving for the Royal Carols – Together At Christmas service at Westminster Abbey in London Featuring: William, Prince of Wales, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 Dec 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Members of the Royal Family depart after the ‘Together At Christmas’ Carol Service at Westminster Abbey Featuring: Prince William, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Catherine Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 Dec 2023 Credit: Cover Images
Did any of us think anything else would happen? 🙄
Katy Keen was just kidding herself.
Exactly. She never had a say in where he was going. Just articles to TRY to make her out to be a great mother.
I’m hereby calling for all those who fell for the okie-doke, to come and admit you were hoodwinked into believing that the Crown had any intention of giving Kitykat any power over the heir other than as required to gestate and birthe.
So, Charlotte, who should be trained the same as George to assume the throne since she is the Spare, will not be able to attend Eton because she doesn’t have a penis. She will not get the “elite” education males get.
These people are so messed up by their weird cult beliefs about being superior to all other humans
Monarchy doesn’t rhyme with equality.
LMAO as I predicted about 2-3 weeks ago in my comments.
She used this whole Eton debacle as a bargain chip to negotiate more favourable terms for her seperation.
George is going to school with future PM’s and world leaders as we always knew.
Full stop.
Kate’s worried her excuse for not working is going away. That’s all this is. You can see the way the kids interact with her. That she isn’t the primary caregiver.
But I also think she and Carol(E) are worried that any influence she could exert over the future future evaporates when he enters boarding school.
I’m starting to think that the real reason for moving to Windsor was because George is going to go to Eton.
But if Kate doesn’t want him to go there wouldn’t she have put up a fight about the move to Windsor all together?
No, because she gets to be near her mother and George can come home for weekends. I think the supposed opposition to Eton is so the press can have something to write about.
It was 100% so the children could attend “country-set” nouveau posh schools. And the other reported complaint was the then-Cambridges felt “overlooked” in the meaning of “watched” at Kensington Palace.
I don’t think Kate has any aversion at all to Eton. Marlborough’s biggest claim to fame recently is producing the wives of a series of prime ministers and politicians, including David Cameron – who went to Eton. The women at Marlborough went to elementary school with some of the men at Eton, etc. It is all ultimately the same tiny incestuous “set”
Kate was not a day student at Marlborough. Kate was a full time boarder at Marlborough. She was a day student at Downe House, an all-girls school. She also boarded at her elementary school/grammar school, St. Andrew’s Pangborne. Her only bad experience was actually as a day student at Downe House. A long long time ago it actually was reported that it was William – before he even met Kate – that hated boarding. But the dorms and parental involvement at these schools have drastically changed in the last 25 years.
Thanks for clarifying, because I could have sworn to that that’s where she got her nickname for always mooning the other students. It’s like with most things with her though. She appropriates other people’s experiences to make herself the victim and for you to feel bad for her. I know it’s in touch so no guarantee that’s how she actually feels, but describing your son going to a school 15 minutes away as your family being torn apart is a bit much.
yes, that keeps getting confused on here. She was a day student at Downe house (where she was allegedly bullied) and then a boarding student at Marlborough.
Yes – and we have never heard she has an aversion to the boarding school system. It is made up entirely by the idea she struggled with single-sex education and thrived in co-Ed schools. She and her siblings are very proud products of the system. A day girl never would have become friends with d’Erlanger and invited to Club H to meet William. Kate loves boarding and is so desperate to be in the in crowd she asked her parents to allow her to board during the week at St Andrew’s Pangbourne and they allowed it. If I had to guess she was a day student at Downe House for money reasons or they didn’t offer partial boarding or she was already nervous about attending, or the spots for boarding were filled. It doesn’t seem like her parents did a ton of research – Downe is a top school and local and that’s where she was heading – every top school Carole wanted her to. Marlborough was suggested by her headmaster at St Andre’s pangbourne after her parents met with him to ask after she struggled at Downe House.
The bullying story itself implies that her bed was vandalized except that it allegedly happened when she was at Downe House and not a boarder.
This article also seems to suggest that William is going to Singapore again, which shows how much they didn’t put any effort into checking details.
Yeah, I wondered about that.
Do “normal, middle class” families board children in elementary school typically? I get that the country aristos do that, but in a posh suburb with plenty of local options? I don’t understand this family at all.
It’s a bizarre upper crust tradition that no one does in any developed country but Britain (they do this in lower income countries where there’s a reason to). I find taking a child from their parents at such a young age inhumane and think it damages the British psyche, personally.
