Prince George’s Eton Chapter Begins With a Royal Tradition, a Private Room and Extra Security

At 13, Prince George is stepping into a school tradition that has already shaped two generations of his family.

The future king is beginning his education at Eton College in September 2026, following in the footsteps of his father, Prince William, and his uncle, Prince Harry. But his life at the famous Berkshire boarding school will come with a few arrangements that most Eton pupils will never have to consider.

One of the most striking is where George is expected to live.

He is widely expected to board at Manor House, the same Eton residence where William lived from 1995 to 2000 and Harry later joined him from 1998 to 2003. William moved into Manor House when he began at Eton on September 6, 1995.

A familiar home with an unusual security arrangement

Manor House already has a particularly strong connection to the Wales family. For George, however, living there could involve some adjustments that his father and uncle did not have to make in quite the same way.

Reports have suggested that one particularly desirable room at Manor House could be used to accommodate members of George’s protection team rather than another pupil.

George is expected to have a room of his own, although that is not a special privilege reserved for the future king. Eton provides its boys with individual rooms, meaning having his own space is part of the school’s normal boarding arrangement.

That detail neatly illustrates the unusual balance George will face. He will be living alongside other boys, learning the same traditions and attending the same classes, but his position in the royal family means that security will inevitably remain part of his daily life.

Eton is a full-boarding school, so George will spend much of his time living on campus rather than commuting from the Wales family home. The school is also close to Windsor, keeping him relatively near Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

That proximity was one of the attractions of Eton for the royal family in the past as well. When William started there in 1995, the school was only about 10 miles, or 16 kilometres, from the royal residence.

George will have to find his place at Eton

Despite the royal connections, George will still have to learn the rules and customs that make Eton unlike most schools.

New pupils are introduced to a world of unfamiliar terminology and long-standing traditions. Teachers are known as “Beaks,” while pupils must become familiar with Eton’s houses, buildings and their associated colours.

Among the early challenges is the traditional “colors test,” which requires new boys to learn the colours and locations connected with Eton’s houses and buildings. Recent reporting says the school has 25 boarding houses, each with roughly 55 pupils.

For a 13-year-old arriving at a new school, those traditions could be daunting enough. George, however, has the added weight of knowing that his father and uncle experienced much the same environment before him.

William attended Eton from 1995 to 2000, while Harry studied there from 1998 to 2003. William’s time at the school became especially significant in his teenage years, giving him an environment in which he could experience a degree of independence away from the intense attention surrounding the royal family.

More than three decades after William, George follows

The decision to send George to Eton represents a continuation of a family path that began with his father.

William’s choice of school was itself significant at the time. Princess Diana was understood to have favoured Eton, partly because of its proximity to Windsor, and William became the first future British king to attend the prestigious school.

Now, more than 30 years after William first arrived at Eton, his eldest son has followed the same route.

George’s move also marks a change for the Wales children as a family. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are remaining at Lambrook, so the three siblings will no longer attend the same school.

That separation gives George an opportunity to develop a more independent routine while still remaining close enough to his family for regular visits.

The Good Schools Guide’s managing editor, Melanie Sanderson, previously explained to HELLO! magazine that boys at Eton can have some freedom to leave school at weekends, including returning home for Sunday lunch or going home on a Saturday evening after sports fixtures.

For George, that arrangement could make the transition to boarding life somewhat easier.

The phone question is another change

Technology is another area where George’s experience may differ from his father’s.

Prince William has previously said that his children did not have phones. He also indicated that this could change when George moved on to secondary school, suggesting that his son might eventually receive a phone without internet access.

The issue reflects the different world George is growing up in compared with the one William and Harry knew as teenagers.

William attended Eton in the late 1990s, long before smartphones and social media became part of everyday teenage life. George is entering adolescence in an era when maintaining privacy can be considerably more complicated.

A new kind of royal milestone

George’s Eton education carries significance beyond his choice of school.

As the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales and second in line to the throne, his education is increasingly being viewed in the context of his future responsibilities.

Yet at 13, George is still a teenager. His parents are understood to want him to have as ordinary a childhood as possible while gradually preparing him for the role that will eventually await him.

That makes Eton an important stage in his development. Away from the immediate presence of his parents and siblings, George will have to navigate friendships, school traditions, academic expectations and boarding life for himself.

He will also be doing so in a place his father knows exceptionally well.

William has spoken positively about his time at Eton, including the opportunity to experience school life as a student rather than solely as a member of the royal family. The school was, in many respects, an important period of independence for him.

For George, the experience is likely to carry a similar tension between ordinary teenage life and an extraordinary future.

His first day at Eton ultimately arrived on September 8, 2026, with George accompanied by William and Catherine. Official portraits released for the occasion showed him in Eton’s traditional uniform, while the photographs also echoed William’s own time at the school.

The royal connection is impossible to ignore

There is something particularly striking about George potentially living in the same boarding house his father once called home.

Manor House links the two generations directly, but the circumstances are not identical. George will have his own room like the other boys, while additional security arrangements are expected to reflect his position as the future king.

That combination captures what his Eton years are likely to be: an attempt to give him the independence of a boarding-school pupil while accommodating the realities of royal life.

For George, Eton is therefore both familiar and completely new.

He is entering the same gates his father entered in 1995, following the same family tradition and learning many of the same customs. At the same time, he will have to establish his own friendships, routines and identity as he takes his first substantial step toward life beyond the Wales family home.

For the future king, the years ahead at Eton may prove to be an important period of growing independence, even with the unmistakable presence of royal security close by.