Prince William and Kate Middleton Apparently Differ on Prince George Attending Boarding School

Prince William Kate Middleton Prince George

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published 30 April 2022

The Cambridges, fresh off of their 11-year wedding anniversary and seemingly more in love than ever, are apparently on opposite sides of the coin on a very important issue—whether eldest son (and future king) Prince George should attend boarding school or not.

According to OK!, William is camp yes, while Kate is hesitant about the idea. George, now eight, is the same age as dad William was when he first began attending boarding school, and, according to the outlet, William wants to send George to the Ludgrove School in Berkshire, the same school he attended years ago. Kate, meanwhile, is on the fence.

“Kate can’t fathom what it’ll be like coming home after a busy day and not being able to see George’s face. The very thought brings her to tears,” a source told Life & Style, per OK!. “Their goal is to modernize the monarchy, not follow old, stuffy traditions. But William is demanding that George go to boarding school, just like he did.”

Though “it took a while” for William “to adjust” to boarding school, “once he did, [he] loved it,” the source said. When Kate was a child, she attended a school that offered both boarding and regular classes, and the Middletons opted for the latter, with Kate returning home every afternoon.

George—alongside sister Princess Charlotte—currently attends Thomas’s Battersea in London. If the Cambridges do decide to transition George into boarding school, royal blogger Gertrude Daly believes George could struggle, as he’d be “away from his safety net.”

Royal expert Ingrid Seward called the Cambridges “modern parents” and said they’ll “weigh up the schooling decision very carefully,” she said. “I think they’ll wait to see how the children’s personalities develop and take into consideration whether or not they would be happy to live away from home.”

It wouldn’t be a huge shock if the royals broke with this longstanding tradition, Seward added.

“I think William and Kate’s view will be, if the children are happy in their school, why change things?” she said. “If I was Kate though, I’d feel more secure if George, as heir to the throne, was tucked away at boarding school. He’ll have more freedom there and he’ll be very protected from any outside dangers.”

As Marie Claire reported last week, the Cambridge school search is underway—we’ll soon see what the Duke and Duchess decide.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.