Royal Expert Says It Would Be \201cSad\201d if the Prince and Princess of Wales—Modern Royals Though They Are—Sent Prince George to a Boarding School Like Eton College

After the Prince and Princess of Wales and their eldest child, Prince George, were seen touring Eton College over the summer, it is believed that George will follow in his father’s footsteps and enroll at the prestigious all-boys boarding school in September 2026, when he is 13. As Marie Claire previously reported, William and Kate have disagreed over the decision to send George to Eton, with Kate eventually having to “give in” to the decision: “Kate long disagreed with her husband about sending him away, even though it’s tradition,” a source said, per The Daily Express. “Kate thinks sending him to such a stuffy, upper-crust institution goes against all of their efforts to modernize the monarchy. Plus, she’ll miss George desperately. She and William argued about it for years, but he has finally won.”

William and Prince Harry both attended Eton, unlike other males from the royal family like Prince Philip and King Charles, who attended Gordonstoun in Scotland; that said, Eton wasn’t totally out of left field, as Princess Diana’s father and brother both attended Eton.

As William and Kate are model modern royals, a royal expert said it would be “sad” if they sent George off to a boarding school. “They have been the model of a modern monarchy so far, and I would like to see them continue as a tight family unit, with the children coming home each day after school,” said former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond. She suggested a “possible compromise”—possibly weekly boarding or “an ad hoc system that some schools now adopt,” she said. “But perhaps they believe there are real benefits from children learning to be independent from a young age.”

Though unlikely and hopefully not going to happen, Bond also urged the Prince and Princess of Wales to consider that they could become King and Queen while their three children—who range in ages right now from five to 10—could still be in school, and “their jobs will become even more full-time than at present.”

“Perhaps it is a practical solution,” Bond said. “For me, though, it is unthinkable to have children and then send them away to be looked after by someone else.”

Kate was recently seen visiting Marlborough College, a school she attended, fueling speculation that it could be on the table for George, as well. After having been bullied previously at Downe House, Kate enjoyed her time at Marlborough, a boarding college in Wiltshire where tuition is £46,995 annually. Kate’s younger siblings Pippa and James Middleton also went there, as did Princess Eugenie.