It’s official: the Princess of Wales lost in her years-long battle to enroll Prince George in a coed school. Prince George is officially going to Eton, it was just announced today. Literally, from 2023 until just this month, there has been a briefing war between Princess Kate and Prince William about their eldest child’s education. Kate has surprisingly strong, negative feelings about same-sex education, as well as strong negative feelings about boarding schools in general. But William got his way, and the establishment got their way: George will go to Eton.
Prince George will be going to school at Eton College in September, Kensington Palace has announced. He will follow in the footsteps of his father, the Prince of Wales, who also attended the private school in Berkshire, where fees are around £63,000 per year.
Pupils start at the school at the age of 13 – and Prince George will be 13 years old on his birthday next month. As the oldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, George is second in line of succession to the throne.
There had been speculation about which school Prince George would attend when he finished at Lambrook School in Berkshire, where he has been studying with his sister Charlotte and brother Louis. Among the suggestions under discussion, which seemed to focus on private rather than state schools, was Marlborough College, the school where his mother Catherine had attended. But a more traditional option has been chosen, with the announcement that George will go to Eton College, the historic private school founded in the 15th Century, where 20 British prime ministers have studied.
Prince George’s uncle, Prince Harry, and great uncle, Earl Spencer, also attended the elite boarding school.
Some day, I hope the real story will be told about this, because this was not a straight-forward process whatsoever. I wonder what they had to “give” Kate to make this happen. Was her 2024 deal renegotiated? It would make sense, given Kate’s lack of effort in recent months. Perhaps she negotiated even fewer public appearances, plus she gets to hide out in Forest Lodge and Anmer Hall forever, perhaps some bonus vacations too. No wonder why she’s been icily glaring at everyone in her recent events.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Cover Images
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- London, UK, 13 June 2026. The Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the King’s Birthday Parade, Trooping The Colour Buckingham Palace, London, UK.,Image: 1109905858, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: Lee Floyd/Avalon
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- London, UK, 13 June 2026. Princess Catherine, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince Louis return to Buckingham Palace after the King’s Birthday Parade, Trooping The Colour Buckingham Palace, London, UK.,Image: 1109906999, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: Lee Floyd/Avalon
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- London, UK, 13 June 2026. Princess Catherine, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince Louis return to Buckingham Palace after the King’s Birthday Parade, Trooping The Colour Buckingham Palace, London, UK.,Image: 1109908515, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: Lee Floyd/Avalon
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- Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: Prince William of Wales, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: Prince George Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR HELLO MAGAZINE**
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- Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Mischa Schoemaker/Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Royal family on the balcony during Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: William Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George and Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR HELLO MAGAZINE**
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- Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: Prince George, Princess Charlotte Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Mischa Schoemaker/Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Royal family during Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George, Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Mischa Schoemaker/Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Royal family on the balcony during Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: Prince William of Wales, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George, Prince Charlotte, Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Mischa Schoemaker/Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Royal family on the balcony during Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: William Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George and Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR HELLO MAGAZINE**
No surprises. Losing battle for keen. But what about that school run
Eton is a 12 minute drive but Eton is also boarding only . Let’s hope it was George’s choice.
12 minute drive is crazy specific. What if there’s a squirrel playing in the road and you have to beep at it?
I just went on google maps and checked and yes, its 11 or 13 minutes depending on the specific route, so 12 as an average sounds about right lol.
As an aside – there’s a review on Forest Lodge on google maps from a year ago about the public access path being closed and smoke coming out of the chimney. This was obviously well before it was announced that the Wales were moving there. Wonder if they moved in well before that, or if renovations were being started months before it was announced?
@mightymolly, that squirrel would be dead. Just like the old ladies the Royals like to run over! 🐿️👵🤣
@becks1
I bet that review was posted when they actually started things.
My guess is that George wanted to go to Eton.
George got his way, or he was just appeasing the incandescently raging parent as happens often in a chaotic family.
I’m guessing it was the latter. I doubt that George was ever asked his opinion.
I think you’re right. William and also Charles would support Eton and George would definitely have a say. The fact that all three Middletons went to Marlborough is no recommendation when judged by the way they turned out.
George wanted to go to eton because he had no choice but to wanna go. There’s no way it was a free choice. They absolutely do not want him to be meeting girls because they also want to be choosing the next robot. Anywhere else is too dangerous: you’d possibly have commoners strategizing for years to get him, like Kate & her mother!!
I’m so skeeved by the thought of George being on the cusp of choosing a wife. But there are absolutely moms of tween girls out there making plans right now. 🤢🤢🤢
What is the sister school to Eton. Wouldn’t be surprised if applications increase there in the next year.
It is really skeevy thinking that there are mothers out there who are plotting how to get their daughters in his path – like Carole Middleton did. They’re assessing what school they should go to, what extracurricular activities they should do, what vacations they should take, etc. At 13. (I mean I dont know this for sure but I’d assume its happening.)
This family spits out the married ins. Sophie has done okay after a rough start but by the time she married Edward, he was, what, 8th in line, unlikely to ever become king barring some sort of disaster, and William and Harry were becoming teenagers (or were teenagers) which was much more interesting for the tabloids. She’s kept her head down more or less since that rough start and people seem to forget she exists, which has worked out well for her.
I dont see it being the same for George’s future spouse.
“What is the sister school to Eton.”
There honestly isn’t one, which is possibly another point in its favour where the Midds/Cambridges are concerned.
My guess is that there were/are major security issues with George attending any other boarding school in England. Due to the lack of security issues, I think Eaton was heavily favored by people involved in making this decision outside of Pegs & Wigs,
Raging Willy got his way.. Eton seems to produce some highly toxic men so I don’t expect the heirs heir will be much different.
That was my thought, based on what we have seen of many of the men who passed through and ended up in positions of power it doesn’t bode well for him.
Oh goodie just what we need, another toxic man in a leadership position
Kate is not the powerhouse she has been sold to be in the Hoise of Windsor. And rhe Middletons are losing influence.
I think CarolE will be chuffed that a grandson of hers is going to Eton.
Same. CarolE would have been thrilled if James had gotten into Eton.
Agree. Also not sure why so many think a teen boy is going to listen to his grandmother to any degree.
Besides Nanny Maria is more involved in his daily life than his grandmother and possibly his mother.
That’s a shame. One of the things Prince Philip did than I agree with is to keep Charles out of Eton, since he wanted Charles to be a man of the people, not just the soft white snobby males.
Except that the school he sent Charles to was an awful fit for him. There had to be a school that was a middle ground between Eton and Gordonstoun.
Philip didn’t do it for Charles to be “a man of the people” but for Charles to be forced to follow Philips lead (no one would consider Gordonstoun a school for the people. It’s all the same snobby white elite)
“since he wanted Charles to be a man of the people, not just the soft white snobby males.”
Can I ask where you read that? Charles was sent to a school that’s every bit as snobby, elite, and white as Eton. If anything the school he was sent to is more elitist than Eton. Gordonstoun is the absolute last place you’d send a child if your goal was for them to be a man of the people.
It was a losing battle from the start. As George grows older,
Kate and the Middletons will increasingly realize that they have little influence over him because he is the heir. He will inevitably be absorbed by the institution. It’s something Diana had to face when William turned 13.
Christ, how do they keep getting women to marry into this family?
Poor George will probably end up with an influencer’s daughter.
Did anyone really think Kate had any power in the final decision? George is the future king and everything concerning him is decided by The Firm, namely Charles, who is the current king.
My tinfoil tiara theory is that Kate and her grifter family may have publicly “considered” and toured other private schools in return for some sort of financial considerations or future privileges. After all, isn’t it good for Marlborough and Oundle to be mentioned as frontrunners for the future heir? Obviously I don’t have any proof of this, but it is a possible explanation for why these schools were featured (including interviews with school administrators) even though George was always expected to go to Eton. It would also explain why KP dragged out the story through the press for years instead of just quashing speculation.
I’ve said all along that if William wanted George to go to Eton, he would go to Eton (I’d assume George would have to be on board, but shouldn’t assume anything with this family.) I never bought into the idea that Kate had all this negotiating power regarding the issue. But I think she WANTED people to think she had that power – that’s why we got all those stories about boarding school alum Kate being anti-boarding,
My guess is that Charlotte will go to Marlborough but I think that was always a foregone conclusion. Maybe that other school that we’ve been hearing about – the one beginning with an O whose name escapes me at the moment lol.
So its interesting to me that Kate has fought against Eton in the press for whatever reason and now….its Eton. Whatever happened behind the scenes, Kate lost. And honestly, I’m not surprised – either at the choice of Eton or Kate losing.
I am not even sure its as transactional as “this was the tradeoff for Forest Lodge” or anything like that. What’s Kate going to do if William says “nope sorry its Eton?” Run to the press with the truth about his temper or his affairs? That destroys her future. That’s the nuclear option and I don’t see her doing that.
They have looked at Oundle, Wellington and Marlborough. Wellington is very near.
Oundle! That’s the one I was thinking of. I think they have visited that one a few times according to various reports which is why I think its being considered for Charlotte. (but my guess is Marlborough for her.)
I don’t understand why this choice was ever made so public. No one would have had a second thought about George going to Eton except that now we know Kate lost.
