Britain’s Prince George will attend the prestigious private school Eton College from September, Kensington Palace announced on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of his father and heir to the throne Prince William.
The 12-year-old prince, who as William’s eldest child is one day set to succeed him as king, will complete his secondary schooling at world-famous Eton, which charges more than £63 000 (R1.37 million) in annual fees.
Exclusive school
“Kensington Palace can confirm that Prince George will attend Eton College from this September,” it said in a brief statement.
Both William, formally known as the Prince of Wales, and his younger brother Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, attended the exclusive school in Berkshire, west of London.
It has also famously educated 20 past prime ministers, including Boris Johnson and David Cameron, as well as a roll call of other well known people, from actor Tom Hiddleston to James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
George’s grandfather, King Charles III, went to Gordonstoun, a school in the Scottish Highlands attended by the king’s father, the late Duke of Edinburgh.
Second in line to the throne
It is not known if George will board at Eton, with the college only a few kilometres from his family’s Forest Lodge home in Windsor.
However, the young prince – who is second in line to the throne, after his father – has been boarding at the Lambrook School, the private preparatory school in Berkshire where he has studied since 2022.
He has attended there alongside his siblings Princess Charlotte, 11, and eight-year-old Prince Louis.
Eton, long a byword for elitism and the class divide in Britain, was founded by King Henry VI in 1440.
It educates boys aged 13 to 18, and has preserved many of its traditions, including a distinct uniform comprising a black tailcoat, black waist coat, white shirt and bow tie, and striped trousers.
It welcomes nearly 1 350 pupils each year, according to its website.
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse