Prince George is second-in-line to the British throne,
but first he'll have to graduate primary school!
Boarding school has long been a staple of royal education. As Princess Anne told Vanity Fair,
she went to boarding school in her youth and was a big fan of the experience. She
liked it so much that she sent her own children to boarding school,
and is involved with the Royal National Children's SpringBoard Foundation, working
to put children from difficult backgrounds into a boarding school setting. She said,
"I was ready to go to school. I had a governess and two friends and that was
never going to be enough, really, so I was only too pleased to be sent off somewhere
else. I think boarding school has been demonized by some when in fact it's a
very important aspect to have available and many children actually thrive in it."
Not every royal was such a fan of the boarding school experience, however. Vanity Fair separately
noted that King Charles III had a dreadful time at boarding school, preferring his "own
company" given that he was relentlessly teased. He was made fun of for his larger ears and build,
so Charles did not look at his school days fondly. However, it was his late ex-wife, Diana Spencer,
who insisted on a different type of education for their sons, Princes William and Harry.
Princess Di made it clear that she would be doing things her own way while a member
of the royal family. The soft-spoken 20-year-old who married then-Prince
Charles transformed into a force overnight, and she made it clear when raising her two
sons — Princes William and Harry — that she would be doing things differently.
As noted by Hello! magazine, William attended Mrs. Mynors' nursery school in Notting Hill,
England, in 1985. This marked the first time that a future king of
England entered the public school system. After his stint there,
William attended Wetherby Prep School, and then the independent boarding school, Ludgrove School.
Of her approach to normalcy and prioritizing the wellbeing of her sons,
her former press secretary Patrick Jephson told ABC News,
"She made sure that they experienced things like going to the cinema,
queuing up to buy a McDonalds, going to amusement parks,
those sorts of things that were experiences that they could share with their friends."
Prince George was just 2 years old when he started attending nursery school and,
unlike many of the royals who came before him, George went to a relatively ordinary
school that was located close to his family's home in Norfolk. On his first day of school,
Princess Catherine was photographed arriving with her son at Westacre Montessori school nursery,
just a stone's throw away from Anmer Hall and Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham estate.
The Guardian noted that George's attendance at nursery school was contingent on the family's
location, as they were splitting their time between Anmer Hall and Kensington Palace in
London. As it turns out, the school cost about £5.50 an hour to attend,
meaning that George was right alongside local children in his early educational days. However,
his education wouldn't remain that affordable.
After attending nursery school at Westacre, Prince George started to attend Thomas's School,
located in Battersea, South West London. Given that his family had moved into Apartment 1A in
Kensington Palace, the location of George's second academic institution made sense.
George wasn't at Thomas's School long before his little sister,
Princess Charlotte joined him. Both royal children in attendance at Thomas's School
not only brought a new layer of academic opportunity to their lives but also a royal
pedigree. As it turns out, Prince William and Prince Harry both attended Thomas's School.
This is where George's schooling starts to wade into lavish territory. MyLondon further noted
that the school costs the equivalent of about $56,000. Times that by two to include Charlotte,
and you've got a hefty educational price tag that most people can't afford.
Still, it makes sense that Prince George's parents would take special
care with his early education, since as Kate Middleton herself once said,
"90 percent of our adult brain develops by the age of five."
As Prince George got older, questions about his future as a potential boarding
school student started floating around the headlines. As noted by Express, his father,
Prince William, started boarding school at 8 years old. Once George turned that age himself,
experts started to weigh in about his academic path and if the Prince and Princess of Wales
would decide to send him away just as many royal children before him. And while boarding
school could be in George's future at some point, royal expert Duncan Larcombe expressed his doubt
that 8-year-old George would experience such an academic journey so young. He told Ok! Magazine,
"It's my understanding [that] for some time, possibly even before George was even born,
was that William was quite keen that any child he had wouldn't be packed off to boarding school."
In order to assure that Prince George would be happy in his next educational step, Prince William
and Princess Catherine set up a "trial day" for George at an undisclosed school, and teachers
reportedly made a point to establish an "in-style trial class" for him, according to Express.
While the name of the school was not announced at the time of the trial day, Express noted that
William and Catherine had visited the institution at least six times to get a feel for the school.
To the surprise and comfort of the school's staff, the children in attendance didn't really
understand who George was—he was simply George, coming to shadow class for a day.
Those children, mind you, were likely used to high-profile people around them. Express
noted that the school was home to the children of "wealthy European
and Russian families" — rubbing shoulders with a royal, then, is par for the course.
"So what do you think, Rich?"
"I think all we ever talk about is money, we should be having fun."
The Prince and Princess of Wales's multiple visits and the trial day of school clearly panned out for
the best, as it was announced in the summer of 2022 that Prince George, Princess Charlotte,
and Prince Louis would all be attending the Lambrook School, located in Berkshire.
As the young family of five had just made Windsor Castle their home base, the children changing
schools to be in closer proximity to the castle was an unsurprising move. According to The Sun,
tuition fees cost a little less than the equivalent of $10,000 per term, per student.
A palace source further explained that the royal kids changing schools was in part to serve the
purpose laid out by Diana Spencer all those years prior — creating as normal of a life as possible.
Prince William and Princess Catherine made it clear that the move to Windsor — and the
change in schools — was the natural next step for their budding family.
On September 7, pictures surfaced of Prince William and Princess Catherine accompanying
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis to their new school for the first time.
Sadly, though, tragedy followed the next day.
"Buckingham palace has announced the death of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II."
On September 8, Queen Elizabeth II was placed under medical watch and, shortly thereafter, died.
The news of her death sent the royal family, Great Britain,
and the Commonwealth into mourning, and the members of her family were
quick to travel to Balmoral to be with her and each other in her final moments.
However, Catherine stayed behind initially. Kensington Palace explained in a statement,
"The Duchess of Cambridge has remained in Windsor as Prince George,
Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are on their first full day at their new school."
Catherine was spotted picking up George, Charlotte, and Louis from school,
and apparently told them the news of their great-grandmother's passing herself.
While Prince George's first few days at Lambrook School were disrupted by
the news of Queen Elizabeth II's death, he will likely thrive in his new academic environment.
Making his time at Lambrook easier is that his siblings are attending with him. So
what's next for the second in line to the throne? Well, as noted by Hello! Magazine,
George will likely stay at the prestigious institution for the next four years.
Lambrook educates students up until the age of 13, preparing them for the next steps in
their academic plans. For George, this will likely be senior school.
When it was his father's turn to go to senior school — equivalent to high school in the United
States — he went to Eton College, a boarding school for boys, which he attended from the
age of 13 to 18. This schooling will most likely prepare George to take his A-level
exams and GCSEs, and we wouldn't be surprised if George attended his father's alma mater. Making
it an even better option for George, Eton is just a stone's throw away from Windsor Castle.
Prince George is only 9 years old as of the making of this video,
so there will be quite a lot of stepping stones along his academic path. After Lambrook School,
George will likely attend senior school, and then it would be time for university if he so chooses.
Will he follow in his parents' famous footsteps? Well, it's anyone's guess — although this does
give us a little bit of an excuse to gush over university-era William and Kate, who were a young
couple living with friends while attending the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
As noted by Vogue, the two bonded over a shared breakfast order,
and they quickly caught each other's eye over time. William said on his 21st birthday,
"It just sort of blossomed from there, really. We just saw more of each other and, you know,
hung out a bit more. If I fancy a girl and I really like her and she fancies me back,
which is rare, I ask her out."
Of course, the married duo are now the Prince and Princess of Wales and are
now within a stone's throw of the royal throne. So will George follow suit and
attend St. Andrews? Or will he carve out his own educational path? Time will tell.