Prince George’s future school has been decided, Kensington Palace has announced.

Prince George will follow in his father’s footsteps and enrol at Eton College in September, Kensington Palace has announced. The Prince and Princess of Wales have been locked in discussions over where to send their eldest and second in line to the throne for months, but the family have settled on sending their son to the prestigious boarding school.

While the Wales family had also been considering Marlborough College, the Wiltshire co-educational boarding school where Catherine excelled, Eton’s close proximity to the family home in Windsor appears to have been the deciding factor. George’s attendance at the £63,000-a-year school was confirmed by Kensington Palace at 12pm.

They said in a statement: “Kensington Palace can confirm that Prince George will attend Eton College from this September.

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Prince George will go to Eton in September, Kensington Palace has announced (Image: Getty)

Prince William and Princess Catherine had been locked in discussions on where to send their son (Image: Getty)

It comes after William recently revealed that George had already started boarding at Lambrook School, where he and his siblings attend.

George’s first day at Eton is expected to be documented in the traditional way, with a photograph of the then-13-year-old signing the school’s Entrance Book flanked by his parents. Fees are currently £21,099.60 per term, totalling £63,298.80 for the year.

William is said to be “thrilled” that George will attend his alma mater in the autumn, after enjoying five years there himself.

Enrolling in 1995, William thrived at the historic school after becoming the first senior member of the Royal Family to attend.

He joined the elite club of prefects and was a member of several sports teams, captaining the swimming team and his house football squad and also enjoyed water polo.

William followed his mother’s side of the family by attending Eton, which boasts impressive alumni such as 20 UK Prime Ministers, actors Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Eddie Redmayne and author George Orwell.

But his younger brother Prince Harry, who joined him three years later, found his years at Eton challenging. In his 2023 memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex said that he felt like an outsider at the elite school and struggled to fit in socially.

Prince William’s first day at Eton (Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

However, William hopes that George will enjoy Eton just as much as he did, and both he and Catherine have reassured him that they are only around the corner should any issues arise.

While the prince was enrolled at Eton, he often made the short 15-minute walk to visit his granny, Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle.

The regular meetings were both a comfort, following his parents’ acrimonious and public divorce, and an education, as the Queen would discuss state boxes and constitutional duties he would carry out as King.

William greatly enjoyed the weekends spent with his grandparents at Windsor, when other pupils returned home, and George is expected to return home regularly to spend time with his parents and siblings at their new home, Forest Lodge.

His sister, Princess Charlotte, 11, was one of the main reasons that the couple had been locked in discussions about where to send George for so long.

It was a two-horse race between William and Catherine’s alma mater, with the future Queen keen for the children to study alongside one another, just as she did with her sister Pippa and brother James at Marlborough.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be unable to attend the same secondary school (Image: Getty)

William and Catherine moved to Forest Lodge on the Windsor Estate in November, with the eight-bedroom Georgian mansion being described as their new “forever home”.

The move was a fresh start for the family, following the challenges of the past few hours, namely the princess’s cancer diagnosis and treatment programme.

But now she is in remission and has returned to royal duties, the couple are firmly focused on the future and making new memories as a family of five.

George, Charlotte and Louis are “the centre of their universe”, as one source described, and though the future king and queen are committed to their roles, being present and hands-on in raising their children is paramount.

Enrolling their eldest in a school that’s just a stone’s throw away from home means the family can continue to spend precious time together, after what William has repeatedly described as a “brutal” few years.

SOURCE: https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/2217955/prince-george-eton-statement-latest