Prince George to Attend £65,000-a-Year Eton at 13, Following Royal Tradition

Q: Why did Princess Catherine hesitate before agreeing to send Prince George to Britain's most elite boarding school?

Princess Catherine reportedly hesitated because she was not fully convinced Eton fit the more modern, less insular upbringing she wanted for Prince George, and because she was wary of sending him away to board at 13. Reporting around the decision said Catherine had reservations about Eton’s image as an old-fashioned “old boys’ club” and a “stuffy” upper-crust institution. She is also said to have favored Marlborough College, her own former school, in part because of its co-educational environment and because that model was closer to her own positive school experience with her siblings. There was also a personal dimension. Accounts from royal commentators and biographers said she expected to miss George deeply and was reluctant about him becoming a full boarder so young. The Waleses are known to be a close family, and George’s move means a visible change in that routine. In the end, the balance appears to have shifted toward Eton because of practical and institutional advantages. Prince William strongly supported the school, having had a positive experience there. Eton’s proximity to Windsor, its strong pastoral system, privacy protections, and its reputation for preparing pupils for public life were all cited as reasons it was seen as the best fit for a future working royal.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Sep 8

Prince George, 13, will start at Eton College as a boarder after finishing prep school at Lambrook in Berkshire.
William and Catherine chose the traditional option because they see Eton as the best preparation for George's future as a modern working royal, according to the Good Schools Guide's managing editor.
The Berkshire school charges about £65,000 a year, has 25 boarding houses of roughly 55 pupils each, and is close to the family's home in Windsor.
George, second in line to the throne, follows Prince William, Prince Harry and Earl Spencer to Eton, which has educated 20 British prime ministers.