As if she would have any choice in the matter.
Exactly
Kate who talks of being bullied was nasty to her sister in law taking threatening steps towards her in front of the cameras. Kate is such a phony. And just how are will and Kate modernizing the monarchy by being lazy perhaps
I am not disputing that she was bullied, and if true, that stinks. She can remain in the club of millions of other kids that have been or are currently bullied. I was somewhat bullied at the private school I went to. I can’t write the two nicknames I was given as they would get my comment flagged. And my cousin was somewhat bullied at the public school she went to as well. Pre adolescents and adolescents are mean to each other. That doesn’t make it ok, and I think the schools are much more aware of it now and work a lot harder to address it. But unfortunately it’s not exactly rare or unique to her. It’s a given.
My take is that she doesn’t want the kids at boarding schools so she can keep pretending that she’s too occupied with the kids and their education to do any work.
Ding! Ding!
My thoughts exactly!
Exactly!
But I also think kate’s seen firsthand how hopeless and disrespectful her husband is to women, so she’s trying for George not to follow the same path.
Just saw a Downtown Abbey episode where Lord Gratham basically reveals that boys at Eton regularly sexually harassed and assaulted each other.
Perhaps Eton is where Peg’s exposure to pegging began?
Exactly, Josephine. I’m actually surprised that she didn’t suggest home schooling all of them so she would have the built-in excuse to not work. Of course, Nanny Maria and an army of private tutors would do the teaching, not Kate.
Well, she can still use that as an excuse until George is 18 at least. He and Louis are five years apart. So even if Louis goes to Eton, George will be graduating.
“For years, we’ve heard about the Princess of Wales’s aversion to British boarding schools”
She has an aversion to work. If the kids go to boarding school, there goes her excuse about how little work she does.
Exactly! This what i thought. Kids are her excuse. Lazy waity.
uh huh, more filler to cover Kkkate is missing in action. Is the laziest royal in Windsor history lying on a beach somewhere? Daily fail seems to have ghosted her again today. Maybe the separation is going to be official.
Boarding would get all of them away from the narcissism and cushion throwing. Marlborough would mean CarolE can interfere. Anyway, as if Khate’s opinions matter anyway.
If the monarchy are serious about wanting to be seen to be modernising then this is a PR fail – thanks to people like Boris Johnson and David Cameron the reputation of Eton could not be worse these days. They really would have been better off breaking with tradition and sending him to a mixed school, but as has been pointed out on this website many times before they have no instinct for good PR.
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The only response to this info is:
– do you think there’ll ever come a time when these royal arse-kissing churnalists will ever tell the truth about how this pathetic, vacuous excuse for a grown woman lives & has her being in the cult called the BRF?
– will they ever reveal the life of quiet desperation that she leads, all in the effort to keep up appearances?
Anyhoooo………I said when this to-go-or-not-go-to-Eton for little boy george, that those Machiavellians in grey wd NEVAH! allow kkkHATE to hv any say in how the heir to the heir is raised now tht he has left childhood.
This article is weird. It references the Singapore visit in the future tense but that happened in November 2023. With such a basic detail off, the entire article seems completely off.
It’s bc the article is from October 2023.
Someday, perhaps sooner than later, this reported tension over where George attends will be “revealed “ as one of the main sticking points leading to the Wales’ official separation/divorce.
@Beverly I wonder if ALL the children being away at boarding school will free the way for an official separation? IMO Kingy has nixed anything official at the moment because he doesn’t want the press frenzy distracting from HIS reign hence the Incredible Sulk icing KM in retaliation for not getting his own way? But then none of these people have an ounce of grace do they?
@Beverley I have been thinking the exact same thing. The ground work is being laid that William couldn’t take the fighting anymore, poor suffering William, and had to get out.
Kitty never had the final say on where her children get to go to school. Especially an heir to the throne. The fact she ran to her press buddies to convince people she had power is laughable. It was always going to end like this. Her self-esteem and standing within that family must be in the gutter. Oh well.
If true, I feel bad for George. He doesn’t seem like he has the constitution for a school like that. And I can’t decide if “he wants to be like his father” is a sign of unhealthy people pleasing, or of a different father-son relationship than William had with Chuck.
@Kaiser – this article is from October 2023, that’s why the Singapore reference seems weird. it’s not any sort of update.
