Prince George Begins His Eton Era: The Future King's First Day at His Father's Alma Mater
The 13-year-old prince arrived at the prestigious 600-year-old school accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales, donning the iconic Eton tailcoat for the first time.
Prince George has officially begun the next chapter of his education. On Tuesday, September 8, the second in line to the throne arrived at Eton College for his first day as a boarder at one of Britain's most prestigious schools, following in the footsteps of his father, Prince William, and uncle, Prince Harry.
The 13-year-old prince was accompanied by his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, who appeared relaxed and smiling as they crossed the school's historic cobblestoned School Yard — a quad dominated by a statue of King Henry VI, who founded the institution in 1440. The family was greeted by headmaster Simon Henderson and provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge, who serves as chair of Eton's governing body.
From Home Clothes to Tailcoat
Prince George arrived wearing what Eton terms "home clothes" — a dark jacket, blue shirt, and tie — but new photographs released by Kensington Palace later in the day showed him sporting the school's distinctive and unmistakable uniform for the first time.
The Eton dress code is unlike any other school in Britain: a black tailcoat, matching waistcoat, pinstriped trousers, and a stiff white collar. It's a look that has remained essentially unchanged for generations and one that his uncle Prince Harry memorably described in his 2023 memoir Spare as bewildering to navigate. "I didn't even know how to get dressed in the morning," Harry wrote. "Every Etonian was required to wear a black tailcoat, white collarless shirt, white stiff collar pinned to the shirt with a stud — plus pinstripe trousers, heavy black shoes and a tie that wasn't a tie, more like a cloth strip folded into the white detachable collar."
George appeared to have mastered the ensemble with considerably less difficulty than his uncle remembered.
A Traditional Choice
The decision to send Prince George to Eton had been the subject of considerable speculation for years. Some royal watchers had suggested he might attend Marlborough College in Wiltshire, the Princess of Wales's alma mater. Others wondered if the Wales family might break with tradition entirely and choose a lesser-known school to avoid the intense scrutiny that comes with such a famous institution.
In the end, tradition won. Prince William attended Eton from 1995 to 2000, becoming the first senior royal to do so — a break from the previous generation's preference for Gordonstoun in Scotland, where King Charles, Prince Philip, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward were all educated. Prince Harry followed his brother to Eton in 1998. George's great-uncle Earl Spencer is also an Old Etonian.
Kensington Palace confirmed the choice over the summer, with the Good Schools Guide's managing editor Melanie Sanderson noting at the time that "Prince George faces a very particular future, and his parents, with an unrivaled choice of schools available to them, have decided that an Eton education represents the best preparation for life as a modern working royal."
Life at Eton
Prince George will board at one of Eton's 25 boarding houses, each of which accommodates around 55 students under the care of a house master. Like every other Etonian, he will have his own private room — a tradition at the school.
The institution, located in Berkshire just a stone's throw from Windsor Castle and the Wales family's home at Adelaide Cottage, has educated 20 of Britain's 59 Prime Ministers, including Boris Johnson and David Cameron. Other notable Old Etonians include actors Tom Hiddleston, Eddie Redmayne, and Hugh Laurie.
Current fees stand at approximately £63,300 ($84,900) per year.
Despite its proximity to home — close enough that George could theoretically visit on weekends — the move marks a significant shift for the young prince. He previously attended Lambrook School alongside his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte (10) and Prince Louis (7), who will remain there while their brother embarks on this new chapter.
A New Era Begins
Prince William, speaking of his own time at Eton, once said he "really enjoyed being able to go about Eton as just another student." Whether his son will have the same experience remains to be seen — the world's attention on a future king is rather more intense in the age of social media than it was in the mid-1990s.
But as George walked through those ancient gates on a grey September morning, dressed in the same uniform his father once wore, he took another step on the path that will one day lead him to the throne. For now, though, he's just another new boy finding his feet at a very old school.
The future can wait. First, there's the small matter of learning how to pin a stiff collar to a collarless shirt.
Pictures from the official Kensington Palace Flickr account.
