Prince George, the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, turns 13 and starts at Eton College next week, marking a new school routine for Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince Harry in the family story that follows him most closely.
The move sends him to the same school Prince William attended, and Eton’s uniform will be a long blazer with tails, a waistcoat over a white shirt or tunic, and pinstriped trousers. Prince George has already sometimes boarded at his previous school, so the change builds on a routine he has used before.
Eton College and Prince William
Eton College was founded in the 1400s and sits close to Windsor Castle. Prince William studied there when he was growing up, and that detail gives George’s move a clear family link rather than a simple change of classroom.
The school’s formality shows up in the clothing as much as in the timetable. Prince William wore a different coloured waistcoat for prefects at Eton College, while George’s own uniform will follow the traditional pattern with a waistcoat and pinstriped trousers.
Great Windsor Park visits
Prince George will still be close enough to his parents for easy visits home because the family live in Great Windsor Park. That makes the shift to Eton different from a school move that would have placed him farther away from home during term time.
Prince William has already described the family’s morning school run in practical terms earlier this year. He said, “Charlotte and Louis, if you’re listening make sure you’re on time please. Make sure you’re not fighting over who’s listening to what this morning,” and added, “There’s a lot of jam sandwiches taken in the car usually,” before saying, “Louis will leave jam fingerprints throughout the car.”
Lambrook School in 2022
The Prince and Princess of Wales walked all three of their children to the gates of Lambrook School in 2022, and Prince William took George by the hand on his first ever day there. George wore his school uniform and cap that day, and William and George met the school’s head before he went in.
That earlier school offered boarding as an option, and Prince George sometimes boarded there. William also said George had boarded the night before during a school-run morning earlier this year, which points to a transition that is new in name but not entirely new in practice. The exact day next week he starts at Eton College is the missing detail.
