Prince George to attend Eton College from September, palace confirms

Prince George will join Eton College from September, extending a family tradition that ties the future of the monarchy to one of England’s most exclusive schools. Kensington Palace confirmed the move as the 12-year-old prepares to turn 13 next month, the age at which boys typically enter the school.

The decision keeps George on a route already taken by his father, Prince William, who became the first senior royal to attend Eton when he enrolled in 1995. Prince Harry followed in 1998, and both brothers boarded at Manor House. William later said he enjoyed being able to move around Eton “as just another student,” a reminder that the school offers royal children something money and status cannot always buy: a carefully managed version of normality.

For the Prince and Princess of Wales, the choice is also a statement about continuity. George currently studies at Lambrook School in Berkshire with Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, but next year the siblings will be split at school, with Charlotte and Louis expected to remain at Lambrook. Reports had suggested William and Catherine were also weighing Marlborough College, Catherine’s former school, but Eton’s proximity to the family home in Windsor, including Forest Lodge, appears to have tipped the balance.

That choice places George inside an institution built to reproduce England’s elite. Eton was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI and now has around 1,350 boys. It remains an all-boys full boarding school with the old rituals still visible in daily life, from tailcoats, waistcoats and gowns to the private vocabulary, where teachers are still called “beaks.” For a monarchy that often presents itself as modern and accessible, Eton is a distinctly traditional answer to a modern question: where should the heir be formed?

The financial terms underline the scale of privilege. Eton charges about £63,000 a year, with fees now subject to the UK government’s 20% VAT on private school fees, introduced in January 2025. The school says 18% of boys received financial support in 2023/24, with an average award of 71%, and 99 boys paid no fees at all. It says bursary spending will rise to well in excess of £10 million in 2024/25 because of the VAT change.

George’s move will therefore be read as more than a school choice. It places him squarely inside the same elite pipeline that has shaped his father and uncle, reinforcing how the monarchy continues to rely on Britain’s most established institutions to project both inheritance and authority.