While the media always makes a sport of it, in this case it was greatly bolstered by Kate’s people either promoting or certainly not downplaying her “modern parenting” approach which the papers rightfully turned into a referendum on whether this so-called modern parenting would survive upper school – which it hasn’t.
The only one I’m curious about is Charlotte. You could argue that George and perhaps Louis’s school were/are done deals but Charlotte’s still a little bit of a question mark.
Boarding or no? Follow her mother’s footsteps to Marlborough? Stay local like her brothers? New school entirely?
Rebecca English is reporting that Charlotte is staying at Lambrook this year. So if she’s staying until age 13, that favors a school that either starts at 13 and not 11 or one that maybe doesn’t start at 13 but expands classes so much at age 13 it feels that way.
The school visits might have been more for Charlotte than George but I won’t be surprised if it’s Malborough. Not so much because of Kate but because they have had royals attend before. Eugenie attended and I believe at the time she had RPO security too.
I suspect that Charlotte will keep attending co-ed schools, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Louis follows his big brother to Eton.
I feel like the Middletons wanted this all along – of course they did, it’s Eton – but they put up a “fight” to gain concessions elsewhere. Now Pippa and James’ sons can go to Eton too and the whole family “belongs”.
I agree. Both of them wanted him to go to Eton. I can’t believe that Kate, the ultimate social prestige hunter would have been satisfied with anything else.
so, I am back and forth here. I agree that Eton is the ultimate sign for the Middletons to have “made it” and be atop the social ladder in England. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to get James there when he was younger and were turned down.
But I also think Kate will be rebuffed by a lot of the families there, as we know she already is by the aristocracy, and I think she would have preferred being the queen bee of the school mums, which likely would have happened at Marlborough.
I also think that for the Middletons, sending the heir to “their” school (Marlborough) would have sent a clear message about the power behind the throne and who runs the show and a new age of royalty etc however else the tabloids would spin it.
So basically I’m not sure which option is true – that the Midds wanted Eton all along or that they wanted Marlborough to flex their power in the royal family. We didn’t get all that public debate over his school for the last two years out of nowhere.
think the opposite. Eton caters to the sons of Britain’s upper class, people who openly look down on the Middletons. Therefore, it is not necessarily in George’s best interest to attend Eton. Through his classmates, he could be exposed to such attitudes and influenced by theirs , which might make him just as snobbish and dismissive of his own maternal relatives.
For example, Princess Margaret looked down on her mother’s family, whom she considered lacking in prestige.
And I agree with Becks1, it’s a question of power and influence. The Middletons no longer have the same influence over William, so they’re clinging to George, therefore this decision is a defeat for them.
Someone from the Middleton clan was briefing about Kate making an issue of schools. Knowing that people like Camilla Tominey have their phone numbers, there was clearly a reason to try and make Kate look assertive. But it did backfire because it now looks like she “lost”.
Pippa’s husband and at least 1 of his brothers are Eton grads.
I suspect Charlotte will end up at Cheltenham and Louis at Eton.
While it was interesting gossip, I found all the speculation over the schooling tedious. So yay, now we know. And it’s Eton. Shocking/s.
Not surprising at all.
I cannot remember the last time I was this unsurprised by a piece of royal “news”. My hope is that Louis gets to attend a coed school with Charlotte so the comparisons that are inevitable between the younger two and the heir are lessened. I’m certain George gets special treatment 24/7 so not having to deal with him at school as well as at home should be a nice change for Charlotte and Louis.
I don’t think they gave Kate anything. Moving the future King to a more middle-class school would have altered future relationships within the aristocracy.
People send their kids to Eton to forge networks early. No one was going to permit the future King to be aligned with a new-money, middle-class crowd.
Charlotte may attend Marlborough, but Louis will likely be at Eton.
George will attend Eton for free, it’s been reported. What school wouldn’t comp the heir to the throne?
This is a “rainy day story” par excellence, so I’m wondering why now? I didn’t expect an announcement until later in the summer… What’s about to pop that the BRF need distraction from? Is the Daily Mail about to lose its case with Harry? Is Andrew about to be charged by police? Something’s up
FOR FREE?? you’ve got to be kidding me.
Lady Esther, I too believe that something is deeply wrong. Looking at their body language alone, and Kate’s all but disappeared smile… when we’re so accustomed to the circus grinning.
Everyone is tense, and your comment makes me think we’re about to find out something particularly nasty.
I’m sure whatever it is, it will be spun to be all Meghan’s fault.
Everything is Monopoly money to them so what’s the difference, but they should donate the equivalent tuition as a full scholarship for another kid.
I don’t believe it was ever a battle. The media just fictionalised a battle for clicks. Given K’s (and CarolE’s) cosplaying of D and class insecurities there was no way G wasn’t going to Eton.
🎯. The media has almost nothing else to write about the children, well, except for them getting booed at Trooping or George’s tie that matches Kate’s outfit. Plus Kate seemed to enjoy her boarding years at Marlborough. And we just learned that Kate doesn’t actually hate boarding school, because George and Charlotte are PT boarders already.
Does Kate hate Eton/single sex edcuation? She has no experience with single-sex education. Instead, Carole is probably thrilled that she has a grandchild going to Eton, and middle-class Kate probably is, too.
These stories seemed like tabloid drama. At most, these stories were veiled hints that “Kate and Willy disagree!” with a spin that’s flattering to Kate. Or even hinting that all is not 100% agreement in Camp Wales, even if schooling isn’t the problem.
The W they were framing Kate suggests someone behind the scenes was briefing. Because Kate can shut down stories if she doesn’t like them and this kept going on for a while.
The four people in that carriage are not interacting with one another, not smiling or being playful or happy. They’re tense, gazing purposefully in opposite directions, the corners of every mouth turned down. And the look on Kate’s face is pure must-not-cry-on-camera sadness. Even on the balcony, her eyes and her fading grin depict a woman deep in her thoughts and unable to contain them for the event.
Something is very wrong. It’s stamped on the children’s faces, and today not even the prime marionette herself could avoid advertising it.
Kate had choices about the carriage ride.
1. Send the children separately and meet them on the balcony.
2. Teach the children to smile and wave whatever happens. Really, once she made the bad choice of taking them in the carriage, she should have been modeling this.
3. Leave the children at home, announcing “they’re not working royals yet,” and we meant what we said about working royals on the balcony.
4. Use the children as human shields.
She chose option #4. So instead we get the cold stare and the cut direct. Partly it might be that she’s been told the manic gurning looks unhinged, and being booed wasn’t an occasion for gurning anyway, and she has RBF. Oh well 🤷🏻♀️
The older the children get, the less grip Kate will have over them. Kate must realise they are Windsor’s, whether she likes it or not. No doubt more briefing will start once George officially enrolls in September. Cue “George hates Eton” stories in the Fail.
I’m not shocked that Kate has strongly negative feelings about all-boys boarding schools! She’s married to one of the biggest exhibits for what can go wrong with them: an insular, incurious, and intellectually stunted man who has a bad temper, is lazy as hell, and really just wants to weekend away from his responsibilities with his lads. No thanks!
I’m sure there are children who thrive there, and hopefully George will be one of them, but William is like all of the worst stereotypes rolled into one.
Well that ends another years long, competing press briefings from W&K.
Can’t be surprised that a rich, well connected aristocrat is going to the school that is filled with rich, well connected aristocrats.
Think of the environmental of publishing/posting a billion stories building suspense just to achieve this inevitable outcome.
I hope that George is fine with this decision — and the unfortunate publicity that has surrounded his education. I also hope that all three kids end up in schools that are good fits for them.
This public struggle has seemed very weird to me — as one of the very few apparently legitimate reasons for focusing the attentions of the press on minors. That said, I hope that George enjoys the relative privacy that he will have during his years at Eton.
I’m actually kind of surprised they didn’t pick somewhere more rural, more off the beaten track. Eton is a fishbowl. And they’ve spent so long fussing about it and fretting about it that they’ve effectively put a klieg light over a fishbowl. Talk about a pressure cooker. Eton always struck me as awkward, because you don’t get any of the advantages you get from being in the real country and you don’t get any of the advantages you get from being in London. Between city and country, it’s the worst of both worlds. *and* you’re immediately under the Heathrow flight path. Like, deafening volume of traffic overhead *all* day. The late Queen referred to Windsor as “the suburbs” because she preferred Scotland or Norfolk. We looked at Ampleforth but famously it is a Catholic school so not suitable — still — for a royal. But it would in all other ways be perfect. Remote, isolated, and….. coed!!!!!
Eton is weird though because while it is a fishbowl, its still very protected from the general public and with George there, it will be even more so. The security apparatus there is probably better than any other school. I think the in between aspect of it is what appeals to a lot of people – close to London but not quite, with a campus, etc. George will presumably be used to the planes since he’s lived in Windsor (so we’ve been told) since 2022.
and you can’t argue with its legacy, history or status, which is all part of the appeal for the families that send their kids there over a more rural school. These families don’t WANT their kids to go somewhere off the beaten track.
I never really doubted that he was going to go there.
I’m just glad the “debate” is over. I couldn’t bring myself to care which uber-privileged school this uber-privileged kid would attend.
George is going to Eton because he discussed it with Charlotte who determined he would fit in best there for whatever reason she and George thought was important for him and helped George convince the two clueless parents he would do best there.
George relies on Charlotte, the smartest one in that household, for advice