Princess Charlotte will turn 11 years old in May. Over the years, I’ve sort of learned the difference between American versus British school systems, and it feels like the age of 13 is a big deal in the British system. That’s the age where posh boys and girls are eligible for the poshest prep schools, usually boarding schools. Prince George’s transition to prep school is coming in the late summer/early fall of this year, because he turns 13 in July. We still don’t know which school he’ll attend, either the all-boys Eton or the coed Marlborough. This whole time, during the years-long conversation about George’s schooling, we’ve known that the Princess of Wales favors coeducation because she wants all three of her children to attend the same school. Meaning, if George goes to Marlborough, it’s likely that Charlotte and Louis will end up there too when they turn 13. But not so fast! Apparently, there are rumors about Charlotte attending a completely different prep school.

The prestigious secondary school Princess Charlotte might attend has been revealed, with its eye-watering fees ranging from £15,000 to £20,000 per term. Charlotte, aged 10, currently attends Berkshire’s Lambrook School with her two siblings, Princes George, 12, and Prince Louis, seven, but the prep school only caters for students up until the age of 13. And speculation over which school the princess could be enrolled in next has already begun.

Speaking on HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, Melanie Sanderson, managing editor of The Good Schools Guide, said that Wellington College is certainly a strong contender.

‘I’ve been told Wellington is a possible school for Princess Charlotte,’ she revealed. ‘I suspect with the royals that normal rules possibly don’t apply. I feel as though they may be holding multiple places at different schools.’

Set in the heart of Berkshire, Wellington College is located a short distance from the Waleses’ family home at Forest Lodge on the Windsor Estate, with termly fees set at £15,250 for day pupils and £20,750 for boarders.

Melanie added: ‘If Charlotte is going to a co-ed, it might be that they would want her to be joined by her brother Louis. Logistically, that would work for them really, really well.’

Founded by Queen Victoria, the prestigious co-educational school is set within 400 acres of vast grounds and prides itself on academic excellence.

It comes as questions mount surrounding where her brother, George, could be set to attend in September – with a well-placed source previously telling the Mail on Sunday that ‘all roads lead to Eton’ after the young prince was allocated a house. Although William and Kate were spotted looking around a number of top schools, Eton and rival Marlborough College were clear front-runners. Eton – the alma mater of Prince William, where fees are more than £63,000 a year – is conveniently near the family home in Windsor.

[From The Daily Mail]

It might sound asinine to spend this much time gossiping about the Wales kids’ education, but I feel like the choice or choices of prep schools will be massively indicative of Kate’s power or lack thereof. Kate is really standing up to the monarchy in this one instance, by putting up this kind of massive fight about where her kids go to school. She’s not just going along with what William and Charles want and shuffling George off to Eton. All of which to say, if George ends up at Marlborough, then that’s where Charlotte will go as well and Kate will have won this years-long battle. If George goes to Eton, then… sure, Charlotte will probably end up at some equally posh school. I kind of think Kate’s first choice for all of her kids is Marlborough though.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.