That said, I don’t think they would have attended the christmas concert at Eton if George wasn’t going.
I don’t think they would have let stories of them visiting Eton be out in the press if they were going to send George elsewhere. And Charlotte is going to Marlborough because Kate has made her visits there very obvious too.
This has all been decided and pretending that kate has any real say in this is just embiggening on her end.
When was this written? Is there another trip to Singapore coming up this November?
I don’t see Louis not getting the same opportunity as his brother gets. If Louis wants Eton, I think he will get it.
Charlotte is a different story.
It’s such a blow to Kate though since she is supposed to be the child-rearing expert and she has ‘studied’ early childhood, etc…. that William just ignores all of her knowledge and experience.
This is a strange story and reminds me of the Diana and Charles press battles where one to brief the press on something in the hope that they would get their way – Kate has always used the press to get William to heel but that tactic stopped working years ago. She has no power in that relationship and all the screaming and throwing pillows ain’t gonna change that between them. She and Ma are not going to be able to use those kids as bargaining chips.
I agree; this reminds me exactly of this!
Kate is heartbroken that once he is at Eton George is going to be befriended by all the toff families that don’t give her the time of day. BooHoo. That’s why she is trying to keep them all at Marlborough where she has status. I predict Louis will go to Eton as well because he too is going to want to be like his dad and older brother. Separate schools don’t tear a family apart. Having a mistress and icing out your wife will do that faster.
Hopefully, it is what George wants. And, hopefully, neither parent applied undue pressure to take their side of the matter. Why was it necessary to comment about PH in this story that has nothing to do with him? PH didn’t make it sound as if he was miserable at school. He had his own friend group. The mention about PW and being a jerk at school was just that, a mention to get the truth out about how “close” they were.
For once, while I do think it was click bait, it didn’t feel like a swipe at Harry. It felt like just offering a provable contrast of experiences. Also, in the context of this article it actually made sense to mention it bc it was all about Kate not wanting “her family torn apart.” Also, I’m currently listening to Spare again. Harry was miserable at Eton, but it had nothing to do with Eton and everything to do with his unprocessed grief and lack of familiar support.
Comparison or not, unnecessary to include his name and, quite likely, is only for clicks. It wouldn’t be something that would be pertinent to George since PH’s problems were because of his mother’s death. They could just as likely have included other people’s experiences at Eton for contrast, especially those with far more serious allegations than being unhappy.
I don’t believe a word of this. Kate has zero negotiating power here. William wanted Eton… Charles would have preferred it too. Maybe Kate is delusional and thought she could sway the court of public opinion. Either William is feeding a story to say she “lost” or The press made it all up in the first place and now have to set the record straight and threw Kate under the bus. Maybe Carole seeded it hoping to get some good attention from it. Who knows. I would love to know why this story was planted in the first place.
This reads like fanfic to me as well. But the public have zero f’s to give about where the pampered prince goes to school. If you take away the bots and trolls, I’d like to know how many ‘fans’ the Rf have, and how much they care at all.
“….goes against all their efforts to modernize the monarchy”? GTFOH!
What efforts has Kate personally made to modernize the monarchy? Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Frankly, I am surprised William cares so much about something that doesn’t involve competing with Harry.
I think George will thrive if he gets away from his parents. The poor kid looks detached to the point of borderline robotic when we see him.
It’ll get George, and then hopefully the other two, away from the Middleton influence. Can’t come soon enough.
Of course she doesn’t want any of the children to go to boarding school! How else can she justify being a lazy slob, ooo katey can’t do this and that because katey is busy with the children. Yes katey, the 3 little people that live in the house ARE YOURS!.
she also knows that once one of them is a boarder the rest will follow, as well as the oldest one WILLIAM!
I still wish they hadn’t sent Harry to Eton. William was horrible to him and he would have fitted much better at Philip’s old school.
I don’t really know where I stand with Harry going to boarding school at all. He seems to have needed to support of family but I don’t know if he would have gotten it regardless. That being said, I thought Philip’s school was brutal? It’s the same school that Charles went to, right? And why Charles code Eton instead?
Charles called Gordonstoun “colditz in kilts” and it is in the Scottish highlands, hours and hours away from home, Eton and from the school that Henners was attending at the same time.
I think they’ll send Louis to Eton as well because otherwise it would look bad and also they sent Harry to Eton just because William went. Kate is definitely ordering these articles because she’s in full panic mode realizing she won’t be able to use her kids as an excuse for her laziness when they’re at boarding school.
