Last week, Prince George turned eight years old, and celebrated with plenty of family festivities and a special soccer-themed cake. It’s a milestone birthday, as children in the royal family traditionally begin attending boarding school at the age of eight.
Prince William and Kate Middleton have changed the royal parenting game, though, and have eschewed tradition on many an occasion, in order to give their kids as normal a life as possible. While they aren’t entirely averse to the idea of Prince George attending boarding school, they’re not sure it’s the right time for their son to go off just yet.
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Prince William and Duchess Kate are open to sending their eldest child to boarding school in the future, but they think that eight is “a little young and want to wait until he’s older,” a royal source told Us Weekly. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will make the decision as a family, and give Prince George a say on if he wants to go to boarding school. “They’d never force George to go unless he wants to and they feel it’s right,” the source explained.
It sounds like Prince George is definitely interested in the option, though, as after hearing about both Prince William and Duchess Kate’s experiences at boarding school, he thinks it sounds “super fun.” Perhaps he’ll take after his mother, though, who didn’t go off to boarding school until the age of 14, instead of his father, who (along with Prince Harry) headed off to boarding school at eight.
Even though they haven’t made any big decisions just yet, Prince William and Duchess Kate are already doing their research. The Cambridges have reportedly checked out boarding schools in Berkshire, which happens to be where Ludgrove School, Prince William’s alma mater, is located.
For now, though, Prince George is content with his current school, Thomas’s Battersea. The future King has been enrolled at the London school since 2017, and he’s very settled into his routine there. Thomas’s Battersea accepts students through the age of 13, so George could easily continue at the school for the next few years.
Plus, Princess Charlotte is a pupil there, as the Cambridges’ daughter began attending Thomas’s Battersea in 2019, though her first school year of in-person classes was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Prince Louis, who is just three, started his first year at nursery school in London in April, but will likely join his older siblings at Thomas’s Battersea once he’s older.