William will have the final say on matters of the big 3. Especially George.
End of that story.
Did anyone thought Kate would have a say in the kids’ education, especially George the future king? This undermines Kate the power behind the throne stories.
I think that being a Black American plays a role in my feelings here. I don’t get the point of sending kids to boarding school if it isn’t necessary. None of them do enough to need it PLUS they have an army of full time staff. Are they blind to the fact that it’s been generations since heirs have been in lockstep? Since there was any warmth between the monarch and the heir? Since the heir and the spare were close? Are they not wondering if this has anything to do with the separation from their family during formative years? That the Royal family needs to be close to do their jobs more seamlessly? George, Charlotte, and Louis can all grow into their own people without being physically separated from their family. On top of that, George is going to be expected to start to represent the crown once he graduates. Even if in small increments. How is he supposed to do that successfully when his only experience is from a small bubble of boys all from the same set? Makes no sense to me. Plus, I feel like George is a bit too shy for it.
Next: so are we going to talk about the Singapore lie? How is his school set when he hadn’t even taken his exams yet? Clearly he was going to go wherever his parents wanted him to regardless of his aptitude. Why did Kate need to stay home then? These aren’t cracks in the Wails marriage, these are gaping holes.
Steph, I, too, noticed the comment about the ‘entrance exam’. I believe that was discussed here and the entrance exam is a couple of years away.
As far as boarding school, I can only say I’m glad that they aren’t being sent at younger ages.
Steph, it’s more because that’s where his contemporaries will be at school. Kids go to posh schools to develop friends with the ‘right sort’. They form friendships with the future leaders, prime ministers, /power brokers /aristocracy /billionaires when young. That’s why Kate was never going to say no. I’m of the opinion Kate WANTS Eton, she’s such a vapid social climber, but wants people to think she doesn’t..
Isn’t it just two generations that attended Eton? Charles and William? They’re acting like it’s some ancient tradition when it’s really not.
Only one. Charles went to Gordonstoun. And, by all accounts, hated it.
I was coming here to say the same thing. As far as I know (and I don’t know much about it), Eton may be a Spencer family tradition, but not a RF tradition. Either way, unless they want to speak specifically about what’s wrong with Eton, couldn’t Kate’s objections apply to the entire posh boarding school system? Would sending George to Harrow be much better? Why or why not? As for the single sex issue–somebody needs to explain why it’s so bad. I don’t get it. It would be different if Kate had a problem with these posh schools in general and planned on sending George to a local school like Christian in Denmark. This doesn’t make sense to me.
Delphine, but Eton is close to Adelaide Cottage, so I have no doubt that’s another reason it was chosen.
Charles went to school in Scotland. Diana’s father and brother went to Eton and it’s an elite school, so it was decided that Wm and Harry would attend .
Exactly. More have gone to Gordonstoun. Philip, Charles, Andrew, Edward. William and Harry went to Elton because Charles hated Eton. Other than military school and private tutors, prior princes attended Wellington. Yes, it was pretty clear George would go but there’s no grand royal tradition of Eton.
I think Zara and Peter, Anne ‘s children went to Gordonstoun too.
Spare me, please!
Kate = A woman so vapid I lose IQ points just reading about her.
Why are you rehashing an article published in October? This was discussed here back then.
The Fail ran it over the weekend as a “new” story. Who knows why.
Hm, wonder if the Fail is trying to force W&K into making an announcement about his schooling?
Ahh, got it.
George was ALWAYS going to Eton. There was no discussion. If William, and/or Charles want it, it will happen. Any negotiations concerning the children is just media fodder. Kate has been allowed her little battles when W and C want to throw her a bone, but that’s it.
One of the other perks of being king is that Charles has legal custody of his grandchildren and his descendants. That doesn’t mean he would wield that card publicly, but he has A LOT more say regarding W &K’s kids than people think.
If the heirs to the throne do indeed belong to the crown, why did she think she really had a say in this? I guess she really doesn’t understand that her place was to produce children, PERIOD!
Kate is just afraid that if her children go to boarding schools she won’t have any excuses for not working.
I think this whole so-called conflict was manufactured to create some interest and make it seem like Kate isn’t an elitist, just a normal middle-class mum conflicted over education choices for her child. Whatever. He was always gonna go to Eton, which is right next to Windsor.
Yes, it’s tradition for upperclass boys to be educated at Eton, that’s why almost all of England’s prime ministers went there. Although this article doesn’t mention that the “royal” tradition of Eton started with William and Harry, so it’s hardly long-standing. The queen’s children were sent to Gordonstoun, a different boarding school, but she and all of her predecessors were educated at home by various tutors and governesses. So William is really the exception, not the rule.
There’s no tradition of schooling because Charles’ generation is the first generation not educated by governesses. The queen and Margaret weren’t formally educated at all. After the abdication she had to embark on a crash course of learning the basics of British history, and the teacher (who came to her) was eton’s headmaster. The Queen Mother wanted to send Charles to Eton. His friends from Cheam were going there – it’s considered an Eton feeder. Philip was angry about not being the breadwinner and given control of his children and forced Charles into Gordonstoun. Diana’s family did have a history of attending Eton and she wanted William to go there, and between her and the Queen Mother, so he did. Gordonstoun – today – is at least a 10 hour drive from Windsor.
Princess Margaret was resentful that her sister got a better education. It is too bad she did not get the same education her sister did.
Queen Mary, who was well educated and intellectually curious, tried to include Margaret in trips to museums, etc and Margaret just resented it.
Reading the comments.
I just have to say that the idea of any senior royal being SA by anyone at Eton or elsewhere is ridiculous beyond rational thought.
Royalty, especially the heir to the throne, William, Harry, George, Louis all have personal protection assigned.
Charles was verbally bullied yes. But, SA? No.
Charles was sent by PP to “toughen him up”.
William has shown he has no mind for that old school thinking.
For all his faults, William is a much more modern thinking Father. I credit Diana a lot.
Charles was sent because Philip loved Gordonstoun and thought Charles would benefit by being the first heir to go to a school rather than have only tutors. He failed to recognize that he and Charles were vastly different personalities. Philip, with his lack of a home or family stability, tough emotional core and physical gifts, flourished there. He was a huge fan of Kurt Hahn and his then (30s) radical educational theories. Sending Charles was seen as a modernizing move. And even Charles has spoken positively about some aspects and said the negative ones are overblown.
I’m just amused by the aside about William telling Harry at Eton to pretend they didn’t know each other. If true, that’s … odd. It’s not as if any of the other boys would have been like, “What, you have a brother? And one of the new students is your brother? Which one?” Like, everybody knows, man!
That’s been out there for a while now – that William said that to him – and I think Harry confirmed it in Spare.
She won’t have any excuse for not working when all her kids will be sent off to boarding school, lol.
Charles didn’t go to Eaton and neither did hid father, so, how is this “tradition”?
I wonder whether George wants to go to boarding school to get away from home.
Bisynaptic, well, it appears that there is a tradition in the making. First William and Harry went to Eton and now George (and most likely Louis) will go, too. Since Charles generation was the first to go to school and instead of having governesses, there really isn’t a tradition.
The late Queen’s cousins, the Kents and the Gloucesters went away to school, even Princess Alexandra. I am sure the present Duke of Kent was in Eton if only fr a short time. I am not sure about George VIs generation but I think even they went away to school.
I think some of the Kent children also went to Gordonstoun. I am pretty sure at least Lady Helen Taylor went there. They were close to Philip though because Princess Marina was his first cousin.
Didn’t Andrew go to Gordonstoun? No stories about him not liking it, either…
FWIW Earl Spencer is coming out with a new memoir about his time at Eton and it’s not expected to be a pleasant retelling…so, as for any supposed “Spencer Eton” tradition, I don’t think that’s the reason George is going. George (and most likely Louis) will go there because William went there, and Charlotte will probably go to Marlborough because Kate went there. It’s really not that complicated because both parents appear to see their children as images of themselves…the real question will be if they’ll both end up at St Andrews 🙂
No way will G, C and L go to any uni in Scotland. W and K would now appear to avoid Scotland at all costs. Much as we hear about them loving the great outdoors Scotland would appear to be too wild and remote.
The thing is, and we forget it too often — aristocracy is a POLITICAL system. One based on hierarchy and the enforcement of hierarchies. Kate was never going to “win” the battle over George and Eton, but if she’s smart, she got something good out of the bargain.
She should be studying the history of other queens — and how they consolidated power once they’d produced heirs and their husbands got tired of them. My guess is her best bet for keeping power is to stay in Camilla’s hip pocket.
I think it is weird that it is the norm for British parents to NOT raise their own children and instead ship them off.